Insania “Possessed by Insania” LP Out Now

OUT NWO

Insania “Possessed by Insania” LP
ANTI-GOTH 752

First pressing of 100 copies on red/black marble vinyl
3mm jacket with high gloss varnish
11″x17″ double sided insert

+1988 CZECH BLACK METAL+
(Description by C. Conrad)
The political and social oppression that characterized life behind the Iron Curtain in the 1980s held its grasp firmly in an attempt to thwart deviation from state-approved ideologies and socialism, in particular. Ironically, it was this Soviet-aligned grip on society that led to an equal and opposite reaction, which, in turn, spawned a countercultural movement that included a unique canon of extreme metal in one of its branches. In Czechoslovakia, which has since split into today’s Slovakia and Czechia (aka Czech Republic), this development deeply seeded itself in the historical trajectory of extreme metal. Among enthusiasts of the genre, well known are the likes of bands such as Master’s Hammer and Root, who emerged within this place and time and developed a particular niche of black metal that distinguished itself stylistically from similar, concurrent movements in other parts of the world. Less exposed have been other unpolished gems, like Insania, that have largely languished unrecognized by even the most detail-oriented metal fans.

Insania formed in 1987, within a year or so of their compatriots in Master’s Hammer and Root, and still a few years prior to the relinquishment of Soviet influence in the Eastern Bloc. Brno, the band’s place of origin and the second-largest city in Czechoslovakia, was subject to strict authoritarian measures by the government. Nonetheless, as tends to be the case under repressive regimes, a free-minded segment of the population rejected the edicts under which artistic expression deemed by the state to be subversive was disallowed. Three youths by the names of Petr Pálenský (guitars, vocals), Martin Maleček (drums), and Martin Vrbík (bass) came to know each other through their mutual activity in the fledgling underground Brno metal scene. Petr (aka Poly), who attended a different high school than the other two, had played in a band named Tormentum, and the two Martins had been active in their own band, Ruční Brzda. The dedication of the three to hardcore punk and metal thus led to the formation of Insania…

Click here to order.