Tsjuder: Desert Northern Hell – reissue

And now, ladies and gentlemen, let me wish you a happy whatever you are celebrating today, if at all, in a true Noise & Stuff fashion; Season Of Mist is about to remind us of TSJUDER's horned weapons and razor sharp riffs with the reissue of their 2004's LP ‘Desert Northern Hell’. Fortifying that which is evil with four previously unreleased live tracks and the complete ‘Norwegian Apocalypse’ DVD, bow to the malevolent and buy ‘Desert Northern Hell’, officially spat out in its black metal purity on February 15th, 2013, here (Season Of Mist e-shop).

Bassist and vocalist Nag and guitarist Berserk crawled up from beneath Oslo, Norway in anno 1993. With second guitarist Drauglin joining in a year latter, TSJUDER (named so after a mythical Russian barbarian tribe) released their first demo, ‘Ved Ferdens Ende’, in 1995. With Berserk departing, the line-up was solidified by drummer Torvus on their next demo, 1996's ‘Possessed’. The Norwegian act established quite a reputation within the underground scene with their spiritedly titled first EP ‘Throne Of The Goat’, issued in 1997. TSJUDER's debut album, 2000's ‘Kill For Satan’, recorded with GEHENNA drummer Blod and  guitarist Arak Draconiiz (ISVIND), was released on Drakkar Productions to much critical acclaim. Their next  offering of brutal, speed-addicted black metal came in form of a second full-length, 2002's ‘Demonic Possession’, recorded with RAGNAROK's drummer Jontho. Striking a new deal with Season Of Mist Records and with (recovered) Anti-Christian back behind the drum kit, 2004's ‘Desert Northern Hell’ was unveiled:

“There’s none of that new age, high-falutin, symphonic s**t cluttering the work of these Norwegian noise terrorists. No sir, just brutalizing sonic hatred reaching way back to legendary compatriots DARKTHRONE and MAYHEM, and beyond to primordial giants like BATHORY, HELLHAMMER and, of course, the big twisted daddies of them all: VENOM. As such, ‘Desert Northern Hell’ is a mixed blessing (or curse, as it were) for extreme metal fans and the members of TSJUDER, as well, since it’s quite evident they are consciously forcing themselves to work within their chosen genre's time-proven, but very limited stylistic boundaries,” [was excited Eduardo Rivadavia, AllMusic – more here:]

TSJUDER split up in 2006, but nothing can keep true Norwegian black metallers sitting by their fireplaces for long (as we all know but only a handful were let in on a secret); founder, bassist and vocalist Nag (Jan-Erik Romøren) had stared writing new material with guitarist and vocalist Draugluin (Halvor Storrøsten) already back in 2009. With Anti-Christian (Christian Svendsen) behind the drum kit, TSJUDER officially reformed in 2010. ‘Legion Helvete’ followed in October 2011:

“ ‘Legion Helvete’ does not dwell in the past,” [claimed the press release back then] Songwriting reveals the virtues of maturity and skill which leads to an uncanny catchiness that never succumbs to the simplicity of added rock or even pop structures. ‘Legion Helvete’ remains firmly within the framework of the black metal genre, true to its roots without trying to curry favor by latching onto any current trend.” [Reassure yourselves below:]

TSJUDER features: Nag – bass and vocals, Draugluin – guitar and backing vocals and Anti-Christian - drums