Here's a solid little sampler of some of the bands that were on Germany's Black Mark Productions back in the mid-90's. Surely, most of these bands will be familiar to any European metal fan. Of the four who are represented here, Tad Morose are perhaps the most well known, as they later wound up on Century Media Records. Memento Mori is a Swedish doom band who had as their singer for a few years Messiah Marcolin, who was at the time AWOL from his main band Candlemass. Morgana Lefay are an 80's styled traditional/power/doom metal band (with a small hint of Fates Warning), and Cemetary fill up the gothic slot here but also have a strong doom vibe going on. So in a way, this is Black Mark's way of saying "here are some of our darker, doomier bands", as opposed to the staples on their label, which are Bathory and Edge of Sanity. While all the tracks are pretty strong here, it's the two songs from Memento Mori that rise above the rest, and a must hear for Candlemass fans. With crushingly heavy riffs and Messiah's histrionic vocals, these guys were a doom force to be reckoned with, but sadly the mighty singer didn't stick around long enough for them to sustain the momentum. The album that "I Am" and "When Nothing Remain" come from, Life, Death, and Other Morbid Tales is a must hear of Black Sabbath inspired metal.
If you have yet to check out any of these bands, this little sampler is worth getting your hands on.
Track Listing
1) Lost in Time-Tad Morose
2) I Am -Memento Mori
3) Time is God-Morgana Lefay
4) Sweet Tragedy-Cemetary
5) Here After-Tad Morose
6) When Nothing Remain-Memento Mori
7) Sorrow Calls-Morgana Lefay
8) Pale Autumn Fire-Cemetary
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