Beherit

Biography

Beherit is a Finnish black metal band from Rovaniemi. The band was formed in 1989 by Nuclear Holocausto Vengeance (Marko Laiho), Demonic Fornication (Jari Vaarala) and Sodomatic Slaughter (Jari Pirinen), to perform "the most primitive, savage, hell-obsessed black metal imaginable". According to a source, "Beherit" is a Syriac word for a devil. Through their uncommercial music, visuals, and live performances, the band attracted a cult following. Besides the "raw" sound, the band has an avant-garde side and an emphasis on atmosphere. Beherit are regarded as genre pioneers.
Beherit released one album and many demos and compilations of minimalistic black metal. They disbanded after the 1993 album Drawing Down the Moon×Drawing Down the Moon13 November 1993 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Intro (Tireheb)0:452Salomon's Gate3:423Nocturnal Evil2:534Sadomatic Rites4:075Black Arts3:336The Gate of Nanna4:147Nuclear Girl1:328Unholy Pagan Fire3:549Down There...2:3510Summerlands3:2011Werewolf, Semen and Blood3:0812Thou Angel of the Gods2:2213Lord of Shadows and Goldenwood3:23, considered a genre classic. Frontman Laiho continued as a solo project and released two albums under the band's name, H418ov21.C×H418ov21.C1994 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1The Gate of Inanna4:252Tribal Death6:593Emotional Ecstasy3:484Fish3:22521st Century4:016Paradise, Part II3:387Mystik Force6:558Spirit of the God of Fire3:229E-scape3:10 in 1994 and Electric Doom Synthesis×Electric Doom Synthesis6 June 1996 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Ambush5:142We Worship1:263Dead Inside6:104Beyond Vision4:175Deep Night 23rd7:096Drawing Down the Moon2:567Sense10:258Temple ov Lykos7:52 in 1996. These albums are categorized as dark ambient. Although completely electronic, the albums carried the band's black metal atmosphere. Original members Nuclear Holocausto and Sodomatic Slaughter reformed the band in 2008 with new members Ancient Corpse Desekrator and Abyss.

Early days (1989–1990)

Beherit was founded in Rovaniemi, Lapland in 1989 as a three-piece consisting of vocalist and guitarist Nuclear Holocausto Vengeance (Marko Laiho), bassist Daemon Fornication and drummer Sodomatic Slaughter (Jari Pirinen). The band released three demos the following year—Seventh Blasphemy, Morbid Rehearsals, and Demonomancy—and gathered reputation for their live shows, which included pig heads and goats.

The Oath of Black Blood (1991–1992)

Beherit's compilation album, The Oath of Black Blood×The Oath of Black Blood14 September 1991 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Intro: Temple0:572Metal of Death0:543The Oath of Black Blood2:414Grave Desecration2:045Witchcraft3:126Goat Worship1:527Demonomancy2:208Black Mass Prayer1:159Beast of Damnation4:0210Hail Sathanas1:4711Dawn of Satan’s Millenium4:45, includes material recorded from June to September 1990. The album was released in 1991. The album is traditional, fast, old-school black metal influenced by death metal, thrash metal, and grindcore. It is not a separately recorded studio album. The band's label at the time, Turbo Music, funded the recording, but the musicians supposedly spent the money on alcohol. The label released their demo Demonomancy and the 7-inch EP Dawn of Satan's Millennium×Dawn of Satan's MillenniumFebruary 1991 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Intro – Black Mass Prayer1:152Beast of Damnation4:073Hail Sathanas1:474Dawn of Satan’s Millennium4:46 as a compilation, without the band's permission, and named it The Oath of Black Blood, originally supposed to be the album's name. Laiho commented on the album in a 1992 interview for Metal Hammer magazine,

"I hate the album! It's so bad, we never wanted to release it. The songs are from our 'Demonomancy×Demonomancy6 June 1990 · EP · DemoSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracksA1Intro: Temple0:58A2Metal of Death0:54A3The Oath of Black Blood2:41A4Grave Desecration2:00B1Witchcraft3:10B2Goat Worship1:54B3Demonomancy2:20' demo and our label Turbo Music just used a regular cassette for the album pressing. Honestly, I never sent them the master tape... We're planning to release a proper LP soon, this time on my own label. The result should be much better."

The album is now regarded as a full-length release. Spinefarm Records re-issued it in 2005, and Season of Mist in 2006. In 1991, the band members briefly performed as The Lord Diabolus, from which a single demo tape was made and released independently before the band returned to working as Beherit. The songs "Intro (Tireheb)" and "Nocturnal Evil" were later re-released as Beherit songs.

Drawing Down the Moon (1993)

Beherit's best-known and influential album, Drawing Down the Moon×Drawing Down the Moon13 November 1993 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Intro (Tireheb)0:452Salomon's Gate3:423Nocturnal Evil2:534Sadomatic Rites4:075Black Arts3:336The Gate of Nanna4:147Nuclear Girl1:328Unholy Pagan Fire3:549Down There...2:3510Summerlands3:2011Werewolf, Semen and Blood3:0812Thou Angel of the Gods2:2213Lord of Shadows and Goldenwood3:23, was recorded between April and August in 1992. It was released in 1993 as the band's first official LP. The album was named after a Wiccan ritual, "drawing down the Moon". The album was experimental within the black metal scene. The band used whispers and space-like electronic and synth sounds. Drawing Down the Moon was reissued by Candlelight Records in 2006.

Ambient era (1994–1996)

Despite the album's success, Drawing Down the Moon×Drawing Down the Moon13 November 1993 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Intro (Tireheb)0:452Salomon's Gate3:423Nocturnal Evil2:534Sadomatic Rites4:075Black Arts3:336The Gate of Nanna4:147Nuclear Girl1:328Unholy Pagan Fire3:549Down There...2:3510Summerlands3:2011Werewolf, Semen and Blood3:0812Thou Angel of the Gods2:2213Lord of Shadows and Goldenwood3:23 was the band's last black metal release, as they split up the next year. Laiho recorded two albums of dark ambient music, H418ov21.C×H418ov21.C1994 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1The Gate of Inanna4:252Tribal Death6:593Emotional Ecstasy3:484Fish3:22521st Century4:016Paradise, Part II3:387Mystik Force6:558Spirit of the God of Fire3:229E-scape3:10 and Electric Doom Synthesis×Electric Doom Synthesis6 June 1996 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Ambush5:142We Worship1:263Dead Inside6:104Beyond Vision4:175Deep Night 23rd7:096Drawing Down the Moon2:567Sense10:258Temple ov Lykos7:52, and released them under the band's name. As the band did not reform and Laiho had lost interest in black metal, he continued his dark ambient career as Suuri Shamaani and in hardcore techno as DJ Gamma-G.

Return to black metal, Engram (2009)

Beherit reformed in 2008 with original members Nuclear Holocausto and Sodomatic Slaughter, and newcomers Ancient Corpse Desekrator and Abyss. The new album returned to black metal, and marked Beherit's return to a full-band lineup after existing as a solo project from 1994 until its disbandment in 1996. The album, Engram×Engram9 April 2009 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracks1Axiom Heroine4:412Destroyer of Thousand Worlds3:053All in Satan3:334Pagan Moon7:165Pimeyden Henki4:456Suck My Blood4:277Demon Advance15:16, is the band's third black metal album, fifth overall, and first in 14 years.
A sixth album, Bardo Exist×Bardo Exist13 November 2020 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Aivosota0:472Shadow Prayer6:243Coruscation2:074Acid Death Vision4:365Extreme Thirst and Insomnia2:386Blindsight2:407Silom Vortex2:468Mens Rea2:059Ghost Visitor5:3310Peilien vanki3:1911Sorrowers4:05, was released in 2020. This album returned to black ambient.

Conflicts

Beherit were one of the first second-wave black metal bands. In the early 1990s, due to Beherit and groups such as Impaled Nazarene and Barathrum, the Finnish scene was becoming more and more recognized. This eventually resulted in a Norwegian-Finnish conflict often named the "Dark War". According to Isten fanzine's obviously satirical article, the conflict originated from several misunderstandings and practical jokes, involving Laiho, but Mika Luttinen of Impaled Nazarene believed he received death threats in Norwegian. His band's first album had a statement saying "no orders from Norway accepted", which Luttinen later admitted being stupid and childish. Laiho commented on the conflict in an interview for January 1994 issue of Masters of Brutality magazine:

"When we started the band about 4 years ago we knew this and so that's okay. Now there are more people against us ‘cause of these new rules and all these stupid rumours spread by our Norwegian enemies... but I don’t care so much. But that’s a bit sad that the black metal underground scene is totally split."

Current members

Nuclear Holocausto (Marko Laiho of Black Crucifixion) – vocals, guitars, keyboards, programming (1989–1996, 2008–present)
Sodomatic Slaughter (Jari Pirinen of Black Crucifixion) – drums (1989–1991, 2008–present)
Ancient Corpse Desekrator (Sami Tenetz) (Thy Serpent) – guitars (2008–present)
Abyss (Pasi Kolehmainen) – bass (2008–present)

Former members

Black Jesus (Santtu Siippainen) (ex. Coffin) – bass (1991–1992)
Daemon Fornication/Demon Fornication (Jari Vaarala) – bass (1989–1990)
Kimmo Luttinen (of Catamenia, Impaled Nazarene, The Black League) – drums
Necroperversor (Pekka Virkanen) (ex. Coffin) – drums (1991–1992)

Albums

Drawing Down the Moon (1993)
H418ov21.C (1994)
Electric Doom Synthesis (1995)
Engram (2009)
At the Devil's Studio 1990 (2011)
Bardo Exist (2020)
WBRRR (2023)

Compilations

The Oath of Black Blood (1991)
Beast of Beherit - Complete Worxxx (1999)

EPs and demos

Seventh Blasphemy (1990)
Morbid Rehearsals (1990)
Demonomancy (1990)
Dawn of Satan's Millennium (1990)
Diabolus Down There (alternately, Down There..., released under the band name The Lord Diabolus, 1991)
Unreleased Studio Tracks (1991)
Promo 1992 (1992)
Messe des morts (1994)
Celebrate the Dead (2012)

Splits

Beherit / Death Yell (1991)
Messe des morts / Angel Cunt (1999) (with Archgoat)