With yet another torrent of misanthropic bile in the form of a new Anaal Nathrakh album waiting in the wings to be unleashed later this year, it seems a good opportunity to travel back to the formation of the band’s unique sound, in the form of Total Fucking Necro. A compilation of the band’s two 1999 demos, it’s expectedly raw but still very much the rough shape of what would take physical form on their début full-length, 2001’s excellent The Codex Necro. Before the grind and much of the industrial influences were taken aboard, this was very much pure black metal in the early Emperor/Mayhem vein, albeit with a hefty dose of the band’s own personality already shaping the music in their own direction.

Considering these are demos, they’re remarkably good. The drum machine programming isn’t quite as smoothly integrated into the music as it would later become, but it’s still hard to notice unless you’re listening for it. And the songwriting is superb; although the slightly earlier tracks are rougher around the edges, there’s no denying the heaviness or eeriness of Anaal Nathrakh. The Supreme Necrotic Audnance’s creepy opening sample (reused from Anaal Nathrakh, of course) leads to a blasting explosion of grimness, walls of guitars that even includes something of a solo through the blizzard – it’s both epic and heavy, the grim-faced relentlessness of De Mysteriis-era Mayhem taken forward perfectly. The torrential darkness pouring out on Ice Blasting Storm Winds is particularly Mayhemic, vocalist V.I.T.R.I.O.L. even aping Attila Csihar’s vocal shrieks and groans. And of course, the two Mayhem covers, of De Myteriis Dom Sathanas and Carnage, are given a brutal makeover, keeping the powerful riffs and psychotic vocals but somehow pumping the songs into a rabid frenzy.

Yet the band prove they’re more than a tribute act with Satanarchist, an epic rampage through classic Norwegian black metal, and L.E.T.H.A.L. Diabolic, a raw storm of distorted riffs and screams hiding hints of melody. That melody is slightly more apparent on The Technogoat’s rampaging heaviness, which allows for some experimenting with a slower tempo to devastating effect, and Necrodeath plays with the drum machine well to verge upon catchiness at moments. Obviously, as a demo collection this is a collection of ideas that would go on to be improved upon (only two songs survived to the debut album) but being a fan of Anaal Nathrakh means that you like your black metal to be as violently angry as possible, so you should be able to cope with demo-quality recordings! Something of a diamond in the rough, Total Fucking Necro is an interesting listen to see the band’s influences before they would go on to create The Codex Necro.