Slaughter of Innocence was the first full-length feature album from British black metal

Black metal

Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....

 band, Hecate Enthroned

Hecate Enthroned

Hecate Enthroned are a symphonic black metal band from Cheshire, England.-Biography :The band formed in 1993 under the name Daemonum by singer Jon and guitarist Nigel, as a black/death metal hybrid. After a few practices and recording a demo, vocalist Jon left the band after taking up an offer to...

.

The album was released on October 21, 1997 through Blackened Records and distributed in the USA by Death Records, a subsidiary of Metal Blade Records

Metal Blade Records

Metal Blade Records is a record label which was founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The U.S. corporate office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Arizona, Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distributed in the U.S. by Sony BMG Music...

. It saw a step forward musically, with an increase in speed and heaviness. The album's production was criticised as sounding "grainy". Further criticism was directed at their music, with many critics likening them to 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...

, who by that time was already a very prominent band in the heavy metal scene, that they apparently "ripped off". This was mostly due to Jon Pritchard's singing style (on this album especially), which was akin to Dani Filth

Dani Filth

Dani Filth is the lyricist, vocalist and founding member of the metal band Cradle of Filth.-Personal life:...

's

The album was a critic success, but lacked proper publicity, and therefore feel short with most of the public, but it still is viewed as a significant step forward for British extreme metal, when at the time the genre was covered by Scandinavian bands.

Production

Recorded January 20th to February 3rd 1997 under a full moon.

Enigineered & Produced by Andy Sneap

Andy Sneap

Andy "Undie" Sneap is an English record producer, recording engineer, mixer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is best known for producing and mixing many acclaimed heavy metal albums.-Musician:...

Mixed by Hecate Enthroned & Andy Sneap

Ambiencs & Mastering by Tim Turan

Satanicus symbol & Baphomet / Kaos by Jon & Marc

Christfire art by Paul

Goetia & At the Haunted Gallows of Dawn by Michael

All band photography by Paul Campbell

Cover & Tracklist photography by Simon Marsden

Design & Layout by Hecate Enthroned & Ady @ PHD

Track listing

All music by Hecate Enthroned

All lyrics by Jon

• 1. Goetia
• 2. Beneath A December Twilight
• 3. The Spell Of The Winter Forest
• 4. Aflame In The Halls Of Blasphemy
• 5. A Monument For Eternal Martyrdom
• 6. The Slaughter Of Innocence, A Requiem For The Mighty
• 7. The Haunted Gallows Of Dawn
• 8. Christfire
• 9. Within The Ruins Of Eden
• 10. A Danse Macabre
• 11. The Beckoning (An Eternity Of Darkness)

Line-up

• Jon - All Vocals & Satanic Poetry
• Paul - Bass Guitar
• Robert - Drums
• Marc - Guitars
• Nigel - Guitars / Acoustic Guitars
• Michael - Orchestra & Choir of the Damned