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Ghost 2 (1989)
Recorded in August 1989, Ghost's second demo is a raw and hellish dose of Polish death/thrash. The sound is lo-fi and a bit muddled, but not to the point where it becomes unlistenable. The bass drum is buried in the mix in a way that's reminiscent of Venom's "Witching Hour", but the guitars maintain enough of a presence to convey an evil feeling, aided by vicious vocals. The lyrics are in the band's native language, which adds to the charm in a way.
The music features more thrash riffing than later recordings, though there are more than enough blast beats and death metal riffs as well. At times, the material brings to mind the early Death demos, with traces of Slayer. There is likely influence from the South American scene as well, since those records seem to have been popular in Poland's underground.
It’s no coincidence that some of the most genuinely violent and dark music came out of places like Poland or Brazil. The harshness of their environment shows through in the music. No matter how hard the northern bands tried to look and sound evil, their comfortable lives could never produce this kind of gritty truth. If you're into raw, chaotic death/thrash, definitely check this out. Highlights include "Władcy świata" and "Memento Mori".
The music features more thrash riffing than later recordings, though there are more than enough blast beats and death metal riffs as well. At times, the material brings to mind the early Death demos, with traces of Slayer. There is likely influence from the South American scene as well, since those records seem to have been popular in Poland's underground.
It’s no coincidence that some of the most genuinely violent and dark music came out of places like Poland or Brazil. The harshness of their environment shows through in the music. No matter how hard the northern bands tried to look and sound evil, their comfortable lives could never produce this kind of gritty truth. If you're into raw, chaotic death/thrash, definitely check this out. Highlights include "Władcy świata" and "Memento Mori".
(21 June 2025)
Noc demona (1989)
Ghost's third demo, Noc demona, was recorded in September 1989. This is a far cry from the heavy, Obituary-esque debut album that these Poles released five years later. Here the sound is firmly rooted in more of an '80s death/thrash, with more emphasis on the death metal riffing and blast beats than some of their peers. The sound quality is murky, but you can hear traces of early Slayer, Possessed, and Sarcófago at times.
The guitar riffs carry an evil feeling from time to time, when allowed to breathe and convey some kind of atmosphere. The vocals are a little deeper than might be expected and there are moments where some reverb is added which gives kind of a demonic sound. It's also surprising that there are any such effects considering how lo-fi and raw this tape is. The songwriting is rather primitive and maybe underdeveloped, but there is still something to appreciate about this chaotic, ugly recording. Definitely worth a listen for anyone into the Polish death/thrash scene of the late '80s.
The guitar riffs carry an evil feeling from time to time, when allowed to breathe and convey some kind of atmosphere. The vocals are a little deeper than might be expected and there are moments where some reverb is added which gives kind of a demonic sound. It's also surprising that there are any such effects considering how lo-fi and raw this tape is. The songwriting is rather primitive and maybe underdeveloped, but there is still something to appreciate about this chaotic, ugly recording. Definitely worth a listen for anyone into the Polish death/thrash scene of the late '80s.
(20 June 2025)
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