Artist: Varathron
Country: Greece
Label: Wolfkult Religion
Formats: 7” EP
Year: 2026
In the history of Black Metal, the Greek scene stands out as one of the most unique and recognisable. Forming separate from the Scandinavian Black Metal scene, it’s typified by the warmer atmosphere and Heavy Metal melody driven sound. A sound that would grow to inspire countless of bands, spread forth by the likes of Necromantia, Kawir and Zemial but undoubtedly pioneered by two bands: Rotting Christ and Varathron.
Rotting Christ deserves credit for being the first in the Hellenic Black Metal scene, with roots dating back to 1984 under the moniker Black Church before renaming to the name that helped spread the Greek Black Metal gospel in 1987. But not much of the band’s first rehearsal demos ‘Leprosy of Death’ and ‘Decline’s Return’ would indicate that the band would release scene-defining albums like ‘Thy Mighty Contract’ or ‘Non Serviam’. Instead, the earliest goings were very much Grindcore oriented, almost Noisy in nature. It is on the third demo, ‘Satanas Tedeum’ from 1989, that the first signs of that sound started to seep through but arguably the first real Black Metal releases are the Split with Monumentum and the classic EP ‘Passage to Arcturo’, both from 1991.
Varathron was formed slightly later, in 1988, and its first inception featured Stefan Necroabyssious, who to this day remains the vocalist of the band, drummer Spiros, guitar player John and the legendary Jim Mutilator on bass, at that time also a member of Rotting Christ. But while Rotting Christ dabbled in Grindcore in their early years, Varathron’s first demo ‘Procreation of the Unaltered Evil’ very much sounded like a blueprint of the Greek Black Metal scene straight from the start. In fact, while the band maybe took some stylistic sidesteps over their career, it is striking how much Varathron has remained recognisable over the years, from this first demo from 1989, through classic records like ‘His Majesty at the Swamp’ and ‘Walpurgisnacht’ all the way to the band’s latest full-length ‘The Crimson temple’ from 2023.
While ‘Procreation of the Unaltered Evil’ has made its way to several releases, like the ‘Genesis of Unaltered Evil’ compilation released by Nuclear War Now! Productions, this 7” EP release is the very first time since the original Demo that ‘Procreation of the Unaltered Evil’ sees a stand-alone release. And it very much feels like a time capsule, transporting us to a time where the first wave of Black Metal had subsided and new forces of evil were gathering for a grand return. The two tracks ‘Necranastasis’ and ‘Dawn of Sordid Decay’ pretty much sum up everything that made the band such an inspiration to many. With pretty heavy tuning on the guitars, the riffs are to the point, much in the spirit of the first wave Black Metal bands and their main sources of inspiration: Venom, Bathory, Slayer, Hellhammer/ Celtic Frost and the German Thrash Metal scene. Perhaps with slightly less emphasis on melody than on later recordings and with somewhat deeper growling on the vocals, the mystical warm atmosphere and captivating Heavy Metal infusion are already undeniable here. And while in the case of Rotting Christ the demo era is mostly a fun deep dive into their musical evolution, ‘Procreation of the Unaltered Evil’ stands as a milestone, a career and scene defining release.
To commemorate such a precious part of Black Metal history, the 7” EP version will be accompanied by a 12-page booklet with old photos, drawings and flyers. A wonderful way to pay homage to a recording that helped shape Black Metal as we know it today. Look out for May 15th, as this piece of history will likely be gone is moments, as it should be with such a monumental recording.
