SORHIN - APOKALYPSENS ÄNGEL (2000) and I DET GLIMRANDE MÖRKRETS DJUP (1997)

Really glad that Shadow Records reissued these two Sorhin albums Apokalypsens Ängel in 2016 and I Det Glimrande Mörkrets Djup in 2018. Both limited to 500 copies each and hand numbered. They came with all sorts of different nice additions but more on that later.

Sorhin is one of my favorite Black Metal bands from my country of Sweden. I would even go so far as to say they are in my top-10 Swedish bands ever. That says a lot of just how much I've enjoyed to have them both on vinyl.

Apokalypsens Ängel originally released in 2000 on a vinyl reissue from 2016 it also includes a single sided 7”, poster, patch and postcard. I got a ton of Sorhin postcards thanks to ordering from the Helter Skelter Bandcamp so many times where you can find all Shadow Records releases and a whole lot more.

The 7" has the song To Give Death originally released as a split with a great Swedish band called Puissance a Martial Industrial band with Henry Möller from Arditi. To Give Death doesn't sound anything like Apokalypsens Ängel it's less refined and more primitive a really great addition.

Puissance also contributed to the intro song Inmarsch and Moder jord... undergång nalkas on the album.

Actually Apokalypsens Ängel was released by Shadow Records in 2000 and limited to 345 copies. It's quite expensive nowadays I will own that one day! But for now this reissue will have to do.

I Det Glimrande Mörkerts Djup (1997) a reissue from 2018 that comes with a poster and insert. It also has a bonus song Svart Lyser Tronen. Both these releases are hand numbered and limited to 500 copies each.

Also I Det Glimrande Mörkerts Djup got a vinyl picture release in 1997. Co released with Mark Of The Devil and Sorhin's own Svartvintras Productions. That one was also hand numbered and limited to 500 copies. Sure it would be great to add that one to my collection but I try and not buy picture disc vinyls lately.

I included the original CD from 1997 of I Det Glimrande Mörkerts Djup that were released by the short lived Swedish record company Near Dark Productions because of the cover art differences. I almost always enjoy the original cover artwork but I think that this reissue has a better cover aesthetically but what one had from the 90's is what one is used to see.

Sorhin also released their EP Döden MCMXCVIII (1998) and the single 7" vinyl Åt Fanders Med Ljusets Skapelser (1997) on Near Dark Productions. The later one was only released on vinyl at the time and the bonus song I wrote about earlier Svart Lyser Tronen appeared on the B-side of that 7".

Also Döden MCMXCVIII (1998) was released on 7" vinyls by Near Dark Productions with a different cover artwork in a set of 3. With the 3 band members Nattfursth (vocals), Eparygon (guitar & bass) and Zathanel (drums) faces on a standalone release each. They have the same two songs though.

Done posts at my Instagram on both these albums on CD's before and one here on the blog so there’s some repetition. But I have been listening extremely much to Sorhin lately. They are probably among my top-10 Swedish bands ever. So they’re of course always great to write about.

The first Sorhin album I bought was the astonishing Apokalysens Ängel on CD from Shadow Records. It’s still my favorite release of theirs and the I Det Glimrande Mörkerts Djup album is my 2nd favorite.

Both were recorded at The Abyss Studio but doesn’t sound like that. I’m NOT trying to knock that studio I just think both albums has such a great uniqueness. Sure there's been timeless classics recorded over there but I'm amazed how amazing they sound especially Apokalysens Ängel.

Sorhin, Funeral Mist, Malign & Triumphator are some of the bands that made a huge impact on the whole Scandinavian Black Metal scene. At the time of the late 90’s it wasn’t like they invented a new formula. I feel that those were and still are something that felt so important for the entire genre.

They just played extremely excellent Black Metal with an amazing huge passion.

Something that many of the bigger (Norwegian especially ) bands started to lack at the end of the 90’s and/or in the beginning of the new millennium in my opinion. Some felt like they had an identity crisis almost and tried to include to much non Metal into their music. I don’t need to mention any bands you can probably think of some who struggled with their creativity and identity.

However this is still a post about Sorhin. In the now 2.5 year old interview with vocalist Nattfursth over at Bardo Methodölogy I highly recommended you to read that one. A bit off-topic but I own all 4 printed Bardo Methodölogy issues although amazing a bit disappointing that Sorhin wasn't included in any of them. But with almost 150 articles to choose from it isn't of course easy to have all in a limited printed "fanzine".

Anyway over there Nattfursth said they had wrote most of the music and lyrics to a 3rd album called Hädanfärd was composed during 1999 into the millenium.

There's also a new (well 5 years old as of me writing this) Sorhin song that Bardo Methodölogy's  Niklas Göransson got sent to him in advance of the interview. It doesn't say but probably just at a raw demo stage. That one was composed in 2014 and recorded in 2015 so there’s still hope...

 ...not for a return because according to Nattfursth, Sorhin has never quit.

Really wish that this will come to fruition someday. Cannot think of many other legendary bands that I would like to see, realistically, in the Black Metal scene once again as Sorhin.