The Book of Darkness

Back in the days (early 2000s) when I started to know underground Black Metal there was a band that stood out over all of them: Decayed from Portugal. They were faster, heavier and and more agressive than most of Norwegian Black Metal bands, but not influenced by them. Decayed was (purely, they started in 1990) a more extreme version of Venom, Bathory and Celtic Frost, so forget about the “tradidional” Black Metal from the 90s. This “book” is one of the best kept secrets of european Black Metal.

It is faster than its predecessor “Resurrectiónem Mortuórum” but way better structured and elaborated. It opens with a long 21 minute track, similar to Venom’s “At War with Satan”, with a pitched voiced introducing “This Book holds the revelations of Darkness, events that shall become.” Then it starts with a drum beat, an increasingly intense guitar entry, which gives way to a screaming voice coming from hell. The rhythm remains the same, but the melody changes throughout the song, as if there were several parts in this chapter of the book. At a given time the music becomes extremely fast then the rhythm slows down and the voice speaks again, with the same tone as in the beginning. The guitar riffs are sharp and fast, and the song revolves around various melodies and rhythms, ending with an absolutely beautiful semi-acoustic guitar melody. This long and hallucinating masterpiece is called “Death Chimes of Armageddon”.

Just when you think it can't get any more extreme comes the (still) fastest song on the entire album: “Sacrificial Rites”: lightning-fast drums, demonic solos and screaming vocals. “Tribulation” is the next track but the speed doesn't seem to slow down, it’s the most “straight in your face” track of the entire album with a great guitar solo. The pace slows down with the track “Rise at Dusk”, one the best tracks ever from the band with an epic melodie (similar to one that appears on the first track), with the usual deathly screams by J.M. accompanied by J.A.’s back vocals. “Cthol Mishrak (Of Endless Night)” is the fifth chapter of the album with an introduction at half pace which quickly gives way to a breakneck and fast pace song, once again with a breathtaking guitar solo. “Flesh to Ashes” is another great and fast (aren’t they all fast?) track with some pitched vocals. The album ends with the instrumental track “Halls of Torment”, a mix of a guitar turned on mixed with sounds coming from hell.

Do you think this is the end? It is not. The B-Side (bonus tracks) of the album are covers from the bands that influenced Decayed, where you can hear Venom, AC/DC, Sodom, Bathory, etc. On a personal note, I think the versions of Bathory’s “Call from the grave”, Venom’s “Witching Hour” and Celtic Frost’s “Into the Crypts of Rays” are absolutely epic. You are a fan of the first wave of Black Metal and want to hear the extreme version of it? It’s Decayed.