Throne Of Katarsis: Ved Graven – new album

Already out in Europe as of yesterday, October 24th, 2011, and awaiting its North American release set for November the 1st, 2011, on Candlelight Records, I have no tangible proof to offer this time ladies and gentlemen, but the new THRONE OF KATARSIS album, ‘Ved Graven’ (“At The Grave”), promises to be the band's darkest to date, of course continuing the march towards the funeral. To complete the vision, Njard created the cover art, and Stein Sund assisted at mixing and mastering of the album.

“Cold, raw, and with the bizarre aura of an everlasting funeral , THRONE OF KATARSIS delivers their requiem in honor of the final darkness. During three long nights the seven rites of this album were recorded. The séance was done in darkness and with poisoned minds, and with a dedication closer to a possession rather than anything else. All instruments and vocal were recorded live in the studio, in order to capture the aura the band creates during their convocations. A couple of guitar leads were added to the mix, and also church organ - recorded at nighttime at a local church during a highly blasphemous ceremony,” [solemnly informs us of the goings-on the press release]

Formed in 2002 (or properly: “spew forth from a dimension of pitch-black darkness in 2002 anno Sathanas”) in Norway by Vardlav and Infamroth, the unholy black metal alliance THRONE OF KATARSIS has been building up the dark energy it represents ever since. Using a four-track tape recorder and making sure to include winter field recordings captured in the nocturnal gloom of Norway's Liarlund Forests, their first ritual, 2004's ‘Unholy Holocaustwinds’, was released as a tape and vinyl through Warfront Productions, and as CD through Paradigms Recordings. THRONE OF KATARSIS kept on molding their cold, atmospheric compositions of sonic primitivity and epic occultism on the debut album ‘An Eternal Dark Horizon’, released in 2007 by Candlelight Records (CD) and later as vinyl by Blut & Eisen Productions.

“Just about any type of music imaginable has its share of purists who have very definite ideas about how that type of music should and shouldn’t be played. … Those purists long for a rawer, tougher, more primal approach to black metal, and listeners who fancy that approach should be aware of ‘An Etarnal Dark Horizon’. Although recorded in 2005 and 2006 and released in 2007, this derivative CD recalls the early days of black metal; [the album] thrives on the type of rawness that characterized black metal in the late '80s and early '90s, and  KATARSIS sound like they are well aware of black metal's punk and hardcore roots,” [commented Alex Henderson, AllMusic – more here]

“To strengthen the unholy force the rituals embody, their execution through live-ceremonies was deemed necessary,” [continues to explain the band's official bio] “After a few domestic ceremonies [shows], an important event took place in the cult's [the band's] brief history, when getting the opportunity to perform its rituals at the legendary underground black metal venue Baroeg in Rotterdam, Holland, on the very stage where bands like MAYHEM. SATYRICON, GORGOTH, EMPEROR, DISSECTION and many other legends had started reigning the underground during the mid-'90s [“Sathanas In Gloriam” festival]. … Being considered by many as the most intense and worthy ceremony of the festival, it was an unholy blessing that it was recorded with four cameras, capturing it in all its Satanic grandeur. It led to the state of the occult art third ritual: a DVD literally baptized ‘In Nomine Dei Nostri Satanus’, made and released by Sathanas In Gloriam Productions.”

After completing the round of “ceremonies” across Europe, THRONE OF KATARSIS felt the urge to release their second full-length, ‘Helvete – Det Iskalde Mørket’ in (the winter of) 2009. Written by Vardalv and Dirge Rep of GEHENNA, the cult's responsible devotees for unleashing the opus on CD and vinyl were once again Candlelight Records and Blut & Eisen Productions.

THRONE OF KATARSIS features: Infamroth – vocals, guitar and church organ, Skinndød - guitar, Sanrabb - bass and Vardalv - drums