Hades

***A reissue of the band's first album from 1994 along with their debut demo from 1993. Countless words have been written about the black metal scene that flourished in Norway during the early 1990s, usually focused on the same few bands—Mayhem, Immortal, Darkthrone, etc.—that have come to be synonymous with the phrase “Norwegian Black Metal.” If those bands formed the nucleus of the scene, HADES was in tight orbit around them. After playing in AMPUTATION and IMMORTAL, guitarist JORN INGE TUNSBERG (who was also playing in OLD FUNERAL at the time) united with drummer REMI ANDERSEN to conjure a new entity known as Hades. Bored with bands more focused on speed than songwriting, the two took a multi-dimensional approach, slowing down the pace and emphasizing atmosphere and composition. Together with bassist and vocalist JANTO GARMANSLUND and second guitarist ANDREAS NAGELSETT, they recorded the three-song Alone Walkyng demo in 1993. Rather than settle for crude production, Hades recorded the demo at the legendary Grieghallen Studio, which Tunsberg knew from having previously recorded there with Amputation, and where many prominent Norwegian bands recorded their early material. Among those who ended up with a copy of the Alone Walkyng demo was JON JAMSHID, who had recently founded Full Moon Productions, one of the first black metal labels in the United States. Via handwritten letter, Jamshid expressed his desire to put out Hades’ debut as one of the first releases on the label. The band agreed, and, in 1994, following Nagelsett’s dismissal, they recruited STIG HAGENES as a second guitarist and recorded the …Again Shall Be album. Regarded individually and collectively, the tracks on …Again Shall Be evince a rigorous compositional ethic. Hades’ approach deviated from the sullen, elongated melodies stretched across frantic blast beats commonly associated with many of their Norwegian peers. Instead, drawing inspiration from Quorthon’s Viking-era Bathory recordings, Hades tended toward epic, mid-paced tracks, richly layered with keyboards and acoustic guitars, evoking the existential vigor of battle and a forlorn longing for the ancient pagan North.