Dark Heresy
Encyclopedia
Dark Heresy was a Baroque
death metal
band based in suburban London
, England
and mainly active during the years 1993-1995, a period during which the London underground metal scene peaked. They played over fifty concerts across England during this period, often as headliners (including one night headlining the Marquee
) as well as supporting bands like Ancient Rites
, At the Gates
, Cradle of Filth
and Dissection
. They split up in 1996 following some line-up difficulties.
guitarist Richard "Arnold" Summers (who wrote all of the band's music), with marked Baroque
and jazz
influences, tapping
, and frequent use of the tritone
or the interval of an augmented fourth. Although at the time dismissed by metal magazine Kerrang!
as "a widdly Carcass
", Terrorizer was more enthusiastic, writing that "Dark Heresy's music is not about mind-numbing brutality and dazzling speed, but is about complex and reflective musical structures supporting complex ideas", and describing the band's 1993 demo Diabolus In Musica as "one of the most inventive works from an occultist band." A decade after Dark Heresy had split up, DragonForce
's Herman Li
said of them, "they're the ones everybody knows the name of. You know, loads of people have got a copy of [Dark Heresy's 1995 album Abstract Principles Taken to Their Logical Extremes
]. They must have beaten a lot of people up."
, antireligion
(often with a specifically anti-Christian sentiment), Germanic paganism
and the Middle Ages
, they were also highly unusual for their time (in the context of death metal) for focusing at least as much on love and eroticism
. In 1995, Terrorizer described the band's lyrics, noting that they are "extremely long and gather together many anti-Christian diatribes which are as clever as they are shocking or sardonic ... After hearing this CD, you too may seriously question many aspects about the spiritual self".
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
band based in suburban London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and mainly active during the years 1993-1995, a period during which the London underground metal scene peaked. They played over fifty concerts across England during this period, often as headliners (including one night headlining the Marquee
Marquee Club
The Marquee was a music club first located at 165 Oxford Street, London, England when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts.It was also the location of the first ever live performance by The Rolling Stones on 12 July 1962....
) as well as supporting bands like Ancient Rites
Ancient Rites
Ancient Rites is a Flemish black metal band formed in 1988. Initially, the line- up consisted of guitar players Johan and Phillip, drummer Stefan, and Gunther Theys on bass and vocals. In 1990 the Dark Ritual demo was released in the underground scene, getting worldwide attention just as black...
, At the Gates
At the Gates
At the Gates is an extreme metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden, and a major progenitor of the Gothenburg death-metal sound. Their early albums lean towards a death metal sound, but later albums sound more like melodic death metal.Initially active from 1990 to 1996, the band reformed in 2007 for a...
, Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band, formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic black metal, and other extreme metal styles, while their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily...
and Dissection
Dissection (band)
Dissection was a black metal band from Strömstad, Sweden. The band was formed in 1989, by Jon Nödtveidt. The band released its first EP in 1991. They disbanded in 2006, after Nödtveidt's suicide.- Band overview :...
. They split up in 1996 following some line-up difficulties.
Music
Dark Heresy's songs were often long and complex in arrangement due to the ambitions and considerable technical skills of virtuosoVirtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
guitarist Richard "Arnold" Summers (who wrote all of the band's music), with marked Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
influences, tapping
Tapping
Tapping is a guitar playing technique, where a string is fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion of being pushed onto the fretboard, as opposed to the standard technique being fretted with one hand and picked with the other...
, and frequent use of the tritone
Tritone
In classical music from Western culture, the tritone |tone]]) is traditionally defined as a musical interval composed of three whole tones. In a chromatic scale, each whole tone can be further divided into two semitones...
or the interval of an augmented fourth. Although at the time dismissed by metal magazine Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
as "a widdly Carcass
Carcass (band)
Carcass are an extreme metal band from England, who formed in 1985 and disbanded in 1995. A reunion was enacted in 2008 without one of its original members, drummer Ken Owen, due to health reasons....
", Terrorizer was more enthusiastic, writing that "Dark Heresy's music is not about mind-numbing brutality and dazzling speed, but is about complex and reflective musical structures supporting complex ideas", and describing the band's 1993 demo Diabolus In Musica as "one of the most inventive works from an occultist band." A decade after Dark Heresy had split up, DragonForce
DragonForce
DragonForce are an English power metal band from London. Formed in 1999, the group is known for its long and fast guitar solos, fantasy-based lyrics, and electronic sounds in their music to add to their retro video game-influenced sound. Guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman are the only two...
's Herman Li
Herman Li
Herman Li is a British Chinese musician, best known as a guitarist for the power metal band DragonForce.-Playing style:Li draws influences from rock, all sub-genres of metal as well as video game music and often mimics sounds from popular retro games from the late 80s, early-90s arcade, and PC games...
said of them, "they're the ones everybody knows the name of. You know, loads of people have got a copy of [Dark Heresy's 1995 album Abstract Principles Taken to Their Logical Extremes
Abstract Principles Taken to Their Logical Extremes
Abstract Principles Taken to Their Logical Extremes is the only album by Dark Heresy, a death metal band from London, England, released in 1995.-Track listing:# "Engines of Torture" – 4:00# "The Last Temptation of Pan" – 8:00...
]. They must have beaten a lot of people up."
Lyrics
Written mainly by vocalist Kola Krauze, Dark Heresy's lyrics were as long and complex as its music. Dealing with themes such as religionReligion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, antireligion
Antireligion
Antireligion is opposition to religion. Antireligion is distinct from atheism and antitheism , although antireligionists may be atheists or antitheists...
(often with a specifically anti-Christian sentiment), Germanic paganism
Germanic paganism
Germanic paganism refers to the theology and religious practices of the Germanic peoples of north-western Europe from the Iron Age until their Christianization during the Medieval period...
and the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, they were also highly unusual for their time (in the context of death metal) for focusing at least as much on love and eroticism
Eroticism
Eroticism is generally understood to refer to a state of sexual arousal or anticipation of such – an insistent sexual impulse, desire, or pattern of thoughts, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality and romantic love...
. In 1995, Terrorizer described the band's lyrics, noting that they are "extremely long and gather together many anti-Christian diatribes which are as clever as they are shocking or sardonic ... After hearing this CD, you too may seriously question many aspects about the spiritual self".
Members
- Andrew "Wooj" Wood - drums
- Hans Stiles - bass, Vocals
- Richard "Arnold" Summers - guitar, keyboards
Former members
- Loz Archer - vocals, keyboards
- Kola Krauze - vocals
- Matt Goddard - guitar
- Marcus GreatwoodMarcus GreatwoodMarcus Greatwood is a British freediving coach. Although an international coach he is most noted for his inception and development of "NT Style" Freediving, based on relaxation and breathing techniques . Marcus has coached 5 world records with Herbert Nitsch including the 214m NoLimits record set...
'Mortgage' - guitar - Paul Harvey - bass
- Jae - guitar
Demos
- Diabolus In Musica (1993)
- Speared and Twisted (1992)
- Blinded by Lies (1990)