Barathrum is one of the older Finnish black metal bands,
with a rich history featuring several members who went
on to success with other bands.
Formed in 1990 as Darkfeast by vocalist Demonos Sova,
they debuted in 1994 with Hellstorm and have recorded
relatively steadily since then, with eight albums released.
The two albums reviewed here are quite different.
1996's Eerie, their second album, is a simplistic,
raw, bass-heavy black metal album,
somewhat in the same league as fellow Finns
Beherit,
quite effective for its primal groove and,
unbelievably, catchy (yet undeniably evil) rhythms.
By contrast, 2002's Venomous is far more uptempo
in keeping with modern black metal bands, arguably
less distinctive than their early work but certainly
more polished and mature.
With the release of 2005's
Anno Aspera came word that the band was done, or
at least on indefinite hold.
A trivial note that is often mentioned is that the
first letters of the band's eight albums
spell out "Heil Sova".
