A split vinyl of two underground German black metal acts, one of whom, sadly, did not survive the passage of time, while another was nowadays elevated to almost saintly status. On this slab, both bands present a similar style of raw and uncompromising, yet hauntingly melodic and even "beautiful" black metal music the fans of MOONBLOOD are familiar with.

MOONBLOOD has a long history of sweeping off a split every band they had a joint release with, and ASAKKU might be the only exception to this trend (until the recent MOONBLOOD / KATHARSIS split 7", anyway), as their track is easily on par with "Hordes of Hate". Opening with melancholic acoustic passages, "Endless Woods" creeps into cold, distinctly "norwegian"-sounding mid-tempo black metal comparable to TRELLDOM, with excellent melodies, a strong rhythmic variety, and fitting, even if relatively weak, vocals. If they have any other releases (of which I've never heard) and you would like to trade/dub them, contact me please!

"Hordes of Hate" is traditionally considered one of the best MOONBLOOD tracks together with "Moonstruck" of the 7" split with NEMA. Never one to interfere with traditions, I can only agree. It never ceased to amaze me how Occulta Mors and Gaamalzagoth managed to crank masterpiece after masterpiece using just one tempo and 2 riffs for each. Simplistic, monotonous, fast, painfully melodic, with more hysterical vocals than MOONBLOOD usually employed -- this stuff is genious, as is every MOONBLOOD song as far as I am concerned.

One of the best black metal vinyls of all times. If you can get a dub of it (boycott jew-bay!), do it.

© 2002 ghaaroth