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Circle of the Seven Infernal Pacts (1993)
For one reason or another, the black metal scene in Germany never offered much that was worthwhile. Outside of Moonblood and the first Katharsis record, and I suppose early Bethlehem and even Paragon Belial, there was hardly anything worth mentioning. One exception to that is Ungod, whose 1993 L.P. Circle of the Seven Infernal Pacts is one of the strongest black metal albums to ever come out of Germany.
This is primitive lo-fi black metal that is atmospheric and very dreary. The production is kind of flat, reminiscent of the Paragon Belial debut. It almost sounds as if this is a third-generation cassette dub, but this works for the material. The guitars don't have much of a metallic sharpness but rather more of a dull, fuzzy sound. While the material features a lot of faster picked parts, there are slower sections that add a bit of weight, accentuating the soul-crushing, nightmarish feeling here. The drums are so buried in the mix that they hardly exist, which allows for the guitars to be the central focus, allowing the riffs to create a bleak and dismal atmosphere. The vocals have a lot of reverb and sound like demonic voices echoing off the walls of a forgotten crypt. His voice has a primal, raw feeling that perfectly suits the music. One can hear traces of Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, Bathory and Samael.
This rather minimalist northern style of black metal should certainly appeal to fans of early Darkthrone. Standout tracks include “Magicus Tulis Damnatio”, “Dark Winds Around the Throne of Blood”, and “A Journey Through Forgotten Myth”.
This is primitive lo-fi black metal that is atmospheric and very dreary. The production is kind of flat, reminiscent of the Paragon Belial debut. It almost sounds as if this is a third-generation cassette dub, but this works for the material. The guitars don't have much of a metallic sharpness but rather more of a dull, fuzzy sound. While the material features a lot of faster picked parts, there are slower sections that add a bit of weight, accentuating the soul-crushing, nightmarish feeling here. The drums are so buried in the mix that they hardly exist, which allows for the guitars to be the central focus, allowing the riffs to create a bleak and dismal atmosphere. The vocals have a lot of reverb and sound like demonic voices echoing off the walls of a forgotten crypt. His voice has a primal, raw feeling that perfectly suits the music. One can hear traces of Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, Bathory and Samael.
This rather minimalist northern style of black metal should certainly appeal to fans of early Darkthrone. Standout tracks include “Magicus Tulis Damnatio”, “Dark Winds Around the Throne of Blood”, and “A Journey Through Forgotten Myth”.
(29 May 2025)
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