SECRETS OF THE MOON · Arcana Vanity Death (The Demos Years) | BLACK 3LP

Black triple vinyl in triple gatefold cover with 24-page 12" booklet and double-sided A2 poster. Limited to 200 copies.

Background information about 'Arcana Vanity Death (The Demos Years)'

There's something magical about digging up old tapes from a band's early days, and Secrets Of The Moon's Arcana Vanity Death (The Demos Years) is a treasure chest of raw, unpolished darkness. This compilation gathers everything the German occult black metal outfit committed to tape between 1995 and 2001, before they became one of the country's most respected dark metal institutions.

The collection kicks off with the Unearthed Arcana demo from 1996, and right from the first blast beat you can feel the hunger and ambition dripping off every riff. It's rawer than a fresh wound, with Daevas' raspy vocals cutting through lo-fi production like a ritual blade. The Vanitas demo from 1997 pushes things further, showing a band already developing their signature sound \u2013 that eerie blend of black metal aggression and occult atmosphere. What really gets the blood pumping are the previously unreleased tracks unearthed specifically for this compilation. These buried gems show the band experimenting with slower, more doom-laden passages that hint at where they'd eventually go on later albums like Antithesis.

Patrick W. Engel has done a masterful job remastering these recordings from the original tapes at the Temple of Disharmony, breathing new life into them without polishing away their essential grit. The accompanying 24-page booklet features an in-depth interview with Lars "Daevas" Plegge and Phil "sG" Jonas alongside never-before-seen photos from the band's early days. This isn't just a nostalgia trip \u2013 it's a vital document of a band finding their voice in the underground, and it sounds absolutely vital.

For fans of:
Lunar Aurora, Bethlehem, Nagelfar, Katharsis, Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult

Track listing

LP 1:
A1. Unearthed Arcana (Demo 1996)
A2. Into The Depths Of The Unknown
A3. The Return Of The Darkness
A4. The Ancient Kingdom Of Shadows
A5. Embraced By The Shadows
A6. Moonchild
B1. Vanitas (Demo 1997)
B2. The Lost Art Of Vanity
B3. Upon The Throne Of Desolation
B4. The Dark Misanthropic Realm
B5. The Witch Of Dathomir
B6. Astrale Reisen (Outro)

LP 2:
C1. Promotape 98
C2. Secrets Of The Moon
C3. The Serpent's Kiss
C4. The Eternal Return
C5. Moondance Madness
D1. Moondance Madness (Tape 1999)
D2. Moondance
D3. The Witches' Dance
D4. The Call Of The Void
D5. The Darkest Winter
D6. Outro

LP 3:
E1. Split 7" EP With Lunar Aurora (2001)
E2. The Pact
E3. The Oath
E4. The Coven
E5. The Moon Over Osnabrück
F1. Bonus Tracks
F2. The Awakening (Unreleased)
F3. The Fall (Unreleased)
F4. The Passage (Unreleased)
F5. The End (Unreleased)

Manufacturer: Darkness Shall Rise Productions, Lengenfelder Straße 58, 08107 Kirchberg, Germany, Contact: darknessshallrise.de