![]() ![]() ![]() Label: Agonia RecordsThe altar of His Majesty At The Swamp is crude, constructed of the mud, sticks, and algae of the Greek marshes it fed upon sacrifices of the serpentine, reptilian creatures that dwelt within - I mean, that’s a huge part of why it’s so great! Each subsequent release has added fresh blood to the growing altar with varying degrees of upward trajectory: 1995’s Walpurgistnacht added a more melodic fury, followed by the somewhat awkward stumble into more symphonic elements on 2004’s Crowsreign and the subsequent recovery in 2009 on the mighty Stygian Forces Of Scorn that almost swung the pendulum fully into melodic death metal territory. Gloomy sounds from the yellowed keys of a Casio keyboard are selectively employed by the bands to increase the misty haze to their respective atmospheres, rarely doing more than simply holding a few prolonged notes to accompany the melodies. Both, but especially the former, employ those humid, damp mid tones and chunky, mid-paced “heavy lifting” riffs that feel more indebted to Under The Sign Of The Black Mark and Blood Fire Death on the Bathory spectrum, as opposed to the more frigid sound of The Return that left a more notable impression on Scandinavian black metal at the time. Its construction began thirty-five years ago with the foundation of Varathron, who would release their debut album a few years later in 1993, Appropriately titled, His Majesty At The Swamp feels like the establishment of a crude, primitive pagan altar in the Stygian marshes, and fits nicely among early Greek black metal tomes to be shelved (in order of importance) somewhere between Rotting Christ’s Thy Mighty Contract and Necromantia’s Crossing the Fiery Path, both released in the same year. To truly understand the legend of The Crimson Temple, we have to go back to the beginning.
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