Sargeist Bio

Cold. Grim. Evil. All words that have long been the MORIBUND CULT'S raison d'etre, yet ones that equally and aptly describe Finnish black metal cult SARGEIST. And of all the cult platters the CULT has released thus far, few eclipse the utterly cold/grim/evil nature writ large, in black blood, across SARGEIST's second long-playing attack, Disciple of the Heinous Path. This IS what black metal is all about, and a further, more frightening distillation of this Finnish supergroup's cold/grim/evil strengths.

Initially conceived in 1999 by HORNA guitarist/songwriter Shatraug as a more personal, orthodox approach to the black arts, a handful of demos were recorded the new couple years with various session members, culminating in 2001's Tyranny Returns, remastered onto CD by MORIBUND late last year. Eventually, Shatraug found two kindred coffin-spirits to complete his vision: vocalist Torog and drummer Horns, both of fellow Finnish cult BEHEXEN. The trinity was complete.



A split 7" with French terrorists MERRIMACK resulted in 2002, soon followed a year later by the trio's official debut album. Satanic Black Devotion was its name, and cryogenically cold was its game. Reaping rightful acclaim far and wide from such magazines as Metal Maniacs and Terrorizer for its none-more-freezing palate of hypnotic hymns and incensed execution, Satanic Black Devotion has quickly become a modern-day classic, and not just in black-metalled circles.

In the meantime, equally dirty split-assaults followed with France's TEMPLE OF BAAL and Denmark's HORNED ALMIGHTY, the latter CD released by MORIBUND as 2004 came to a close. Although that CD likewise reaped widespread acclaim, nothing can prepare the listener for the epic, daresay emotive menace of Disciple of the Heinous Path. And although written during the same period as Satanic Black Devotion and arguably its companion stylistically, Disciple of the Heinous Path retains its own, wholly intimidating aura, chiseled in ice and melted with hatred. Simply, this can be FELT, and more feverishly.

Monochromatic in hue yet retaining an intensity palpable beyond the realms of death, Disciple of the Heinous Path sets a new, rusted gold standard for true, irredeemably cult black metal.