Horde (band)
| horde | |
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| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Unblack metal |
| founding | 1994 |
| Current occupation | |
| Anonymous (Jayson Sherlock) | |
Horde is a metal project founded in 1994 by Australian Jayson Sherlock, who is also known as the former drummer of the bands Mortification and Paramæcium .
Style and motivation
The original intention behind Horde was to create a Christian alternative to the genuinely anti-Christian or satanist black metal scene in the early 1990s and not the often wrongly assumed parody of the same.
Musically, Horde is comparable to the Norwegian Black Metal of the 1990s, but the album title, the Christian lyrics , and the swipes against the first and second waves of Black Metal that were unintentional by Sherlock, set the Norwegian scene in an uproar. So Sherlock used the pseudonym "Anonymous", to keep originally the reason his identity secret as long as possible, which, however, a similarity with the pseudonym of the 1,993 murdered Mayhem - guitarist Euronymous found. The title of the album, Hellig usvart (Norwegian 'holy unschwarz'), was an allusion to the name Unholy Black Metal of the Norwegian band Darkthrone , since Horde was supposed to embody the opposite of Darkthrone lyrically. The pseudonym "Unblack Mark" is mentioned as producer in the booklet of the album, an allusion to Black Mark Production , where, among other things, the Bathory albums were released. This, together with the Christian or explicitly anti-satanist texts, sparked an immense hatred of the black metal scene for Horde.
Sherlock chose anonymity in order to focus on the "author and finisher of our faith". He also wanted to counter the egocentricity of Black Metal.
The album Hellig usvart was published in 1994 by the German music label Nuclear Blast in an edition of 5000 copies. A new edition with the same make-up took place in 1999 by Rowe Productions. In 2004 Soundmass released the CD again in a special edition for the 10th anniversary.
In May 2008, the old studio recording was remastered and launched as a "Gold Edition" limited to 2000 copies by Metal Mind Productions from Poland.
Aftermath and significance
Sherlock was initially long thought to be a Norwegian or a horde for a Norwegian band, mainly because of the CD's numerous “Norwegian” characteristics, such as title or musical style. Furthermore, rumors are circulating that Markus Staiger (head of the record company Nuclear Blast , which released Hellig usvart in 1994) and Jayson Sherlock are said to have received death threats, the latter denying this in an interview.
When Steve Rowe, singer and bassist of the Australian Christian death metal band Mortification , founded his label Rowe Productions in 1995, he decided to buy the remaining copies of Hellig usvart and sell them worldwide. The term " Unblack Metal " was then coined, especially in circles of the Christian press , which from then on was and is primarily associated with bands that are musically oriented towards Death and Black Metal, but whose members confess or profess the Christian faith.
Live performances
On November 4, 2006, Horde performed for the first time as part of the Nordic Fest in Oslo ( Norway ). In order to maintain the mystery of the Horde despite the now known identity of Anonymous, he entered the stage in a black habit , the hood of which hid his face in shadow. He played the drums and did the vocals. The other session musicians (members of the Norwegian band Drottnar ) wore a balaclava to remain unrecognizable. The piece Invert the Inverted Cross was sung by Simon "Pilgrim" Rosén, singer of Crimson Moonlight . The entire concert was recorded in film and sound and released in May 2007 on the live CD The Day of Total Armageddon Holocaust - Alive in Oslo on the Australian label SoundMass. A live DVD followed in autumn 07.
Based on the success of the live activity, further songs were written in the following years. In the spring of 2010, Horde performed at the Immortal Metal Fest in Nokia , Finland . Musicians from Drottnar and Simon “Pilgrim” Rosen were also involved there. In November 2010 the first appearance in Central Europe took place at the Blast of Eternity in Heilbronn , and in 2013 another at the Elements of Rock Festival in Uster .
Discography
CD
- Hellig usvart (1994 - original version, Nuclear Blast )
- Hellig usvart (1999 - Rowe-Productions)
- Hellig usvart (2004 - re-release as "10th Anniversary Edition", Soundmass)
- The Day of Total Armageddon Holocaust - Alive in Oslo (2007 - Live album of the concert at Nordic Fest 2006, Soundmass)
- Hellig usvart (2008 - Gold Edition, remastered, Metal Mind Productions )
DVD
- The Day of Total Armageddon Holocaust - Alive in Oslo (2007 - live recording of the concert at Nordic Fest 2006, Soundmass)
Web links
- Rowe Productions - label of the band
- Criticism to Hellig usvart . In: Rock Hard
- Legacy of Horde ( Memento from March 7, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) - fansite