| Spiritual Battle | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2000 | |||
| Recorded | May 1997, September 1998 | |||
| Genre | Death/doom, Black metal | |||
| Length | 39:16 | |||
| Label | Plankton (UK) | |||
| Drottnar chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Cross Rhythms |   |
Spiritual Battle is the first album by the Norwegian band Drottnar, released in 2000 on the British label Plankton Records. Spiritual Battle is a compilation album of the band's first two demos, both of which were recorded at X-Ray Studios.
The songs "Away from the Destruction", "Doom of Antichrist", "Missing Souls" and "Frykt Ikke" are taken from the demo Doom of Antichrist, which was recorded in May 1997 when the group was known as Vitality. Musically, these songs focus on death/doom, and the vocals are deep, guttural death growls.
The songs "A White Realm", "Natten på Harmageddon" and "Spiritual Battle" were recorded in September 1998 when the group changed its name to Drottnar. Originally made for promotional purposes only, the CD was entitled A White Realm. Musically it emphasizes on folk-influenced black metal. The songs are minimalistic and focus on groovy rhythms.
The lyrics on the album deal with warfare in the spiritual realm. Spiritual Battle received positive reviews among critics; for example, Cross Rhythms gave it 8/10. [1] The album also brought the band a following in the underground metal scene. During its release, the Info-Black.com - The Ultimate Black Metal Informative Site webzine claimed that Drottnar belonged to the elite of Scandinavian underground. [2]
Track 8 is hidden.
Salem is an Israeli extreme metal band, pioneers of the oriental metal movement and of the Israeli heavy metal scene in general. Much of their lyrics and music deals with political issues concerning the Jewish people and Israel, most notably the concept albums Kaddish (1994) and Collective Demise (2002).
Mortification is an Australian Christian extreme metal band which was formed in 1987 as a heavy metal group, Lightforce, by mainstay Steve Rowe on bass guitar and vocals. By 1990, in the Melbourne suburb of Moorabbin, they were renamed as Mortification with the line-up of Rowe, Michael Carlisle on guitar and Jayson Sherlock on drums. Mortification has released over twenty albums and several videos on major record labels such as Nuclear Blast. As one of the earliest internationally successful Christian death metal bands from Australia, they served as an inspiration for later similar groups.
Disembowelment, often styled as diSEMBOWELMENT, was an Australian death-doom band that formed in November 1989 featuring Renato Gallina on guitar and vocals, and Paul Mazziotta on drums. In early 1991 Jason Kells joined on lead guitar and at the end of that year the group's line-up was completed by Matthew Skarajew on bass guitar. In 1992 they issued an extended play, Dusk, on Relapse Records and followed with a studio album, Transcendence into the Peripheral, in 1993. They disbanded shortly thereafter – never having performed live. AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia described them as "[s]till revered in underground circles as doom-grind pioneers ... [their works] remain genre classics".
Destruction is a German thrash metal band, formed in 1982. They are often credited as one of the "Big Four" of the German thrash metal scene, the others being Kreator, Sodom and Tankard. In addition to helping pioneer black metal by containing several elements of what was to become the genre, Destruction was part of the second wave of thrash metal in the late 1980s, along with American bands Testament, Sacred Reich, Death Angel and Dark Angel. For most of the 1990s, the band was not signed to a record label and was forced to self-produce their albums until they signed a contract with Nuclear Blast in the early 2000s.
3 Inches of Blood was a Canadian heavy metal band formed in 1999 in Victoria, British Columbia, last consisting of Cam Pipes, Justin Hagberg, Shane Clark, and Ash Pearson, none of whom were original members of the band. They are marked by strong influences from the new wave of British heavy metal movement.
Sabbat is a Japanese black metal band, formed in the early 1980s. On some releases, they showcase a more thrash and heavy metal influenced sound.
Nattens Madrigal – Aatte Hymne Til Ulven I Manden is the third studio album by Norwegian band Ulver, issued on 3 March 1997 via Century Media. Composed and arranged during the first half of 1995, Nattens is a concept album about wolves, the night, the moon, and the dark side of mankind.
Unblack metal is a religious philosophy within black metal whose artists are either directly against the Satanism prevalent in black metal, or promote Christianity in their lyrics and imagery. Unblack metal artists are controversial within the black metal subculture, because black metal's pioneers, especially those of the Second Wave, were anti-Christian. It is also suggested that Christianity contradicts black metal's dark nature and the individualistic and misanthropic ideals of many bands.
Sacrilege is a female-fronted band from the Midlands region of England originally formed in 1984 by guitarist Damian Thompson and vocalist Lynda "Tam" Simpson. Originally Hardcore Punk, their sound later changed to Thrash Metal/Doom Metal. Despite having played relatively few gigs during their original existence, Sacrilege is recognized as an important band, both as an influence on later crust punk/thrash metal and doom metal bands and as an example of the blending of hardcore punk, radical politics, and thrash/death metal that occurred during the mid-1980s, making Sacrilege one of the prototypical 'crust'(that term not coined then) punk/metal bands of the time.
Immortal Souls is a melodic death metal band from Kokkola, Finland, formed in 1991. They released a split album and their debut on Little Rose Productions in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 2002 Immortal Souls signed with Dutch label Fear Dark which released their second and third album as well as a compilation. They have performed at Tuska Open Air Metal Festival. Their musical style is characterized by their use of melodic guitar riffs and singing which shifts between growls and shouting. Their music has been called winter metal since Immortal Souls utilizes frosty metaphors in their lyrics and usually creates a cold, wintry atmosphere. The album Wintereich was released in 2007 in Europe on Dark Balance and in the USA through Facedown Records.
"God of Thunder" is a song by Kiss from their album Destroyer. The song has also been featured on many of Kiss' live albums, including an up-tempo version on Alive II. Many various sound effects were used to make the song including explosions, clapping, zippers, overdubbed audience chatter and screaming children. The song was written by Paul Stanley, who intended to sing it on the album, but producer Bob Ezrin suggested slowing down the tempo and handing the lead vocals over to Gene Simmons.
Sadistic Intent is a death metal band from Los Angeles, California.
Drottnar is an extreme metal band from Fredrikstad, Norway. Formed in 1996, the band has released four albums, Spiritual Battle (2000), Welterwerk (2006), Stratum (2012) and Monolith (2019) and an EP titled Anamorphosis (2003). The first album was released on UK label Plankton Records. They are currently signed to Swedish label Endtime Productions.
Welterwerk is the first full-length album by Norwegian extreme metal band Drottnar, released on Endtime Productions in 2006.
The Defeat of Satan is an album by the Norwegian band Antestor. The album consists of their first two demos Despair (1993) and The Defeat of Satan (1991). The songs were remastered and remixed in 2003 and was published by the Norwegian label Momentum Scandinavia. The demos on this album are historical since they were one of the few Christian metal releases during the time when the black metal movement was developing significantly and drew media attention with violent actions such as the church burnings.
Seventh Angel are a British Christian metal band that formed in 1987. The band was known for its combination of doom metal and thrash metal. According to Cross Rhythms magazine, they were considered to be thrash metal pioneers, and they released the albums The Torment (1990) and Lament for the Weary (1991). These records achieved mainstream distribution through Music for Nations label, making Seventh Angel label mates with such groups as Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth. Although Seventh Angel disbanded in 1992, "for a long time [they were considered to be] the best metal act in the UK", claims Cross Rhythms. The Daily Telegraph called Seventh Angel "one of the leading Christian thrash metal bands in Great Britain."
Sacred Steel is a German metal band.
Spiral Architect was a progressive metal band from Oslo, Norway. The group formed in 1993 and recorded one demo and one full-length album, A Sceptic's Universe, as well as a Fates Warning cover "A Prelude to Ruin" for the tribute album Through Different Eyes - A Tribute to Fates Warning. Since that time, the various group's members have moved onto other bands and musical projects. Even though the group got together for a couple of songwriting sessions, a second album has never materialized.
Triumphator were a Swedish black metal band consisting of Tena on bass, Arioch on guitar and vocals and Fredrik Andersson on drums, who released a demo, an EP and one album between 1996 and 1999.
Stratum is the second full-length studio album by the Norwegian Christian extreme metal band Drottnar, initially released on October 13, 2012 through Endtime Productions. A single was released for the album, "Lucid Stratum", on November 8, 2011, and the band went on a four-stop tour with Deuteronomium and Pantokrator in Finland from May 2–5, 2013. The album features a highly technical and complex form of extreme metal, and met with a positive reception from critics.