Review by Felix on April 25, 2023.

The end of Christianity has yet to happen, but the end of the Finnish black metal freaks namely Nightside came very quickly. The debut from 2001 remained their only full-length. Even worse, this is no homogeneous work, because it compiles different recording sessions. It therefore makes more sense to speak of a legacy than of a debut. However, despite this difficult starting situation, "The End of Christianity" has its charm. Maybe Nightside did not enrich the scene, because they had no ambition to broaden its spectrum. The material mirrors a relatively generic approach that combines the typical harshness with some atmospheric keyboard lines. They do not gain the upper hand, but they also cannot be ignored in songs like "Night's Blackest Shadows". Voluntarily or not, Nightside deliver a kind of consensus black metal. They are surely not opportunist, I just want to say that probably every supporter of this genre will find some nice elements in the here presented sound.

One of the raw tracks must be mentioned expressly. "Summon the Holocaust" has a pretty catchy chorus, the keyboards are very effectively used and the throaty vocals are the dominating component. It is the most sustainable track and reminds me a little bit of some pieces of the debut of Norway's Ragnarok. In particular "The Norse Winter Demon" comes to my mind, because it has a similar keyboard line. Additionally, the degree of harshness is roughly comparable. For sure, the music does not lack vehemence, but bestial or barbaric ingredients did not show up in the recipe of its creators. On the other hand, the warriors from Suomi cannot be denounced for gothic or sweet melodies. They stay on the middle of the road - well, consensus black metal as mentioned earlier.

It's a little bit sad that a few number of tracks suffers from ill-defined sections. For example, the sixth song has a rabid section, but the leads of the guitars remain expressionless. No doubt, the corpse-painted guys can do it better. Already the next piece, "Demon Metal", is kicked off by a contagious riff that cast is spell upon the listener. The song is driven by this thrashy riff, nevertheless, this is pure black metal. By the way, I am speaking about adequately produced black metal. "The End of Christianity" is no prime example for transparency or brutality, but it conveys a mostly frosty climate and there are no quality differences between the two separate recording sessions. The strict and grim "Under a Thousand Stars" marks the best song of the second session, but the following "Where Darkness Shines" also takes the audience on a wild ride and spits on harmonic elements. So it's up to you whether you want to dig deeply in the underground in order to find this output and give it a chance. 17 years after its release, it still spreads belligerent vibrations.

Appendix: an annoying detail is that the pressing of the disc was not flawlessly executed. The strong, hammering opener is torn asunder by an abrupt, short moment of silence.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Felix on February 14, 2024.

There are two things one must know about Behemoth. Firstly, their best phase began very early on. Secondly, their best phase ended very early too. Thank Lucifer, the demo “...from the Pagan Vastlands” is among the oldest releases of the band. With the first tones of the opener – blowing winds welcome the listener – the release reveals a very high degree of atmosphere. “From the Hornedland to Lindisfarne” scores with a haunting, enchanted mood, fragile acoustic guitar tones that duel with sinister e-guitar lines and croaking vocals. Moreover, well integrated keyboard carpets show up and the drums are hammering somewhere in the distance. It goes without saying that one cannot expect a professional recording, but the crucial thing is that “...from the Pagan Vastlands” has definitely a lot of raw underground charm. The mix is like the artwork, both can rely on a simple yet adequate recipe.

Compared with the opener, “Thy Winter Kingdom” offers an almost smooth flow. Already in winter 1993/1994, Behemoth were able to manage more than just one approach. Nothing on this demo sounds formulaic or predictable. Behemoth followed their then black hearts and this way of proceeding resulted in archaic, authentic and spiritual tracks. The dudes did not shy away from a proper number of melodies – nevertheless, “misanthropy” is written in big letters over each and every track. Maybe it is correct to say that the excellence of this demo is based on the rare mixture of a surprisingly early achieved musical maturity and absolutely non-commercial individualism. Okay, Behemoth did not grow up in a vacuum and therefore their mid-paced tracks breathe the spirit of bands like Graveland. Anyway, the dudes are able to bring their personality into the compositions which are expressive, charismatic and equipped with an atmospheric density which turns out to be a big plus.

What does not really work here? Well, nothing sucks, only minor details are irritating. The Mayhem cover comes after the “outro winds” of “Fields of Harr-Megiddo”, which actually close the circle. And speaking of this song, its solos are slightly confusing for the listener, because they are more or less airy, light and almost emotional. Yet if I ignore them, the further parts of the track are on a par with the remaining material – songs that are full of suspenseful moments and in which the almost 35 minutes pass by quickly, although the single pieces themselves often only move at a medium speed. However, especially the strong “Blackvisions of the Almighty” illustrates that the musicians did not suffer from an allergy against speed.

The story of Behemoth (Nergal) is a story of musical evolution, to say it positively. From my point of view, it is a story of fickleness. Today the words “Black Metal is not a trend (inverted cross) it’s a cult!”, printed on the digipak, seem like mockery. Drive through Poland and if you see a guy pissing with the wind, it will probably be Nergal. But if one takes “...from the Pagan Vastlands” alone, and I guess this is meaning and purpose of this review, it is definitely a great document of this thing we call true black metal and an auspicious harbinger of Behemoth’s masterpiece from 1996, “Grom”.

Rating: 8.4 out of 10