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The Meads of Asphodel | |
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| Origin | Hertfordshire, England |
| Genres | Black metal, experimental, progressive metal |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Labels | Candlelight Records, Firestorm Records, Godreah Records |
| Members | Metatron J.D. Tait André Kjelbergvik Thung |
| Website | Official site |
The Meads of Asphodel are an English black metal band with pronounced medieval, Arab, punk, and progressive metal influences from Hertfordshire, England.
The band was formed in mid-1998 by Metatron and Jaldaboath. The stated aim being to "create heavy guitar-based original Black Metal with Medieval/Eastern influences and a lyrical concept derived from Christ's mortality, Biblical Apocrypha, Fallen Angels and Death." [1] Their demo releases The Bemoaning of Metatron and Metatron and the Red Gleaming Serpent gained them a good deal of critical attention in the underground metal press, even receiving mentions from such mainstream sources as Kerrang! magazine, [2] and they soon signed to Supernal Music after the release of their widely acclaimed final demo The Watchers of Catal Huyuk. Their albums, particularly 2001's The Excommunication of Christ explore conceptual themes based around an anti-Christian interpretation of the Bible and Apocrypha. Despite a fluctuating line-up, the band continues to release well-received music.
One of the band's most consistent features is their use of guest musicians. Over the years they have had a large roster of guests including members of Hawkwind, Sigh, Amebix, Mael Mordha, Taake, and an actual Rabbi.
Eternal Majesty is a French black metal band, formed in Paris in 1995.
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Dispatched were a Swedish melodic death metal band from Södertälje formed in 1992.
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James Fogarty is an English multi-media artist. Concentrating mainly on music crossing over between metal and sampled based music, his projects past and present are In the Woods..., The Blacksmoke Organisation, The Bombs Of Enduring Freedom, Ewigkeit, Jaldaboath and producing occasional releases for Death To Music productions. He also contributed artwork to the CNPD in the book Stamps Of Mass Destruction Vol 2 (ISBN 1-871894-97-2), printed in 2005.
Drudkh is a Ukrainian black metal band. It currently consists of Roman Saenko, Thurios, Krechet, and Vlad. All four also were members of Blood of Kingu until it was disbanded. Their lyrics and artistic themes embrace Slavic mythology and Ukrainian nationalism. Many of the band's lyrics are derived from the works of nineteenth and twentieth-century Ukrainian poets and especially Taras Shevchenko.
Ascension of the Watchers is an American gothic rock band from Pennsylvania. It was originally formed by Burton C. Bell and John Bechdel.
History Of Guns are an English metamodern cross-genre group combining elements of Industrial, punk, electronica, ebm, edm, goth, rock, metal and avant-garde from Hertfordshire, England. They were a part of the early 00s underground UK industrial/gothic scene before going on hiatus in 2011 and returning in 2022.
Alan Davey is an English musician, best known as the former bassist with the rock band Hawkwind. He is the original bass player in Gunslinger which started in 1979 and is still the bass player and vocalist for Gunslinger. He has played and recorded with Meads of Asphodel, Dumpy's Rusty Nuts, Spirits Burning, Bedouin (1998–2003). He formed with the newly re-imagined Hawklords in 2008 with Nik Turner until 2012 and since then formed The Psychedelic Warlords in 2013 until 2015.
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Jihad / Freezing Moon is a split album with music by the black metal bands The Meads of Asphodel and Mayhem. Tracks one through six were performed by The Meads of Asphodel. Tracks seven and eight were performed by Mayhem. Tracks five and six are only available on the CD version.
Damascus Steel is the third full-length studio album by the United Kingdom-based experimental black metal band The Meads of Asphodel. It was their last album to feature contributions from Max Rael.
The Excommunication of Christ is the first full-length studio album by the black metal band The Meads of Asphodel. It was released on Supernal Music in 2001. The band's debut album, this featured A.C.Wild from Italian thrash legends Bulldozer re-working the narrative originally found on Bulldozer's first album, The Day of Wrath. It is an exorcism in Latin and sets the tone of the rest. Huw Lloyd Langton plays lead guitar on the Hawkwind cover, Assault and Battery. The track Jezebel and the Philistines was contributed by History of Guns in collaboration with Metatron.
Exhuming the Grave of Yeshua is the second full length studio album from the black metal band The Meads of Asphodel. It was released on Supernal Music in 2003. This album was the first to feature the new line up of J D Tait and Deaorth [Ragnarok] sharing the bass duties with Hawkwind’s Alan Davey. Huw Lloyd langton plays lead guitar and Vincent Crowley from Acheron does some narration, and Max Rael from History Of Guns and Mirai from Sigh play keyboards. A Rabbi from Golders Green in London added some Hebrew verse on the track 80 grains of Sand. Paul Carter from Thus Defiled played keyboards on the track "Sons of Anak Rise".
The Mill Hill Sessions is a live album released by the black metal band The Meads of Asphodel. It was released on Godreah Records in 2004, unlike the before releases which were released on Supernal Music. Two live sessions were recorded at the Mill Hill studios in North London in 2006. On 24.11.03 featuring various old tracks plus a cover of Sepultura’s "Refuse/Resist". The second, 17.7.04, was a 25-minute work in progress jam featuring Hawkwind Huw Lloyd Langton on lead/slide guitar. The "My Beautiful Genocide" track was aired here for the first time in its pre production format.
Blood of Kingu was a black metal band from Ukraine formed in 2005 by Roman Saenko, the main member of Drudkh, Dark Ages and Hate Forest.
Minsk is an extreme metal band from Peoria, Illinois founded in 2002. Self-described as "psychedelic metal", their songs tend to start out as slow and simple, and become heavy and complex towards the end. Their sound draws from doom metal, hardcore punk, ambient and noise music, with a highly psychedelic attitude achieved through tribal drum patterns, thick layers of synthesizers and keyboards, and echoing vocals. They are named after the capital of Belarus. The idea of survival through suffering is a recurring theme in the lyrics and musical style. In fact, regarding the origin of their name, their official biography states: "Drawing its nominal inspiration from a remote Belarusian city nestled deep amidst the in-betweens of the East and the West, a city that has been burned to the ground on several occasions only to be rebuilt like a Phoenix rising from its ashes." The sounds and atmospheres they evoke in their songs are complex and psychedelic.
Alex Poole is an American multi-instrumentalist musician from Nashville, Tennessee. Poole has prolifically contributed to the black metal genre, having led or contributed to a number of bands, including Chaos Moon, Manetheren, Krieg, Skáphe, Martröð, and Gardsghastr. He has also played live with a number of bands to fill in for missing guitarists or bassists over the years.
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