Artist: Tol-In-Gaurhoth
Country: Bulgaria
Label: Blasphemous Rumours Promotion
Formats: Cassette Tape
Year: 2026
For those thoroughly versed in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien, the name Tol-In-Gaurhoth might ring a bell. That wasn’t the case for me, and I had to turn to Google to find out that it means “Isle of Werewolves” in Sindarin, the language Tolkien created for the Elves. Of course, it’s not exactly unique anymore to name your band after something from Tolkien’s works, but ‘Domine Satanas’ was originally released in 1997, which does put the whole thing in a slightly different light. In fact, it was the only recording that the Bulgarian Black Metal band Tol-In-Gaurhoth ever released, which makes it the ultimate example of obscurity.
Bulgarian metal isn’t something you come across every day, and when you stumble upon a band that released just one demo tape back in 1997, the amateur metal historian in me is all ears. And to get right to the point: ‘Domine Satanas’ is a pretty good demo. It’s therefore definitely worth thanking the label in question, Blasphemous Rumours Promotion, also from Bulgaria, for unearthing this great little gem from the past.
The first thing that stands out is how closely the band’s singer, Lord Seth (who was also in Dark Inversion), resembles Abbath’s vocal style on Immortal’s debut album ‘Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism’. It’s almost impossible not to hum “call of the wintermooooon” along halfway through. The music also shares some similarities with Immortal, though it’s far less ingenious and catchy than the Norwegians’ work, but that’s certainly no party-killer.
There is a rather playful interaction between the fairly prominent bass guitar and the drums, which at times seem to be programmed, as well as some unorthodox guitar work and use of keyboards, demonstrating that the musicians involved are both musically skilled and creatively minded. A track like ‘Celebrating My Thousandth Year In Transylvania’, for example, reminds me of ‘My Angel’, Arcturus’ first 7″ EP from 1991. Also Ancient’s pre-album material comes to mind. Yet Tol-In-Gaurhoth hasn’t drawn inspiration solely from Norwegian bands. The outro, which consists of a distinctly Eastern-inspired guitar piece, proves just that.
All in all: if this were a demo released today, I would definitely have put Tol-In-Gaurhoth on my list of bands to keep an eye on. This checks all the boxes that make for an interesting recording in my book: it’s occult, it’s mysterious, and it’s not run-of-the-mill. I definitely recommend picking up this demo, even though it was originally released in 1997 – better late than never, aye.
