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! ! ! ! !
Artist......: Thus Defiled
Album.......: Through the Impure Veil of Dawn
Year........: 2025
Genre.......: Black Metal
Type........: Album [REMASTERED]
Label.......: Vic Records
Language....: EN
Source......: WEB/FLAC (16bit)
Quality.....: 994kbps / 44.1 kHz / Stereo
Tracks......: 14 tracks
Playtime....: 00:59:55
Size........: 426.5 MiB
R.Date......: 2026-06-14
S.Date......: 2025-11-28
Url.........: https://open.qobuz.com/album/pi1g3k05h4t33
01. Wings of Fallen Majesty 3:53
02. A Crimson Vision in the Glade of Shadowfire 3:26
03. Prelude to Midnight 1:14
04. Under Blackening Horizons 4:34
05. Through the Impure Veil of Dawn 3:07
06. Dreaming Beyond Dawnless Realms 4:38
07. Dominus Luciferi 3:57
08. Fear Us for We Are the Darkness 4:48
09. Darkness Rape the Tranquil Shore of Eternity 5:16
10. Shadow of All Forsaken (bonus) 6:02
11. Where the Forest Screams (bonus) 4:12
12. Dreaming Beyond Dawnless Realms (bonus) 5:34
13. Under Blackening Horizons (bonus) 5:08
14. I of the Blackstorm (bonus) 4:06
England and Black Metal during the years 1992-1995; a
time when Frater Nihil was busy making history with his
Cacophonous Records. It was a period when email
addresses didn't exist, snail mail was the standard way
to stay in touch or get demos, and when Cradle of Filth
moved away from their Death Metal demo days to adopt a
melodic and symphonic Black Metal sound, a move that
proved highly lucrative. During that time, a few Cradle
of Filth members went their own way with Hecate
Enthroned and December Moon. You also had Bal-Sagoth
with their unique take on Black Metal. And we shouldn't
forget The Fallen, who toured the UK with Emperor and
Cradle of Filth despite having only one demo.
Alongside these acts, Thus Defiled was another name on
the list. While the band name was taken from Venom's
'Possessed', "Look at me Satans Child, born of evil thus
defiled", expressing their love for the Newcastle upon
Tyne legends, all comparisons to the classic Cronos,
Mantas, and Abaddon trio end there.
With 'Blasphemous Coven', and 'Enchanted by the Dark
One', the Worthing, West Sussex band released two demos
that, like early Cradle of Filth, were more like pure,
sometimes grindin', somtimes Doomy, Death Metal with
raspy guttural vocals, rather than the Black Metal they
are known for later on.
The album was released two years after the demos by Dark
Trinity Productions, partly owned by Paul Carter, who
handled vocals, guitars, and keyboards for Thus Defiled.
According to him, many labels wanted to sign Thus
Defiled, including a major label, but none of the deals
were right. The only choice was to start their own
label. In addition to this and the following album, they
are remembered for releasing Denial of God's 'The Ghouls
of DOG', EP and a Buried Beneath compilation before the
label shut down in 1998.
On their debut 'Through the Impure Veil of Dawn', you
can hear the shift toward Melodic Black Metal, though
the Death Metal past hasn't been completely abandoned.
The guttural vocals are still present, but are swapped
more often for screams. The use of keyboards in the
style of Cradle of Filth and Hecate Enthroned, along
with up-tempo riffs, is also very much in the vein of
Hecate Enthroned. This combination allows for different
styles and approaches within a single track. Take the
opener 'Wings of Fallen Majesty', as an example: on one
hand, you hear that classic UK Melodic Black Metal of
the era, while on the other, there's a fast-paced
passage similar to Sarcófago's 'Satanic Lust'. The shift
to Black Metal is also clear through the visual side, as
corpse-paint made its appearance.
Fortunately, they didn't bring everything over from the
demos, as that six-minute intro on 'Blasphemous Coven',
wouldn't have been to everyone's taste...or patience.
However, you can hear the unfolding of a direction Thus
Defiled wanted to take, even while it was still in
development. Simply put, typical UK Melodic Black Metal
is there but in an unpolished form, which is perfectly
audible in a song like 'Dominus Luciferi'.
Dani Filth noted about that era that there weren't many
bands in the UK playing Black Metal, so it was a small
group carrying the torch. Thus Defiled was certainly one
of them.
Remastered edition with five bonus tracks, rehearsal
recordings from 1994.