The production of the demos is not the greatest, but strangely it's nowhere near as bad as Emperor's famous "Wrath Of The Tyrant" demo, which was recorded later. Samoth's guitarwork is quite thick and heavy sounding, and written in chunky-sounding death metal riffs. The drumming, done by Thorbjørn Akkerhaugen, is quite prominent, and along with the guitar sound, this makes for quite a chaotic atmosphere. Fortunately, the drumming is still strongly black metal, but it is also surprisingly free and interactive with the guitarwork and melodies. Only occasionally are straight-ahead blast beasts heard, as Akkerhaugen prefers to use fills, stop-times, and accents. This makes the drumming stand out for a black metal band, and helps build on the chaotic, confusing nature of the album. Often the structure of the songs will alternate between semi-melodic, floating death metal-esque passages laden with keyboards and dark atmosphere, and fast, full-on blasting black metal sections. This alternation is the key to the unique quality of "Into The Woods Of Belial", and indeed Thou Shalt Suffer as a band.

Ihsahn's contribution to the recordings is, aside from vocals, the keyboard; even this early his style is quite evident and distinct. "Into The Woods Of Belial" does not have the same mysterious bombast as early Emperor, however; instead, the focus is on a dark, visceral, and most of all – frightening – sound. The keyboards add to this effect very well, creating a mood of unease and darkness reminiscent of a horror film (minus the cheesy aspect that many bands inadvertently spawn). Another one of the most interesting points of this album – all of the recordings contained therein – is the vocal styling. Ihsahn sings, but instead of his familiar throaty scream, he executes a very guttural, wet, death growl. This may turn off some veteran black metal listeners, but it sheds a great deal of light on Ihsahn's (and Samoth's) musical influences at the time.

Many of the songs on "Into The Woods Of Belial" are written by Samoth; they are consequently very strong and cohesive, yet still varied. The album is interesting to listen to because of this variation, as well as its unique death metal pre-Emperor sound. The musicianship is very strong – telltale of the talent which would later head-start Emperor. All of the parts are played quite cleanly, for all instruments. This is in strong contrast to the somewhat cryptic production of the recordings, but it seems to fit without disrupting the chaotic mood.

All in all, "Into The Woods Of Belial" is quite a unique and interesting listen. Unfortunately, it is somewhat obscure – though now this reissue is available with all of the band's early material in a nice package with new artwork. These recordings are definitely items for completists, but the reissue should suffice for those who want to enjoy pre-Emperor music made by two of the black metal gods. This album is definitely worth the money, and should be sought out by anyone with a passion for early black metal and black-death metal, especially Emperor.

written by Derek Schultz

Playing time: 50.40