Secrets Of The Moon

Secrets Of The Moon emerged in 1995 from Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, and have since carved out a singular path through the German black metal underground. What began as a raw, Scandinavian-inspired act evolved over three decades into a shapeshifting entity that continually redefined its own boundaries – without ever sacrificing the essential coldness and alienation that marked their early work.

Founding members sG (vocals, guitar) and Ar (drums) remain the band's core to this day, surrounded by a rotating cast of collaborators who each left their mark. Early demo recordings Screams of the Night (1999) and The Ghosts of... (2000) operated within orthodox black metal territory but already revealed a penchant for dissonant harmonies and unconventional song structures. The official debut The Wisdom of Crocodiles (2002) on Osmose Productions cemented this approach: raw yet sophisticated, atmospheric yet devoid of cliché.

The stylistic rupture came with Antithesis (2003, Iron Pegasus), which introduced post-black metal and avant-garde elements into the band's vocabulary. The move to Prophecy Productions in 2004 proved pivotal. Antichrist (2006) and Seven Bells (2009) unfolded an increasingly psychedelic, almost ritualistic strain of black metal, weaving shoegaze textures and occult lyricism into the fabric. Privilegivm (2012) pushed further into reductionist territory: sparse, minimalist compositions that pulled the listener into a trance-like undertow.

After an extended creative hiatus, Secrets Of The Moon returned in 2019 with Black House, an album that incorporated industrial and noise elements while retaining the band's black metal core. The latest offering Arcana Vanity Death (2024) arrives as a 3LP and 2CD set via Prophecy Productions and marks yet another transformation: rawer, more direct, yet suffused with an oppressive atmosphere that only a band with such a long maturation can conjure. The limited vinyl edition is essential for collectors and documents a band that resists categorization while remaining deeply rooted in black metal's dark lineage.

Discography

2001 - Stronghold of the Inviolables (Sombre Records)
2004 - Carved in Stigmata Wounds (Lupus Lounge/Prophecy Productions)
2006 - Antithesis (Lupus Lounge/Prophecy Productions)
2009 - Privilegivm (Lupus Lounge/Prophecy Productions)
2012 - Seven Bells (Lupus Lounge/Prophecy Productions)
2015 - Sun (Lupus Lounge/Prophecy Productions)
2020 - Black House (Lupus Lounge/Prophecy Productions)

EPs
2005 - The Exhibitions EP (EP; Lupus Lounge)
2010 - Them Bones / This Inner Soil (7”; Lupus Lounge)
2010 - The Ambience of a Dead Star (12”; Lupus Lounge)
2011 - Warhead (7”; Lupus Lounge)