I must admit, I had no clue about these bands when I bought this CD at Amoeba records in Berkeley but it turned out to be a good surprise. I basically got this because of the cover art and imagery… go ahead, call me a poser. I believe both of these bands are from the Netherlands, which might explain why I haven’t heard of them until now. Lugubrum starts out with some really good lo-fi blackmetal that reminds me of the French Black Legions. It was obviously recorded on a four track or an eight track at the most, as the sound is really raw and dry. Similarly, Sudarium offers the same type of stuff but with the most horrible sounding vocal style known to man. It almost sounds as though they’re a joke band or something. The only thing that saves this band is their ability to create some pretty decent riffs at times. Overall this CD is worth purchasing just for the Lugubrum songs but it might be better just to CDR the thing from your friend. From what I hear, Lugubrum has another CD out on Berzerker records (yes the same label that put out the worst CD of all time; the debut by Welter).

© 2000 e. nebuchadnezzer