Prophecies of Aryan Moon

I'll admit it. I bought this for the Burzum cover. Not surprisingly it was the best track on the demo. Sadly, the title track "Prophecies of An Aryan Moon" can't really hold up to the Burzum cover.

The intro to the demo caught me off guard. It is a short orchestrated piece that is well written and nicely put down to tape. It fits in well with an epic feel which I believe that Swastyka was attempting to accomplish.

"Prophecies of an Aryan Moon" is pretty much standard fare NS Black Metal. Not really much that distinguishes it particularly. Given typical blastbeats, a growl-ish vocal style and moderate use of synth which complements the music rather than detracts from it. You get 14 minutes of this and then its over. We now move onto Det Som Engang Var, its obviously a cover of the Burzum masterpiece. Sadly for Swastyka, their cover of Det Som Engang Var far surpasses their own song on the demo. The cover will never be as good as the original, but it is done well with good taste and attempts (although does not completely succeed) to preserve the atmosphere of the original recording.

Considering that this is a demo, it's very well done. It is just unfortunate that they decided to cover Det Som Engang Var, because it makes their own work seem far lesser when directly contrasted to the greatest piece of music ever written.