''Devilry'' is an EP by the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

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

Funeral Mist Funeral Mist is a Swedish black metal band formed in Stockholm in 1993. To date, the band have released four full-length albums, three EPs and a compilation boxset. Since 2003, the band's sole permanent member has been Arioch, also known for his ...

. It was released in 1998.

History

Arioch Arioch ( ''’Aryōḵ'') appears in the Book of Genesis as the name of the "King of Ellasar", who participated in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim. The battle is described in Genesis as consisting of four kings, led by Chedorlaomer of Elam (A ...

and Necromorbus recorded ''Devilry'' at Necromorbus Studio in late October 1997 and January 1998. The EP was released through Shadow Records in summer 1998 in CD format, followed by the vinyl version.Dr. Rape: ''Funeral Mist''. In:

Jon Kristiansen Head Not Found is a Norwegian record label, a sublabel of Voices Music & Entertainment, specializing in various heavy metal subgenres. They describe the genres as Black, Death, Doom, Thrash, Gothic, Viking Metal and Ambient. Their parent label is ...

: ''Metalion: The Slayer Mag Diaries''. Brooklyn, NY: Bazillion Points Books 2011, pp. 420f. In 2005 Norma Evangelium Diaboli reissued the EP and included the band's 1996 demo ''Havoc'' as bonus tracks.

Musical style and ideology

Dr. Rape, who contributed a Funeral Mist interview to the Norwegian ''

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

, described the musical style as "extremely fast and brutal Black Metal (like it should be!)", Arioch described it as " ry fast, intense and violent Black Metal with extremely sick and perverted elements. Very far from the regular Black Metal sound. An orgy in religious maliciousness in its most extreme form." The only released lyrics are those to "Bringer of Terror", that deal with the return of

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 ...

once " e chains that held him are smashed", and the failure of the "wretch you call god". According to Arioch, the idea "that it is the voice or the sound and style of the music that decides if it's Black Metal or not ��is ��WRONG!!! ��A band that claims to play Black Metal must always have

Satanism Satanism is a group of ideological and philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 1966, although a few hi ...

and nothing but Satanism as the highest priority in their music and concept as well as in their personal lives ��" The CD's tray card features a "very provocative line: 'BY SUPPORTING BLACK METAL YOU SUPPORT THE GLORIFICATION OF RAPE, INCEST, WAR, MURDER, DRUGS, OPPRESSION, FASCISM, CORRUPTION ETC. THINK TWICE BEFORE BUYING THIS DIVINE PIECE OF ART!!!!'" When asked whether he stands behind this statement, Arioch stated that he "would never had it included in the lay-out" if the band did not stand behind "these things that are mentioned in this statement," which he called "the true face of today's incarnation of Evil" and " nuine bringers of devastation and human suffering, which of course are an important part of the true Satanist way of life". This statement was also quoted by Niall Scott in his article on

confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...

and

absolution Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness imparted by ordained Christian priests and experienced by Christian penitents. It is a universal feature of the historic churches of Christendom, although the theology and the pra ...

in the black metal context, released in Nicola Masciandaro's ''Hideous Gnosis: Black Metal Theory Symposium I''.Niall Scott
''Black Confessions and Absu-lution''
In: Nicola Masciandaro: ''Hideous Gnosis: Black Metal Theory Symposium I'', p. 225.

Track listing

# "The Devil's Emissary" – 04:08 # "Bringer of Terror" – 03:50 # "Nightside Phantom" – 03:46 # "Funeral Mist" – 05:01 # "The God Supreme" – 04:03 The vinyl version includes the bonus track "Hellspell 2" (04:45).

Personnel

- electric guitar, bass guitar, vocals * Necromorbus - drums

References

{{Authority control 1998 EPs Funeral Mist albums Black metal EPs