Alghazanth was a Melodic Black Metal band from Finland but, some albums would convey strong Symphonic Black Metal, dominating the music. The music is an artistic entity channeling the twin stream of all-devouring Darkness and the profound Enlightenment that lies hidden therein. The core of this beast is Black Metal, majestic atmosphere forms the flesh around its bones and Occult Satanism runs through its veins. Though its faces have been many and the shape has shifted often, its current manifestation harbours five damned souls in its flaming heart.
Alghazanth entered our planetary sphere in autumn 1995. The actual conjuration was performed by Veilroth and Gorath but it didn't take long before two more bastards, Thasmorg and Dreminoc, were lured into the trap. In late 1996, the quartet found a session keyboardist and recorded a 4-tracker demo. Shortly after this Dreminoc turned into a mere outside witness to the sins of the horde whereas A. Simonen joined in as a full-time accomplice. Inhabiting a reformed body, Alghazanth made its studio debut in May 1997 in order to materialize a new demo. The outcome, however, was far from pleasing and so the following summer was full of composing and preparing for a new studio visit. In November a promotape was born and a couple of labels were bombarded with it. This attack resulted in a deal with finnish Woodcut Records.
The first full-size statue of worship, "Thy aeons envenomed sanity", was sculpted in June 1998 using the tools of the more or less legendary Tico Tico -studio. This creation continued along with the lines of the promo but in a much more refined and detailed way. Several unfortunate delays fell on the path and because of them this piece of work wasn't revealed to the outside world before the end of 1999.
The band grew into a quintet as a new mouth for war, Nebiros, entered the picture. Also, both the music and the lyrics took a step towards a bit more aggressive approach. The sum of these factors can be heard on Alghazanth's second offering, "Subliminal Antenora", which came into existence in May 2000 with the assistance of Watercastle Studio.
In July 2001, the third atrocity was forged into form behind the same walls as its predecessor. This time Alghazanth had even more strength in its ranks as Grimort had joined the battle by taking over the bass duties. "Osiris-Typhon unmasked" received higly positive - even praising - reviews and it seemed that finally the group had proven to be worth noticing. A while after the actual recording sessions, time came for Veilroth to exit and for Infection to enter.
With Nebiros on vocals, Thasmorg and Infection on guitars, Grimort on bass, A. Simonen handling the synths and Gorath behind the drums, Alghazanth was ready to conceive the fourth audial offspring, "The Polarity axiom". Though the actual birthcry echoed in November 2003, this creation wasn't introduced to the public until mid-August 2004.
During the following 18 months the corporeal manifestation of Alghazanth underwent the biggest metamorphosis yet as half of its soldiers parted ways with it. But a beast as potent as this one will not perish of such but grows new limbs to replace the ones that have been severed. And that is exactly what happened. The previous double triangle morphed into the pentagram of Goat Tormentor, Thasmorg, Grimort, Ekholm and Gorath. In this renewed carnal form the Black Flame reached a higher level of intensity and the effects were evident indeed.
The new material demanded a new approach to the entire recording process. As a result of this realization the drums were recorded in Kemi at Tico Tico -studio, the synths in Helsinki at Tupi's Tavern and all the rest inside Alghazanth's bleak lair in Jyväskylä. With Risto Pohjonen engineering the homefront recordings as well as mixing the whole album and Sami "Hansu" Koivisto giving the final touch by mastering it, "Wreath of Thevetat" was at last hammered into its final form. Starting with the first click of the drumsticks on June 14th 2007 and ending with the very last adjustment made on December 8th the same year, the labour was lengthy indeed but nonetheless well worth the pain and the effort." - http://www.alghazanth.com
Gorath Moonthorn, the mainman of the project since its development, says that the band name came to him in a dream. His drumming style is not only reminisce of primitive Black Metal, but infuses many very interesting and complicated rhythms that certainly make for a fun listen.
The band played their final show in Jyväskylä on June 9, 2018.
Line-up:
Goat Tormentor - Vocals
Thasmorg - Guitar
Grimort - Guitar
Gorath Moonthorn - Drums
Ekholm - Synths
Website: http://www.alghazanth.com
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