Beherit (band)
Encyclopedia
Beherit is a black metal
band from Finland
. The band was formed in 1989 by Nuclear Holocausto (Marko Laiho), Black Jesus (Arjo Wennström) and Sodomatic Slaughter (Jari Pirinen), with the purpose of performing "the most primitive, savage, hell-obsessed black metal imaginable." "Beherit" is the Syriac word for Satan
. Through the uncommercial nature of their music, visuals and live performances, the band quickly attracted a cult following
. Besides the "raw" sound, the band's music is noted for its avant-garde
side and emphasis on atmosphere. Beherit are now regarded as a pioneer in their genre.
As a full band, Beherit released two full-length albums and many demos of raw and minimalistic black metal. They disbanded soon after the release of the experimental 1993 album Drawing Down the Moon, which is now considered a classic of the genre. Laiho, the group's mainman, continued as a solo project and released two more albums under the band's name, H418ov21.C
in 1994 and Electric Doom Synthesis
in 1995. These albums are usually categorized as dark ambient
. Although they were completely electronic, the albums carried the atmosphere of the band's black metal recordings. Original members Nuclear Holocausto and Sodomatic Slaughter reformed the band in 2008, now a four-piece featuring new members Ancient Corpse Desekrator and Abyss.
, Lapland; vocalist and guitarist Nuclear Holocausto Vengeance (Marko Laiho), bassist Daemon Fornication and drummer Sodomatic Slaughter (Jari Pirinen). The band released three demos the following year; Seventh Blasphemy, Morbid Rehearsals and Demonomancy, and also gathered reputation for their live shows, which included pig heads and goats on stage.
, includes material recorded from June to September 1990. The album was released in 1991. The album is traditional, fast and brutal old school black metal, heavily influenced by death metal
, thrash metal
and grindcore
. However, it is not a separately recorded studio album. The band got some funding for recording an album from their record label at the time, Turbo Music, but supposedly spent the money on alcohol. The label then released their demo Demonomancy and 7" EP Dawn of Satan's Millennium as a compilation, without the band's permission, and named it The Oath of Black Blood, which was originally supposed to be the name of the new album. Laiho commented on the album in an early 1992 interview for Metal Hammer
magazine:
The album is now generally regarded as a full-length release. Spinefarm Records
re-issued it in 2005, and Season of Mist
in 2006. In 1991, the band members briefly performed under the name, "The Lord Diabolus", from which a single demo tape was made and released independently before the band returned to working under the name Beherit. The songs "Intro (Tireheb)" and "Nocturnal Evil" were later rereleased as Beherit songs.
". The album was highly experimental within the black metal scene, as the band used whispers and space-like electronic and synth sounds to strengthen its hypnotic atmosphere. Drawing Down the Moon was reissued by Candlelight Records
in 2006.
music, H418ov21.C
and Electric Doom Synthesis
, and released them under the band's name. As the band didn't reform and Laiho had eventually lost interest in black metal, he went on to continue his musical career in dark ambient as "Suuri Shamaani" and in hardcore techno
as "DJ Gamma".
, is the band's third black metal album (fifth overall) and first in 14 years.
, but due to Beherit and groups such as Impaled Nazarene
and Barathrum
, the Finnish scene was becoming more and more recognized. This eventually resulted in a Norwegian-Finnish conflict often named the "Dark War". According to Isten magazine, the conflict originated from several misunderstandings and practical jokes, involving Laiho, but Mika Luttinen
of Impaled Nazarene believed he received death threats in Norwegian. His band's first album had a statement saying "no orders from Norway accepted", which Luttinen later admitted to be stupid and childish. Laiho commented on the conflict in an interview for January 1994 issue of Masters of Brutality magazine:
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
band from Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. The band was formed in 1989 by Nuclear Holocausto (Marko Laiho), Black Jesus (Arjo Wennström) and Sodomatic Slaughter (Jari Pirinen), with the purpose of performing "the most primitive, savage, hell-obsessed black metal imaginable." "Beherit" is the Syriac word for Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
. Through the uncommercial nature of their music, visuals and live performances, the band quickly attracted a cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
. Besides the "raw" sound, the band's music is noted for its avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
side and emphasis on atmosphere. Beherit are now regarded as a pioneer in their genre.
As a full band, Beherit released two full-length albums and many demos of raw and minimalistic black metal. They disbanded soon after the release of the experimental 1993 album Drawing Down the Moon, which is now considered a classic of the genre. Laiho, the group's mainman, continued as a solo project and released two more albums under the band's name, H418ov21.C
H418ov21.C
H418ov21.C, short for house 418 of 21st century, is a 1994 album by the Finnish black metal band Beherit. The album is the group's first dark ambient recording.-Track listing:All songs written and performed by Marko Laiho#"The Gate of Inanna"...
in 1994 and Electric Doom Synthesis
Electric Doom Synthesis
Electric Doom Synthesis was Beherit's second dark ambient album. It featured ritualistic music, pitchshifted spoken word vocals, and occasional guitars, all much in the spirit of black metal.-Track listing:All songs written and performed by Marko Laiho...
in 1995. These albums are usually categorized as dark ambient
Dark ambient
Dark ambient is a subgenre of ambient music that features foreboding, ominous, or discordant overtones. Although it had its roots in the 1970s, Dark ambient emerged in the 1980s and 1990s with the introduction of newer, smaller, and more affordable Effects units, synthesizer and sampling technology...
. Although they were completely electronic, the albums carried the atmosphere of the band's black metal recordings. Original members Nuclear Holocausto and Sodomatic Slaughter reformed the band in 2008, now a four-piece featuring new members Ancient Corpse Desekrator and Abyss.
Early days (1989–1990)
Beherit was formed in 1989 by three young musicians from RovaniemiRovaniemi
Rovaniemi is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland. It is situated close to the Arctic Circle and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence of the Kemijoki River and its...
, Lapland; vocalist and guitarist Nuclear Holocausto Vengeance (Marko Laiho), bassist Daemon Fornication and drummer Sodomatic Slaughter (Jari Pirinen). The band released three demos the following year; Seventh Blasphemy, Morbid Rehearsals and Demonomancy, and also gathered reputation for their live shows, which included pig heads and goats on stage.
The Oath of Black Blood (1991–1992)
Beherit's first full-length, The Oath of Black BloodThe Oath of Black Blood
The Oath of Black Blood is an album by the Finnish black metal band Beherit. The album is not a separate recording, but a compilation of the band's demo Demonomancy and EP Dawn of Satan's Millennium. The material was recorded in late 1990 and released as an album in 1991 through Turbo Music,...
, includes material recorded from June to September 1990. The album was released in 1991. The album is traditional, fast and brutal old school black metal, heavily influenced by death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
, thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
and grindcore
Grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
. However, it is not a separately recorded studio album. The band got some funding for recording an album from their record label at the time, Turbo Music, but supposedly spent the money on alcohol. The label then released their demo Demonomancy and 7" EP Dawn of Satan's Millennium as a compilation, without the band's permission, and named it The Oath of Black Blood, which was originally supposed to be the name of the new album. Laiho commented on the album in an early 1992 interview for Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
magazine:
"I hate the album! It's so bad, we never wanted to release it. The songs are from our 'Demonomancy' demo and our label Turbo Music just used a regular cassette for the album pressing. Honestly, I never sent them the master tape... We're planning to release a proper LP soon, this time on my own label. The result should be much better."
The album is now generally regarded as a full-length release. Spinefarm Records
Spinefarm Records
Spinefarm Records is a Finland-based record label focusing mainly on heavy metal artists. In 1999, a sub-label titled Spikefarm Records was started by Sami Tenetz from Thy Serpent...
re-issued it in 2005, and Season of Mist
Season of Mist
Season of Mist is a record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pagan metal and death metal records, the label moved on to releasing...
in 2006. In 1991, the band members briefly performed under the name, "The Lord Diabolus", from which a single demo tape was made and released independently before the band returned to working under the name Beherit. The songs "Intro (Tireheb)" and "Nocturnal Evil" were later rereleased as Beherit songs.
Drawing Down the Moon (1993)
Beherit's best-known and most influential album, Drawing Down the Moon, was recorded between April and August in 1992. It was released in 1993 as the band's first official LP. The album was named after an ancient ritual, "drawing down the MoonDrawing down the Moon (ritual)
Drawing down the Moon is a ritual central to many contemporary Wiccan traditions. During the ritual, a coven's High Priestess enters a trance and requests that the Goddess or Triple Goddess, symbolized by the moon, enter her body and speak through her...
". The album was highly experimental within the black metal scene, as the band used whispers and space-like electronic and synth sounds to strengthen its hypnotic atmosphere. Drawing Down the Moon was reissued by Candlelight Records
Candlelight Records
Candlelight Records is an independent record label based in Europe founded by former Extreme Noise Terror bassist Lee Barrett, though it has had a division in the United States since January 2001. Candlelight Records specialises in black metal and death metal, having bands such as Emperor,...
in 2006.
Ambient era (1994–1996)
Despite the album's success, Drawing Down the Moon was to remain the band's last black metal release, as they split up the next year. Laiho still recorded two albums of dark ambientDark ambient
Dark ambient is a subgenre of ambient music that features foreboding, ominous, or discordant overtones. Although it had its roots in the 1970s, Dark ambient emerged in the 1980s and 1990s with the introduction of newer, smaller, and more affordable Effects units, synthesizer and sampling technology...
music, H418ov21.C
H418ov21.C
H418ov21.C, short for house 418 of 21st century, is a 1994 album by the Finnish black metal band Beherit. The album is the group's first dark ambient recording.-Track listing:All songs written and performed by Marko Laiho#"The Gate of Inanna"...
and Electric Doom Synthesis
Electric Doom Synthesis
Electric Doom Synthesis was Beherit's second dark ambient album. It featured ritualistic music, pitchshifted spoken word vocals, and occasional guitars, all much in the spirit of black metal.-Track listing:All songs written and performed by Marko Laiho...
, and released them under the band's name. As the band didn't reform and Laiho had eventually lost interest in black metal, he went on to continue his musical career in dark ambient as "Suuri Shamaani" and in hardcore techno
Hardcore techno
Hardcore techno is a type of electronic music typified by the rhythmic use of distorted and atonal industrial-like beats and samples...
as "DJ Gamma".
Return to black metal, Engram (2009)
Beherit was reformed in 2008, with original members Nuclear Holocausto (having returned to Finland from Thailand) and Sodomatic Slaughter, and newcomers Ancient Corpse Desekrator and Abyss. The new album is a return to the black metal genre, and also marks Beherit's return to a full band configuration after existing as a solo project from 1994 until its disbandment in 1996. The album, entitled EngramEngram (album)
Engram is Beherit's latest album. It features a return to a straight black metal style.-Track listing:#"Axiom Heroine" – 04:41#"Destroyer of Thousand Worlds" – 03:05#"All in Satan" – 03:33#"Pagan Moon" – 07:16#"Pimeyden Henki" – 04:45...
, is the band's third black metal album (fifth overall) and first in 14 years.
Conflicts
Beherit were one of the first black metal bands. In the early 1990s, most of the bands in the scene were from NorwayNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, but due to Beherit and groups such as Impaled Nazarene
Impaled Nazarene
Impaled Nazarene is a Finnish black metal band that incorporates elements of grindcore in their sound and punk rock in their aesthetics. The band is currently signed to Osmose Productions of France....
and Barathrum
Barathrum
Barathrum is a Finnish black doom band. They originate from Kuopio but have since re-located to Helsinki. The first letters of their full-length albums spell "HEIL SOVA" , which completes their original eight-album plan. However, there have been rumours about a new record ever since the Anno Aspera...
, the Finnish scene was becoming more and more recognized. This eventually resulted in a Norwegian-Finnish conflict often named the "Dark War". According to Isten magazine, the conflict originated from several misunderstandings and practical jokes, involving Laiho, but Mika Luttinen
Mika Luttinen
Mika Luttinen was born in Oulu, Finland, in 1971. In 1990, he formed the Finnish black metal band Impaled Nazarene, where he is the singer and main lyricist. After numerous line-up changes, he remains the only original member. Besides his main project, he has been in the death/black metal band...
of Impaled Nazarene believed he received death threats in Norwegian. His band's first album had a statement saying "no orders from Norway accepted", which Luttinen later admitted to be stupid and childish. Laiho commented on the conflict in an interview for January 1994 issue of Masters of Brutality magazine:
"When we started the band about 4 years ago we knew this and so that's okay. Now there are more people against us ‘cause of these new rules and all these stupid rumours spread by our Norwegian enemies... but I don’t care so much. But that’s a bit sad that the black metal underground scene is totally split."
Current members
- Nuclear Holocausto (Marko Laiho) (Black Crucifixion) – vocals, guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, keyboardsElectronic keyboardAn electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
, programming (1989–1996, 2008–present) - Sodomatic Slaughter (Jari Pirinen) (Black Crucifixion) – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(1989–1993, 2008–present) - Ancient Corpse Desekrator (Sami Tenetz) (Thy SerpentThy SerpentThy Serpent is a blackened doom metal/symphonic black metal band from Espoo, Finland. It started out as a solo project by Sami Tenetz.- History :...
) – guitar (2008–present) - Abyss – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(2008–present)
Former members
- Daemon Fornication – bass
- Black Jesus (PainflowPainflowPainflow is an industrial metal band from Kokkola, Finland. The band was formed in 1997. Painflow’s first demo would secure a deal with Massacre Records. The band’s debut album was recorded at Woodhouse Studios, Hagen, Germany with producer Siggi Bemm...
) – bass - Kimmo Luttinen (Catamenia, Impaled NazareneImpaled NazareneImpaled Nazarene is a Finnish black metal band that incorporates elements of grindcore in their sound and punk rock in their aesthetics. The band is currently signed to Osmose Productions of France....
, The Black LeagueThe Black LeagueThe Black League is a metal band from Finland. They were formed in 1998 by Taneli Jarva, three years after his departure from Finnish metal heavyweights Sentenced. The Black League's first two full-lengths carry on the spirit from Taneli's work with his former band, seasoning their metal with...
) – drums
Albums
- The Oath of Black BloodThe Oath of Black BloodThe Oath of Black Blood is an album by the Finnish black metal band Beherit. The album is not a separate recording, but a compilation of the band's demo Demonomancy and EP Dawn of Satan's Millennium. The material was recorded in late 1990 and released as an album in 1991 through Turbo Music,...
(1991) - Drawing Down the Moon (1993)
- H418ov21.CH418ov21.CH418ov21.C, short for house 418 of 21st century, is a 1994 album by the Finnish black metal band Beherit. The album is the group's first dark ambient recording.-Track listing:All songs written and performed by Marko Laiho#"The Gate of Inanna"...
(1994) - Electric Doom SynthesisElectric Doom SynthesisElectric Doom Synthesis was Beherit's second dark ambient album. It featured ritualistic music, pitchshifted spoken word vocals, and occasional guitars, all much in the spirit of black metal.-Track listing:All songs written and performed by Marko Laiho...
(1995) - EngramEngram (album)Engram is Beherit's latest album. It features a return to a straight black metal style.-Track listing:#"Axiom Heroine" – 04:41#"Destroyer of Thousand Worlds" – 03:05#"All in Satan" – 03:33#"Pagan Moon" – 07:16#"Pimeyden Henki" – 04:45...
(2009)
EPs and demos
- Seventh Blasphemy (1990)
- Morbid Rehearsals (1990)
- Demonomancy (1990)
- Dawn of Satan's Millennium (1990)
- Diabolus Down There (alternately, Down There...Down There...Down There... is the single demo released by the bandmembers of Beherit under the name The Lord Diabolus. It was released independently in 1991.-Track listing:# "Intro " – 00:44# "Six Days With Sadistic Slayer" – 02:51...
, released under the band name "The Lord Diabolus", 1991) - Unreleased Studio Tracks (1991)
- Promo 1992 (1992)
- Messe Des Morts (1994)
Splits
- Beherit / Death Yell (1991)
- Messe Des Morts / Angel Cunt (1999) (with ArchgoatArchgoatArchgoat is a black metal group that formed in Finland in 1989. There are three band members: Angelslayer , Ritual Butcherer and Blood Desecrator . Their first demo, Jesus Spawn, was released in 1992...
)
External links
- Beherit at Spinefarm RecordsSpinefarm RecordsSpinefarm Records is a Finland-based record label focusing mainly on heavy metal artists. In 1999, a sub-label titled Spikefarm Records was started by Sami Tenetz from Thy Serpent...