Artist: Morsun Diaboli
Country: Poland
Label: Diabolic Vitriol / Pro Morte
Formats: Demo Tape
Year: 2024
Although ‘Dzień Triumfu’, Morsun Diaboli’s second demo from 1998, had already been reissued once in 2019 and a compilation of all surviving Morsun Diaboli tracks was released in 2020 (and 2023), this band never crossed my path before. But, late 2024 Pro Morte (also responsible for the compilation) and Diabolic Vitriol joined forces to make ‘Dzień Triumfu’ available once again. Compared to the original version, this 2024-edition has the same new cover as the one from 2029 but this time in full-colour. So, anyone who, just like me, has been sleeping or living under a rock now has the chance to pick up one of these new 100 copies.
As a whole, ‘Dzień Triumfu’ is definitely not one of the great Polish Black Metal gems from the 90’s, but it does hold a lot of that great 90’s Black Metal power. I wouldn’t claim that it doesn’t sound Polish at all, but to me does sound far more familiar to Countess, including those typical quirky vocal antics and most Pagan/Heavy Metal-like song writing. Some acoustics/strumming and a rather raw and primitive sound do seal the deal here, making this a true product of its time and generation. I can fully imagine that this is the sort of Black Metal that doesn’t appeal to many new ears, but if you have lived through those 90’s or at least have a learned to appreciate it, this is truly a great trip down memory lane. Not only the overall production might sound wobbly and rather “light” for today’s standards, but also the rather clumsy transitions in tempo or from riff to riff is something that might feel awkward to many. But, to me that is exactly what holds the true charm of those 90’s Black Metal demos, they surely show a genre that is still in its formative and developing stages.
For a demo, this 40+ minute tape is quite a ride as well, not only giving you real value for money, but adding much to the overall experience too. Many of the Eastern European Black Metal releases of those years were characterized by making full use of the space offered by the cassette tapes, possibly prompted by limited resources, but it is something many will recognize. So also this demo simply has the length of an album and would not be inferior to it in terms of musical content either. It is nice to think that in those deepest regions of those Eastern European countries and other exotic places, there is still so much beauty that even the seasoned connoisseur has not yet been allowed to discover…
