Varathron - - CD reissues of Greek black metal cult recordings Walpurgisnacht (1995) and The Lament of Gods (1999)

VARATHRON

Walpurgisnacht

vicrecords

1 April 2022

VARATHRON

The Lament of Gods

vicrecords

25 March 2022

These are reissues of the long-running Greek cult black metal band Varathron (1988-present). Walpurgisnacht (1995) was the second album following the 1993 debut full-length that came after a few demos/singles going back to 1989. The Lament of Gods is a 1999 EP, and in this reissue it includes the 1997 demo “Sarmutius Pegorus.” The music at times launches into full-on headbanging speed, but more so on the 1995 album than the 1999 recording, for instance. By 1997 the band has developed the horror-gothic keyboards further and reached a good balance between extreme metal and somber/horror moods. I sometimes get the feeling that these Varathron recordings are, if you are able to imagine it, something like 1984-1986 Celtic Frost covering Mercyful Fate songs with the added element of more prominent keyboards. Does it sound like any of those bands? No, it does not, but repeated listens reveal spots in which you hear the music that influenced them. There are some brief moments in which I feel like, “That could only have from Celtic Frost and nowhere else!”, if you know the context of the time and of Varathron.

Let’s unpack this matter with an example. The Lament of Gods EP has a cover of Mercyful Fate’s 1982 song “Nuns Have No Fun” (which itself sounds like a Judas Priest/Scorpions-based song, with explicit lyrics [and Judas Priest and Scorpions themselves took a lot from Led Zeppelin]). Varathron takes this standard-style heavy rock song, and then adds Greek Orthodox Church choir chanting at the beginning, brings in the heavier tuning and pushes up the keyboards, and then the low-growl scowl extreme vocals. Really, they could have changed the lyrics and called it their own original song, and not many people would have noticed. At the very worst, they, like Metallica, just could have said that they love the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (of which Mercyful Fate was basically part) and that some of their ideas are inspired by those bands. Varathron could have left it at that and said no more about it. Anyway, so it does kind of sound like classic Celtic Frost covering Mercyful Fate. Wait. There’s more because the song is wrapped in that horror movie soundtrack, dark classical music and gothic rock vibe. For instance, somewhere in there in the song, there is a trace of bands like Joy Division, like “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and those keyboards. Those types of keyboards do not come from Judas Priest nor Mercyful Fate. Varathron was getting ideas from other places.

However, then listen to the next song on this Vic Records reissue, namely, “The Grim Palace” (from the 1997 EP), and this is closer to headbanging black metal, a bit like neosymphonic black metal, with a mellow middle segment, and with some blasting, but in the Varathron way. Anyway, so that’s how this band rolls, kind of doing various things at once and turning it into what people call the old-school Greek black metal sound. The recording sound quality is ok, it’s not bad at all, considering the level of technology and resources available to an underground Greek band at that time. In some spots, the drumming sounds fast but stiff, like drum programming. It's also possible that all these recordings have drum programming. It’s not clear from the information available and it’s not like the band wanted to brag about their use of drum machines.

To get the fancy reissues see what Vic Records is doing. The YouTube videos below are here for your information only. The videos do not come from Vic Records.

https://www.vicrecords.com/product/6398204/varathron-walpurgisnacht-jewel-case-re-issue

https://www.vicrecords.com/product/6618684/varathron-the-lament-of-gods

Nuns Have No Fun

Varathron - Walpurgisnacht [ Full-length 1995]

VARATHRON The Lament of Gods - 1999 [FULL ALBUM]