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artist: Thus Defiled
title: Through the Impure Veil of Dawn
year: 2025
genre: Black Metal
type: Album [REMASTERED]
label: Vic Records
language: EN
rel. date: 2025-11-28
source: WEB/MP3
quality: CBR 320kbps / 44.1 kHz / Joint Stereo
runtime: 00:59:55
size: 137.4 MiB / 14 tracks
rip date: 2026-06-14
source url: https://open.qobuz.com/album/pi1g3k05h4t33
tracklist:
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
release notes:
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.