Archon Satani - Mind of Flesh and Bones

Archon Satani was conceived in 1990 by Mikael Stavöstrand and Tomas Petersson as a musical conduit for their occult influences. Their devilish pact spawned two albums Beyond All Thee Sickness and Virgin Birth... (Born Again) before personal differences caused Tomas Petersson to leave and pursue a more melodic acoustic approach as Ordo Equilibrio.

Mind of Flesh and Bones, originally issued on Staalplaat, was the first Archon Satani release under the sole control of Mikael Stavöstrand and perhaps due to the transitional nature it's a desolate piece of dark industrial ambience. It plunges to the depth of Lustmord but the atmosphere is more sinister, more crepescular. Deep brooding drones proliferate alongside funereal percussion. As the five tracks unfold a series of rattles, crashes, scrapes and clangs pierce the stifling air. Ominous groans are summoned from the pits. When compared to later works such as The Righteous Way To Completion (an out-of-print title on Cold Spring) it's all rather primitive sounding but effective nonetheless partly due to its monotonous nature and its unwillingness to permit any light.

This is the bleakest of dark ambient and remember when this was originally issued in 1993 dark ambient had yet to become a marketing tool. Psychonaut 75 and Hexentanz continue these sinister exploits today, while Mikael Stavöstrand continues an Innana. Archon Satani remain dormant but Mind of Flesh and Bones will continue to be a great black time for infernal youth even though it falls short of later Archon Satani releases. For more information go to www.coldspring.co.uk

compuslion online has one copy of Archon Satani's The Righteous Way To Completion for sale. This Cold Spring title has been out-of-print for years. This copy is still sealed. Offers to the above email.