Countess (band)

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Countess
Countess logo.jpg
General information
Genre (s) Black metal
founding 1992, 1998
resolution 1997
Website www.countessmetal.com
Founding members
Zénon (probably until 1993)
Vercingetorix (probably until 1993)
Current occupation
Orlok (1992–1997, since 1998)
guitar
 Zagan (1995–1997, 1998–2002, 2002–2003, since 2013)
Drums
 Mortüüm (since 2015)
Keyboard
 Häxa (since 2016)
former members
Guitar (1993–1994, 1996–1997) , keyboard (2002)
Othalaz (1993-1994, 1996-1997, 2002)
guitar
 Imogem (1993-1994)
Drums
 Sablast (1993-1994)
Drums
 Warhead (1995-1997, 1999-2002, 2002-2003)
Drums
 Wolfram (2014-2015)
Keyboard
 Herjann (2014-2016)

Countess ( English ' Komtess ') is a black metal band founded in 1992 in the Netherlands .

history

Countess was founded in 1992 by Bathory fans Vercingetorix and Zénon. In the same year, the first demo recording of permafrost was published. Orlok came across this recording which captured the atmosphere he had been trying to achieve in previous bands . He contacted Countess and started playing bass. Later he also took over the vocals so that Zénon could concentrate on the guitar; the drums were transferred to Vercingetorix. At the winter solstice of 1992 they recorded the debut album The Gospel of the Horned One together . The band hadn't rehearsed any of these songs before and never played together. Accordingly, the record companies were not interested in releasing the album. The members stopped work on Countess.

After Orlok had no more bands in the summer of 1993, he founded the record company Thurisaz Productions for the release of the Countess album and released it in August 1993 in an edition of 1109 hand-numbered copies after being mixed by Zénon. In the eleventh issue of Terrorizer magazine, there was an article about the album, where the primitive sound of the CD was commented on: "This sounds like it could have been recorded back in the mists of 1983, so primitive and primal is its feel" .

In September there was a third line-up with Othalaz and Imogem on guitars and Sablast on drums. Othalaz had already played with Orlok in the band Hordes, Imogem and Sablast together in Abstrusus. After extensive rehearsals, the band performed for the first time in December 1993 at the Black Christmas Festival in Volkel. In January 1994 the demo recording The Wolves Awake was recorded. Despite the better production and musical advances, Orlok was dissatisfied with it, as in his opinion the recordings lacked the right feeling, which could have been due to the lack of roots of the new members in the black metal tradition. In March 1994 the Fallen Temple cover Deisidaimonia was recorded for the compilation Hymns of Winter . Opyros, the operator of German record company Nazgul's Eyrie Productions, which Countess has followed with interest since The Gospel of the Horned One was released , traveled to the Netherlands in May 1994 to meet Orlok. The band gave two more concerts, the last one being videotaped by Opyros and a selection of the songs released on the live tape Doomed to Live . After that, the line-up was disbanded in the summer of 1994 due to musical differences.

Since Orlok Thurisaz Productions no longer wanted to direct and was looking for a new record company for Countess, Opyros offered him a record deal. Orlok recorded new versions of some songs by The Wolves Awake and Deisidaimonia, as well as new pieces. Othalaz, who was involved in the composition of three songs, played a few guitar runs with Imogem. After the album was recorded and Orlok had finished his history studies, he didn't want to put together a new line-up and instead wrote new songs. The album was released on NEP in December 1994 under the title The Return of the Horned One . At that time Orlok had enough material for a new album and therefore recorded the third album Ad Maiorem Sathanae Gloriam in January 1995 in the presence of Demonos Sova ( Barathrum ) and Opyros, who recorded some screams for the intro. Ad Maiorem Sathanae Gloriam was the first Countess album to be recorded in a professional 16-track digital studio. Since The Return of the Horned One was first published, Ad Maiorem Sathanae Gloriam was not published immediately; the song The Wrath of Satan's Whore but appeared in March 1995 together with four tracks not included on the album on a cassette EP of the same name.

At the time of their publication, Orlok was again looking for new members. He placed an advertisement in the Aardschok , which received many interested addresses. He decided on a line-up with Zagan on guitar and Warhead on drums; both had previously played in the band Astaroth. After two months the band went on a short tour of Germany, for which exclusive t-shirts were printed. Countess and Mortuary Drape were headliners and were supported by the German bands Mayhemic Truth and Drowned . After the tour, Countess recorded a cassette with a new version of The Priest Must Die , the new song De Gift Der Goden and additional live material from Opyros' video recordings of the tour, which was only used for promotion and was not officially released.

Due to musical differences, Zagan and Warhead dropped out in the summer of 1995 and formed the band Manitou. In October 1995, Ad Maiorem Sathanae Gloriam was released on CD . At the time Orlok was working alone on new material for the next Countess album The Book of the Heretic ; to be present at the recordings, Opyros came back to the Netherlands in December 1995. This is a concept album based on a dark fantasy story written by Orlok and included in the booklet.

In February 1996, Zagan and Warhead returned; in the meantime they had left Manitou and gave up their new project Elohim for Countess. Othalaz, who had not been musically active in the meantime, also returned to the band. After a few rehearsals Countess had two concerts in Germany in April 1996. The TV interview given in Berlin was never published. In June 1996, where The Book of the Heretic was also published, Countess performed at the Black Metal Inferno in Rotterdam, headlined by Ancient Rites .

In the same year the idea of ​​recording a live album came up, as Countess was stronger live than in studio recordings. Fans also asked for new versions of old songs that suffered from production in the studio versions, but which Countess did not want to re-record for new albums. A live album was seen as the solution to the situation. Opyros liked the idea, a performance in Schiedam in November 1996 was digitally recorded with 16 tracks and mixed a few days after the performance. The recordings included the best songs from the four albums, according to the band, and some new pieces. Shortly after the recordings, the cast suffered again, which led to rumors in the international underground that Countess had broken up. However, Othalaz left the band in 1997 because he couldn't find the time for it. The remaining members formed Prowler Productions to have more control over future Countess releases. The live album, which was to be called Into Battle , was recorded for NEP, but Prowler Productions received the license. The planned release in September 1997 was canceled because the members were dissatisfied with the mix and, in their opinion, the recordings were no longer representative of Countess performances. One of the songs appeared alongside three new songs on the only CD Hell's Rock & Roll released through Prowler Productions . In late April and early May 1997 Countess went on a short tour of the Netherlands and Germany with Barathrum and Sabbat , which was to coincide with the release of Hell's Rock & Roll ; this was delayed until June 1997, however. The performances, however, were their best from the point of view of the band.

The CD caused negative reactions from the press and distributors, which the band found incomprehensible. This caused tension between the members and ultimately the dissolution of Countess and Prowler Productions in November 1997 and thus the cancellation of a tour in Finland with Barathrum, Wizzard and Babylon Whores .

In late 1998, after about a year of inactivity, Orlok felt the urge to write and record new music. When he told Opyros about it, Opyros offered him a contract with his new record company, Barbarian Wrath. Orlok then began recording the new material with a 4-track device, as with earlier recordings. He offered to Zagan to participate, to which the latter reacted positively. The recordings of the two albums The Revenge of the Horned One - Part I and The Revenge of the Horned One - Part II they finished in the same year. The artwork for it came from Demonos Sova.

In January 1999, Warhead rejoined Orlok and Zagan. Since the members had other activities besides Countess, they could rarely rehearse and write little new material. After the summer of 1999 Orlok decided to record a new album on his own. The resulting album From the Wells of Chaos , however, was basically a third part of The Revenge of the Horned One and did not meet Orlok's expectations, which is why it remained unreleased.

At the end of 1999 Orlok recorded The Shining Swords of Hate , which, in contrast to the as yet unreleased The Revenge of the Horned One albums, was more based on the roots of Countess. It was published in 2000 as the first publication by Barbarian Wrath. The album, according to Orlok, was both an experiment and an explanation; he will probably not record a similar album again, but announced in 2006 that he would be working on an album that would go in a similar direction. The Revenge of the Horned One - Part I was released in 2001. Originally both parts were supposed to appear together, but Barbarian Wrath ultimately decided to publish them separately. The intro to Triumph of Metal is intended as a humorous tribute to The Warrior's Prayer from Manowars Kings of Metal and is dedicated to Manowar.

From January 2002 Countess was able to rehearse regularly again; Othalaz rejoined the band, this time as a keyboardist; the band wanted to see how they would work with live keyboards. After a while personal and musical differences arose, which is why the band split up again in late April 2002, shortly after the release of The Revenge of the Horned One - Part II .

Shortly thereafter, Orlok completed a new album, Tales of Blasphemy and Desecration , consisting of material written and recorded between 1999 and 2002. However, due to its "fragmented" origins, the album is viewed as incoherent and has remained unreleased.

In October 2002 Orlok started work on a new album. He was again supported by Zagan and finished with him the album Black Forever in November 2002. Inspired by the recordings, the line-up with Warhead resumed and began rehearsing. In February 2003, however, they saw no more future in this line-up, as their ideas about the musical direction of Countess were incompatible.

After the renewed separation, Orlok Heilig Vuur recorded , which was the first Countess album to be completely in Dutch and was based on the roots of the band. It contained nine new songs and the three Dutch songs from the unreleased live album. It was released in April 2004 by Barbarian Wrath and was positively received by many fans who were disappointed with the previous albums on Barbarian Wrath and saw the album as a return to the "NEP era".

At the time of release, Orlok recorded the next album, Spawn of Steel , which was released in March 2005. In addition, he recorded material for at least four other albums between 2003 and 2005. A selection was mixed in July 2005 for the next album Ancient Lies and Battle Cries , which should be released in December 2005; Orlok, however, was dissatisfied with the sound and stopped the release until a new recording was possible. In the period from October to December 2005, the album Holocaust of the God Believers was recorded, which was released on June 6, 2006 (an allusion to the number 666 ) by Barbarian Wrath.

In early 2006 Orlok worked simultaneously on a traditional, heavy metal-heavy concept album based on Homer's Odyssey and an album inspired by Bathory's middle, doom- heavy phase. Both albums were not completed. In May and June 2006 Orlok recorded Ancient Lies and Battle Cries again, but with a different track list than the previous recording. The album was mixed in July 2006, but also remained unreleased.

In September 2006 Orlok began work on a new album, which was completed in January 2007. Blazing Flames of War contains all new material and was released in November 2007.

style

music

According to the founders Vercingetorix and Zénon's preference for Bathory , releases such as The Return of the Horned One recorded without them are influenced by this band; According to Nazgul's Eyrie Productions, songs like Fire and Blood and Ritual of the 7 Priests with Venom and Bathory appear "like a forgotten relic of the 1980s". Nin Chan from the Diabolical Conquest Webzine sees a synthesis of The Return ...... era of Bathory and Hellhammer with their simple, repetitive and sometimes Doom-heavy riffs and unclean guitar sounds, the epic atmosphere of Manowar and the folk- influenced Melodies from Bathory's Blood Fire Death era as Countess' foundations, which Orlok has continuously refined and the result of which is more than the sum of its influences. Orlok tried to keep the Bathory orientation of the founders in the band's profile, but expanded the musical framework over the years. The basis of the album Ad Maiorem Sathanae Gloriam lies in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and the black metal pioneers of the 1980s, to which the riffing corresponds. The record cover of The Book of the Heretic , which is based on that of At War with Satan , is also reminiscent of Venom . Although this is more varied than the previous albums and even contains slightly symphonic borrowings, it retains the raw, primitive and basic style of Countess. In Orlok's opinion, however, it is badly mixed. The title song of the MCD Hell's Rock & Roll has been compared to music of the 1970s and Venom, while the Son of a Dragon also included there sounds almost like an Eastern European song; the band has changed its style, but is still recognizable as a Countess. On the albums The Revenge of the Horned One - Part I and The Revenge of the Horned One - Part II , the band mixed elements from all previous Countess releases.

When the album The Shining Swords of Hate was released on Nazgul's Eyrie Productions' successor Barbarian Wrath, the band had changed a lot, their new sound was described by the label as "much colder and sinister". The album is based on Countess' roots with long, repetitive pieces, unclean playing and an extreme, raw sound.

Texts

In the early 1990s, numerous black metal bands were founded, which described their music with sometimes very abstract formulations, for which Orlok cites "true Aryan evil unholy BM" as a hypothetical example . In order to differentiate themselves from such “wannabe black metal bands” , the band initially described their music as “cold, dark BM in the archaic tradition” . For the first demo and the first album, Orlok looked for a shorter, more direct and more concise name for Countess' music and decided on the name "Orthodox Black Metal" .

Generally speaking, the lyrics deal with satanic and anti-Christian themes of typical black metal themes. However, many of the band's lyrics also tell stories, partly based on historical events, partly purely fictional. So is The Book of the Heretic a concept album, the dark on a written by Orlok and annexed to the booklet fantasy story based. On Spawn of Steel , Countess dealt with, among other things, Assyrian wars and the rise of ancient Greece.

Discography

  • 1992: Permafrost (demo)
  • 1993: The Gospel of the Horned One
  • 1994: The Wolves Awake (demo)
  • 1994: Deisidaimonia on Hymns of Winter
  • 1994: Doomed to Live (Live MC)
  • 1994: The Return of the Horned One
  • 1995: The Wrath of Satan's Whore (MC-EP)
  • 1995: Ad Maiorem Sathanae Gloriam
  • 1996: Live in Berlin (Live-MC)
  • 1996: The Book of the Heretic
  • 1997: Hell's Rock & Roll (MCD)
  • 2000: The Shining Swords of Hate
  • 2001: The Revenge of the Horned One - Part I
  • 2002: The Revenge of the Horned One - Part II
  • 2003: Countess / Megiddo (Split-7 "with Megiddo)
  • 2004: Holy Vuur
  • 2005: Spawn of Steel
  • 2006: Holocaust of the God Believers
  • 2007: Blazing Flames of War
  • 2010: Burning Scripture
  • 2011: On Wings of Defiance
  • 2013: Sermons of the Infidel (digital)
  • 2014: Ancient Lies and Battle Cries
  • 2014: Sermons of the Infidel (full CD)
  • 2016: Fires of Destiny

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac COUNTESS: BIOGRAPHY. Retrieved October 20, 2010 .
  2. ↑ Meelhuysen 23.
  3. ↑ a b c d e Cluedo: Interview with Orlok. The Metal Crypt, April 26, 2006, accessed October 20, 2010 .
  4. ↑ a b c Nin Chan: Countess - Spawn of Steel. Diabolical Conquest Webzine, August 29, 2005, archived from the original on July 10, 2011 ; accessed on October 20, 2010 (English).
  5. ↑ a b c d BARBARIAN WRATH: RELEASES. Archived from the original on November 14, 2007 ; accessed on October 20, 2010 (English).
  6. ↑ Chaossphere: Review: Countess - Holy Vuur. The Metal Crypt, April 29, 2004, accessed on October 20, 2010 (English): “All the elements you'd expect are present and accounted for - the old-school 80's black metal riffing, overdriven atmospheric lead guitar, simplistic-yet -effective drum machine, and of course the brilliantly cheesy schlock-horror keyboards which permeate the music. "
  7. ↑ Countess "Hell's Rock'n'Roll" . In: Tales of the Macabre , No. 5.
  8. ↑ a b c d Countess interview with Orlok in April 2006 , metalcrypt.com, accessed February 14, 2011