Beherit is a
black metal
Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...
band from
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
. The band was formed in 1989 by Nuclear Holocausto Vengeance (Marko Laiho), Black Jesus (Arjo Wennström) and Sodomatic Slaughter (Jari Pirinen), with the purpose of performing "the most primitive, savage, hell-obsessed black metal imaginable".
"Beherit" is the
Syriac Syriac may refer to:
*Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic
*Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region
* Syriac alphabet
** Syriac (Unicode block)
** Syriac Supplement
* Neo-Aramaic languages a ...
word for
Satan
Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...
. Through the uncommercial nature of their music, visuals, and live performances, the band quickly attracted a
cult following
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
.
Besides the "raw" sound, the band's music is noted for its
avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
side and emphasis on atmosphere. Beherit are now regarded as a pioneer in their genre.
As a full band, Beherit released one full-length album and many demos and compilations of raw and minimalistic black metal. They disbanded soon after the release of the experimental 1993 album ''
Drawing Down the Moon'', which is now considered a classic of the genre. Laiho, the group's frontman, continued as a solo project and released two more albums under the band's name, ''
H418ov21.C'' in 1994 and ''
Electric Doom Synthesis
''Electric Doom Synthesis'' is Beherit's third studio album and second dark ambient album. It features ritualistic music, pitchshifted spoken word, and occasional guitars, all much in the spirit of black metal
Black metal is an extreme sub ...
'' in 1995. These albums are usually categorized as
dark ambient. Although they were completely electronic, the albums carried the atmosphere of the band's black metal recordings. Original members Nuclear Holocausto and Sodomatic Slaughter reformed the band in 2008, now a four-piece featuring new members Ancient Corpse Desekrator and Abyss.
History
Early days (1989–1990)
Beherit was formed in 1989 by three young musicians from
Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi ( , ; sme, Roavvenjárga ; smn, Ruávinjargâ; sms, Ruäʹvnjargg) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland, and its southern part Per ...
,
Lapland; vocalist and guitarist Nuclear Holocausto Vengeance (Marko Laiho), bassist Daemon Fornication and drummer Sodomatic Slaughter (Jari Pirinen).
The band released three demos the following year—''Seventh Blasphemy'', ''Morbid Rehearsals'', and ''Demonomancy''
—and also gathered reputation for their live shows, which included pig heads and goats on stage.
''The Oath of Black Blood'' (1991–1992)
Beherit's compilation album, ''
The Oath of Black Blood
''The Oath of Black Blood'' is a compilation album by the Finnish black metal band Beherit. The album is not a separate recording, but a compilation of the band's demo ''Demonomancy'' and EP ''Dawn of Satan's Millennium''. The material was record ...
'', includes material recorded from June to September 1990.
The album was released in 1991. The album is traditional, fast, and brutal old school black metal, heavily influenced by
death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...
,
thrash metal
Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
, and
grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. G ...
. However, it is not a separately recorded studio album. The band got some funding for recording an album from their record label at the time, Turbo Music, but supposedly spent the money on alcohol.
The label then released their demo ''Demonomancy'' and 7" EP ''Dawn of Satan's Millennium'' as a compilation, without the band's permission, and named it ''The Oath of Black Blood'', which was originally supposed to be the name of the new album. Laiho commented on the album in an early 1992 interview for ''
Metal Hammer
''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...
'' magazine:
"I hate the album! It's so bad, we never wanted to release it. The songs are from our 'Demonomancy' demo and our label Turbo Music just used a regular cassette for the album pressing. Honestly, I never sent them the master tape... We're planning to release a proper LP soon, this time on my own label. The result should be much better."
The album is now generally regarded as a full-length release.
Spinefarm Records
Spinefarm Records is a Finnish independent record label focusing mainly on heavy metal artists. It is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group.
History
Spinefarm Records was originally founded in 1990 by Riku Pääkkönen as a mail-order distrib ...
re-issued it in 2005, and
Season of Mist
Season of Mist is an independent record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pag ...
in 2006.
In 1991, the band members briefly performed under the name, The Lord Diabolus, from which a single demo tape was made and released independently before the band returned to working under the name Beherit. The songs "Intro (Tireheb)" and "Nocturnal Evil" were later re-released as Beherit songs.
''Drawing Down the Moon'' (1993)
Beherit's best-known and most influential album, ''
Drawing Down the Moon'', was recorded between April and August in 1992.
It was released in 1993 as the band's first official LP. The album was named after a Wiccan ritual, "
drawing down the Moon".
The album was highly experimental within the black metal scene, as the band used whispers and space-like electronic and synth sounds to strengthen its hypnotic atmosphere. ''Drawing Down the Moon'' was reissued by
Candlelight Records
Candlelight Records is a British record label based in England and founded by former Extreme Noise Terror bassist Lee Barrett, though it has had a division in the United States since January 2001. Candlelight Records specialises in black metal ...
in 2006.
Ambient era (1994–1996)
Despite the album's success, ''Drawing Down the Moon'' was to remain the band's last black metal release, as they split up the next year. Laiho still recorded two albums of
dark ambient music, ''
H418ov21.C'' and ''
Electric Doom Synthesis
''Electric Doom Synthesis'' is Beherit's third studio album and second dark ambient album. It features ritualistic music, pitchshifted spoken word, and occasional guitars, all much in the spirit of black metal
Black metal is an extreme sub ...
'', and released them under the band's name. As the band did not reform and Laiho had eventually lost interest in black metal, he went on to continue his musical career in dark ambient as Suuri Shamaani and in
hardcore techno
Hardcore (also known as hardcore techno or hardcore house) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany in the early 1990s. It is distinguished by faster tempos and a distorte ...
as DJ Gamma-G.
Return to black metal, ''Engram'' (2009)
Beherit was reformed in 2008, with original members Nuclear Holocausto (having returned to Finland from Thailand) and Sodomatic Slaughter, and newcomers Ancient Corpse Desekrator and Abyss. The new album is a return to the black metal genre, and also marks Beherit's return to a full band configuration after existing as a solo project from 1994 until its disbandment in 1996.
The album, entitled ''
Engram'', is the band's third black metal album (fifth overall) and first in 14 years.
A sixth album, Bardo Exist was released in 2020. This album marked a return to the black ambient style.
Conflicts
Beherit were one of the first second-wave black metal bands.
In the early 1990s, but due to Beherit and groups such as
Impaled Nazarene and
Barathrum
Barathrum is a Finnish black-doom metal band, formed in 1990. The band's name is Latin for ''pit'' or ''abyss''. The first letters of their eight full-length albums spell "HEIL SOVA" - referring to the band's frontman, Demonos Sova, who is the ...
, the Finnish scene was becoming more and more recognized. This eventually resulted in a Norwegian-Finnish conflict often named the "Dark War". According to ''Isten'' fanzine's obviously satirical article, the conflict originated from several misunderstandings and practical jokes, involving Laiho, but
Mika Luttinen
Mika Kristian Luttinen is a Finnish vocalist who formed the black metal band Impaled Nazarene in 1990. After numerous line-up changes, he remains the only original member. Besides his main project, Mika has been involved in various other bands ...
of Impaled Nazarene believed he received
death threats
A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a deat ...
in
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
. His band's first album had a statement saying "no orders from Norway accepted", which Luttinen later admitted to be stupid and childish.
Laiho commented on the conflict in an interview for January 1994 issue of ''Masters of Brutality'' magazine:
"When we started the band about 4 years ago we knew this and so that's okay. Now there are more people against us ‘cause of these new rules and all these stupid rumours spread by our Norwegian enemies... but I don’t care so much. But that’s a bit sad that the black metal underground scene is totally split."
Band members
Current members
* Nuclear Holocausto (Marko Laiho) (Black Crucifixion) –
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
,
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
s,
keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
s, programming (1989–1996, 2008–present)
* Sodomatic Slaughter (Jari Pirinen) (Black Crucifixion) –
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
(1989–1993, 2008–present)
* Ancient Corpse Desekrator (Sami Tenetz) (
Thy Serpent
Thy Serpent is a Finnish black metal band from Espoo. It started out as a solo project by Sami Tenetz in 1992. A full lineup was acquired in 1995.
History
After two demos, he signed a record deal with Spinefarm Records. Azhemin, Agathon and ...
) – guitars (2008–present)
* Abyss –
bass (2008–present)
Former members
* Daemon Fornication (Demon Fornication) – bass
* Black Jesus (Arjo Wennström) (
Painflow
Painflow is a Finnish industrial metal band from Kokkola, formed in 1997.
History
Painflow's first demo would secure a deal with Massacre Records. The band's debut album was recorded at Woodhouse Studios, Hagen, Germany with producer Siggi ...
) – bass
* Kimmo Luttinen (
Catamenia,
Impaled Nazarene,
The Black League
The Black League was a heavy metal band from Finland. They were formed in 1998 by Taneli Jarva, three years after his departure from Finnish metal band Sentenced. The Black League's first two full-lengths carry on the spirit from Taneli's work ...
) – drums
Discography
Albums
*''
Drawing Down the Moon'' (1993)
*''
H418ov21.C'' (1994)
*''
Electric Doom Synthesis
''Electric Doom Synthesis'' is Beherit's third studio album and second dark ambient album. It features ritualistic music, pitchshifted spoken word, and occasional guitars, all much in the spirit of black metal
Black metal is an extreme sub ...
'' (1995)
*''
Engram'' (2009)
*''
At the Devil's Studio 1990'' (2011)
*''
Bardo Exist'' (2020)
Compilations
*''
The Oath of Black Blood
''The Oath of Black Blood'' is a compilation album by the Finnish black metal band Beherit. The album is not a separate recording, but a compilation of the band's demo ''Demonomancy'' and EP ''Dawn of Satan's Millennium''. The material was record ...
'' (1991)
*''Beast of Beherit - Complete Worxxx'' (1999)
EPs and demos
*''Seventh Blasphemy'' (1990)
*''Morbid Rehearsals'' (1990)
*''Demonomancy'' (1990)
*''Dawn of Satan's Millennium'' (1990)
*''Diabolus Down There'' (alternately, ''
Down There...'', released under the band name The Lord Diabolus, 1991)
*''Unreleased Studio Tracks'' (1991)
*''Promo 1992'' (1992)
*''Messe des morts'' (1994)
*''
Celebrate the Dead'' (2012)
Splits
*''Beherit / Death Yell'' (1991)
*''Messe des morts / Angel Cunt'' (1999) (with
Archgoat
Archgoat is a Finnish black metal band formed in 1989 by twin brothers Ritual Butcherer on guitar and Lord Angelslayer on bass and vocals. It was one of Finland's first black metal bands along with Barathrum, Impaled Nazarene and Beherit. The me ...
)
References
External links
Beheritat
Spinefarm Records
Spinefarm Records is a Finnish independent record label focusing mainly on heavy metal artists. It is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group.
History
Spinefarm Records was originally founded in 1990 by Riku Pääkkönen as a mail-order distrib ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beherit
Dark ambient music groups
Finnish black metal musical groups
Musical groups established in 1989
Musical groups disestablished in 1996
Musical groups reestablished in 2008
Musical quartets