Last year, I asked my buddy Jan—vocalist of the German black metal band Occvlta—to pick me up a yellow Antichrist shirt as he was seeing them at Raging Death Date. He obliged, being the good friend he is, and when the shirt came I opened it to find a piece of paper wrapped around an old cassette tape. This was one of those black-bodied ones, so it musta been O L D, as I swear they changed to clear casings about 20 years ago, but whatever, it has scrawled on it in blue biro: VENENUM DEMO (three invited crosses). The tape, I am not joking, looked like it had seen MANY previous recordings to its brown reel and the note explained, “TAPE IS DEMO I OVERDUBBED AN OLD CASSETTE OF MY PA, HEHE”. I had never heard of them and almost thought it odd to include a tape of a random death metal band, but whatever, I always want to hear good new music and he must’ve taken note of that. I put the BASF CR-E II 90 IEC II 
into my tape deck and at first it was a thick silence, if you follow. Like a heavy, deep sound, akin to a storm brewing in the distance. Then a few notes, but the tape, I could tell from using tapes for the last 25 years, was on its way out and sounded patchier than a thrasher’s vest. It did kind of clear, but the sound of an old worn-out cassette added somehow more atmosphere to the abyssic hell that was to engulf me. The mysterious zither passages between each track had me bracing for comfort between the rasping riffs and thunderous bass drums after a few tracks, and by the album’s last track I knew the next listen was going to be another trip into death metal darkness.
I ripped it to MP3 and sent Fenriz a copy after deeming it more than worthy (I didn’t want to share this with ANYONE for a minute, haha) and when he got it he texted me saying, “THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU this special tape rip of Venenum made my YEAR!”, followed by, “Sounded like my bus trip to school in 87/early 88. TOTAL time machine” And right he was. Sure, I had discovered guitarist P.T.’s ex-band Excoriate a year or so before and was blown away by their sheer force alone, and this was similar, but more considered, taking on a blacker, deeper, more sadistic style, with a strange, almost art deco logo and graphics.
[audio:http://staging.cvltnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/03-Crown-Of-Reversion.mp3|titles=VENENUM Crown Of Reversion]
[audio:http://staging.cvltnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/05-Sacrosanct-Transcendence.mp3|titles=VENENUM Sacrosanct Transcendence]
Even though I got the tape, like, a week after the tape was released , Sepuchral Voice had totally sold out. Then murmuring of this obscure gem being issued on CD arose, followed by the same talk about a vinyl pressing. Having just finished my first listen of the vinyl edition, I can assure you that this sounds as majestic—if perhaps ever-so slightly slower—than Jan’s pops’ tape. The riff on “Lunar Tombfields” still gives me goosebumps every time, but there is not a weak moment, never mind track, on the entire MLP. Make sure you snap this one up as it will be one you will be glad you did in years to come, and if they play a venue near you any time soon, make sure to check them out, apparently it is a seance not to be missed.
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