Artist: Fegefeuer
Country: Germany
Label: Narbentage Produktionen
Formats: LP
Year: 2026
Narbentage Produktionen, the label behind this vinyl reissue of the only recording Fegefeuer ever made, is based in the village of Ralingen, a town situated right on the Luxembourg border in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, which in turn surrounds the state of Saarland. Knowing this, it is perhaps not surprising that the label’s owner scours his entire geographical surroundings for the most obscure Black Metal recorded in the area. In that quest, we have already been treated to a great deal of his work. Best known are his Grausamkeit releases and related side projects. The latest batch of Narbentage Produktionen releases included not only a vinyl compilation of the only two demo tapes from the early 2000s by Luxembourg-based Wanterkraaft, but also the vinyl version of ‘Plageteufel’.
Although legend has it that another demo tape was recorded sometime in the mid-1990s, it has in all likelihood been lost to time. So ‘Plageteufel’, with its seven tracks including a Darkthrone cover, is the only remaining reminder that this band ever existed. Just like many other bands and projects whose recordings were once released via Narbentage Produktionen, Fegefeuer is also one of the links in that vast network of activity within the local Black Metal scene.
Alexander ‘Ahroun Pesthauch’ Hinz handled the instrumentation and Lars ‘Corvus Schwarznagel’ Altmeier the vocals. Hinz later moved to Berlin, where he has established himself as a free-spirited musician and has been running the label Bleeding Heart Nihilist Productions (including Minenfeld, Fvneral Fvkk and Pestlegion) since 2013. Altmeier is currently M.I.A. but, following the break-up of Fegefeuer, he formed Wings Of Evil together with B.S.o.D. from Grausamkeit, who also spent two brief periods in Fegefeuer. Wings Of Evil was also short-lived, possibly lasting just a year, though it did produce two demos and a split with Corneus. Both several works by Corneus and a compilation of Wings Of Evil’s work were later re-released by, you guessed it, Narbentage Produktionen.
‘Plageteufel’ was recorded in the summer of 1999 and serves as a testament to the spirit of the times. To be honest, it’s not much more than that. Even with the best will in the world, this demo can’t really be called anything special. It’s very roughly recorded Raw Black Metal, much like so many demos that existed towards the end of the 1990s. At times, it reminds me of the earliest work by the Dutch bands Funeral Winds and Countess, as well as a number of Portuguese bands from the same period. The loud vocals, which actually drown out the rest of the music constantly, are something that evokes a certain sense of nostalgia in me. Those feedback-laden vocals are a phenomenon I know all too well from the piles of demos I collected back then. At some point, the question arose as to whether this was a deliberate choice or the result of (careless) incompetence.
This reissue should therefore be seen primarily as a way of preserving a piece of history, and I can well imagine that it brings back some very fond memories for a number of people who were involved in that local Luxembourgish/German underground Black Metal scene.
Whether it is a matter of limited musical capabilities (at the time) is something I cannot judge, but in any case, with ‘Plageteufel’ there was a clear conscious effort to ensure that the band’s aesthetics would fit perfectly within the realm of pure, obscure underground Black Metal. This was never meant to sound pretty or polished, nor to attract a huge following. This is Black Metal as it was intended from the early 90s onwards: ugly and evil.
