Led by guitarist Lord Ahriman, Sweden's Dark Funeral made its full-length debut with 1996's The Secrets of the Black Arts, a rather predictable -- if extremely enthusiastic -- collection of typically vicious Scandinavian black metal.
Unlike its more adventurous Norwegian neighbors Mayhem, Emperor, et al., Dark Funeral seems to know only one speed (full) and one volume (11), resulting in a continuous, unchanging aural bludgeoning that will simply bore all but those most committed to pissing off their parents.
Simply put, these guys know nothing about tension and release.
Where the aforementioned bands use eerie synths, evil choruses, and demonic strings that offset their thrashing just enough to give it even more shock value, Dark Funeral's all-out assault leaves nothing to the imagination, and much less to the senses.
Still, if 41 minutes of sonic hell is your idea of a good time, look no further.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Dark Age Has Arrived | Dark Funeral | Play | 00:16 | 0 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | The Secrets of the Black ArtsDark Funeral, Black Moon, Themgoroth | Dark Funeral | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 29 MB |
| 3 | My Dark DesiresThemgoroth | Dark Funeral | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 30 MB |
| 4 | The Dawn No More RisesBlack Moon, Themgoroth | Dark Funeral | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 32 MB |
| 5 | When Angels Forever DieBlack Moon, Themgoroth | Dark Funeral | Play | 04:06 | 9 MB | 33 MB |
| 6 | The Fire EternalBlack Moon | Dark Funeral | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 31 MB |
| 7 | Satan's MayhemDark Funeral, Themgoroth | Dark Funeral | Play | 04:53 | 11 MB | 38 MB |
| 8 | Shadows Over TransylvaniaBlack Moon | Dark Funeral | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 9 | Dark Are the Path to Eternity (A Summoning Nocturnal)Ahriman, Black Moon | Dark Funeral | Play | 05:59 | 13 MB | 46 MB |
| 10 | Satanic Blood | Dark Funeral | Play | 02:11 | 5 MB | 17 MB |
| 11 | Bloodfrozen | Dark Funeral | Play | 04:20 | 9 MB | 33 MB |
| 40 mins | 93 MB | |||||
| 40 mins | 321 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ahriman | Composer, Guitar |
| 2 | Black Moon | Composer, Guitar, Vocals |
| 3 | Dark Funeral | Composer, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 4 | Peter Tägtgren | Producer |
| 5 | Themgoroth | Bass, Composer, Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |