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Blasphemy “Fallen Angel of Doom….” CD
COMMAND 008 / ANTI-GOTH 069

At the end of the 1980s and into the 1990s, there was a shift in the underground metal scene. So many bands seemed to be wimping out, going in new musical and lyrical directions. They were adding in socially-conscious messages and dressing like beach bums in colourful shorts, which sure didn’t speak to me. I was into black metal and death metal with satanic lyrics. I liked looking at the back of albums and at magazine promo photos and seeing band members in bullets and spikes with blood dripping out of their mouths! I got into this genre of music because all of the hatred and evil in the music and lyrics reflected the way that I lived my life. When some of my favourite bands started to forget their roots and instead started to attempt to please their record labels and the critics for the glossy magazines, I had to find something else. All it took was sending a couple of dollars down to Wild Rags! Records in California, and I was sent the latest edition of their mail order catalogue/magazine. This opened my eyes to an entire scene of black metal from all over the planet. These bands were all delivering different styles of black metal that seemed to be inspired from the regions that they came from. SAMAEL from Switzerland playing in the HELLHAMMER tradition, ROTTING CHRIST from Greece with their mystical atmosphere, MAYHEM from Norway, etc.—and most importantly in those pages well-advertised was the exact thing I was looking for to return me to my quest for the most brutal and satanic music possible: BLASPHEMY “Fallen Angel of Doom….”! Just from the looks of the cover artwork and the band photos I knew that I had to hear these guys! And to learn that they were Canadian?! Yes! Of course, I ordered this album without hesitation. Now the wait began.

In the meantime, I went to the local import record shop for my weekly search, and right there on the shelf was a copy of “Fallen Angel of Doom….”. I opened it up to look through the layout and I just couldn’t wait any longer to hear this album. I bought it right there and then and brought it home. The second copy I already ordered that was on its way from Wild Rags! ended up just being given away to one of my friends. Once I played the album I couldn’t believe the ferocity and desolate atmosphere of the music! The riffs! The vocals! The cavernous production! This is EXACTLY what I was expecting and more! This album was on constant rotation for me. In fact, I still listen to it a lot today. BLASPHEMY unleashed the embodiment of everything I thought black metal should be; pure Evil put to tape by obvious maniacs. They looked like barbaric, satanic lunatics that you would want to approach with caution, if at all! Convincing!

“Fallen Angel of Doom….” is a monument of black metal! This album inspired an entire genre upon its release. The owner of Wild Rags! Records, the notorious Richard C., phoned Black Winds when the album was released and told him excitedly that the album was selling so well that he was having trouble keeping it in stock! For the underground scene it made an impact that still resonates to this day. Bands from all around the world were inspired by BLASPHEMY as soon as “Fallen Angel of Doom….” was unleashed. Everywhere from Brazil to Singapore, Finland to Germany, bands were taking cue from BLASPHEMY and playing the most merciless forms of black metal, and waves of other bands over the years came into being thanks to BLASPHEMY, including my former bands CONQUEROR and DOMINI INFERI! Black metal hit the highest levels of extremity when BLASPHEMY released “Fallen Angel of Doom….” still unsurpassed to this day! It took everything known about the genre and made it even more savage and malevolent, both musically and visually. The way it should be!

As the Nocturnal Grave Desecrater and Black Winds predicted on this album; “The Cursed Soul Bred by the Fallen Angel of Doom will return!” And as predicted, Nuclear War Now! Productions and my own label, Ross Bay Cult, are able to present to you this masterpiece of desecration on LP, CD, and MC formats. Darkness Prevails! ALWAYS….

R. Förster
Deathlord of Abomination and War Apocalypse

Blasphemy “Blood Upon the Altar + Bonus” CD
ANTI-GOTH 398

CD version includes “Blood Upon the Soundspace” rehearsal as bonus.

(Description by J. Campbell)
Although Blasphemy’s recorded output was limited, its endurance over the last three decades is a testament to its originality and extremity, and it all began with the Blood Upon the Altar demo. The band’s origin was unremarkable but auspicious. In 1984, founding members Nocturnal Grave Desecrater and Black Winds and 3 Black Hearts of Damnation and Impurity, who lived near one another and were already acquainted, began playing music together, mostly working on cover songs. They soon recruited Caller of the Storms and Black Priest of the 7 Satanic Blood Rituals to complete the original lineup. After briefly adopting the name Antichrist, the band eventually settled on the simple and iconic name Blasphemy and began writing songs. They refined their sound and focused their songs during live rituals over the next several years, although the lineup would fluctuate slightly when Black Winds did a brief stint in jail, and Bestial Savior of the Undead Legions briefly assumed bass duties. Black Winds soon rejoined the fold, and Blasphemy entered Fiasco Bros. studio in 1989 with an $800 budget. They emerged having produced one of the most devastating demo recordings ever made. Blood Upon the Altar ushered in a new style of Black Metal, no less dark or evil than their contemporaries, but more confrontational, more violent. In addition to being heavily inspired by Bathory, Sodom, and Slayer, Blasphemy also drew from the punk infused Brazilian scene, especially Sarcófago, as well as Grindcore bands like Blood and Genocide (Repulsion). The resultant mixture of these influences yielded a demo that established a new standard for extremity in Black Metal, a bar that Blasphemy would continue to raise with each subsequent recording. This edition of Blood Upon the Altar marks the first time since its original release that it has been properly featured as a stand-alone album. For far too long, this demo was tacked as bonus tracks onto the end of the Gods of War album, leaving the impression that Blood Upon the Altar was of lower stature; in fact, for many, Blood Upon the Altar is the most powerful Blasphemy release of all. Additionally, many of the earlier reissue editions of this recording had long gaps between the tracks owing to an improperly prepared digital master, but that flaw has been corrected with this version, which was also remastered by James Plotkin to ensure the best possible sound. Finally, the original demo artwork once again adorns the cover of this LP, which also features a full-color gatefold. In every respect, this version—a joint release by NWN! and Ross Bay Cult—seeks to restore Blood Upon the Altar to its original status as one of the most significant Black Metal recordings of all time.

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