Darkest Oath

With a history reaching back to the early-1990s, DARKEST OATH belongs to the primordial protagonists of the traditional Hellenic Black Metal sound. While DARKEST OATH has mainly functioned as a creative outlet of multi-instrumentalist Dimitris/Jim “Necrochrist” Angelinas (vocals, guitars bass, drum programming – CEREMONY, MEDIEVAL DEMON), the band’s origins can be traced back to a short-lived act called CEREMONY, which in addition to Jim Necrochrist (vocals, bass) featured a full lineup consisting of Vasilis (guitars), Nick (drums) and Panagiotis (keyboards). After releasing a promotional item simply entitled “Promo Tape” (1993), which included an early version of the future D.A. composition “Ceremonial Whispers of the Ancient Goat”, CEREMONY transformed into DARKEST OATH, now working primarily as a one-man endeavor.

Come autumn 1993, DARKEST OATH entered the iconic Storm Studios to record their premiere composition “Ceremonial Whispers of the Ancient Goat”, realized with the support of Chris (guitars) and George “Morbid” Zacharopoulos (keyboards – NECROMANTIA, etc.) While boasting all of the qualitative aspects of the classic Greek Black Metal sound, Necrochrist also managed to add his own distinctive touch through his gift for writing long, soaring melodies backed up by throbbing, almost hypnosis-inducing beats. Having finished studio work and issuing the song as a single-track promo tape, Necrochrist got in touch with fellow Greek atmospheric Death Metal act INVOCATION to put out a shared split 7” – presumablyto be issued by the most important local label at the time: Molon Lave. However, for some reason the DARKEST OATH/INVOCATION split was only distributed as a promotional tape, and George Osmak of Molon Lave instead suggested that Necrochrist should record a second track at Storm Studios, which would then be issued along with “Ceremonial Whispers…” on 7” vinyl. The result was the “Paradise of the Infernal Torment” (1994) EP/single, which arguably remains as the band’s best known and most widely distributed work to this day.

Following the release of this classic piece of blackened Hellenic steel, DARKEST OATH went into a period of hibernation, as Necrochrist were obliged to fulfilled his duties in the Greek army. When activities were resumed in 1996, DARKEST OATH had been extended to a quartet with guitarists Akis and Nektarios joining, along with Margaret (keyboards) – although the trio appears to have been recruited on a session basis rather than as full-fledged members. With Molon Lave as well as Storm Studios on the wane (or ceasing to exist), the band entered another well-known Athenian studio (Studio 5) for the recording of a promotional release with the concise title “Promo Tape 1996”. Despite showing a promising and rather natural progression towards a lusher and more atmospheric sonic panorama, “Promo Tape 1996” didn’t manage to gain much attention at the time, except for a feature on Metal Invader’s “Warzone” compilation series – perhaps as a result of minimized promotion and distribution.

With diminished prospects, DARKEST OATH once again entered a period of inactivity. In fact, it would take ten years before the band showed any signs of life. At last, in 2006, Necrochrist decided to resurrect DARKEST OATH together with the assistance of Vasilis (guitars) and Panagiotis (bass). This time the band chose to handle the recordings themselves at Necrochrist’s home studio. The end product was a demo CDr entitled “De Occulta Philosophia” (2006), which included six tracks of a different nature than the band’s previous works. The style has changed quite dramatically and could best described as Heavy Metal-ized symphonic Black Metal with a strong keyboard presence.

Several apocryphal songs were recorded by Necrochrist alone in the wake of “De Occulta…”, yet remained hidden from the light for many years until brothers Alexandros and Kostas Karras of MEDIEVAL DEMON / Bowel of Noise Records proposed to put out a compilation of all previous DARKEST OATH material. This project was eventually realized as a CD release bearing the title “Libations to the Ancient Goat” (2013) – a very informative and comprehensive offering that compiles the total discography of DARKEST OATH along with a bunch of unreleased tracks recorded in the previously mentioned interim period.

According to the band’s official outlet, DARKEST OATH appears to once again have risen from the grave with an eyebrow-raising lineup consisting of Jim Necrochrist (vocals, guitars), Uncanny (guitars – MEDIEVAL DEMON), Jim Mutilator (bass – ROTTING CHRIST, VARATHRON, YOTH IRIA, etc.), George Kollias (EXTREMITY OBSESSION, NIGHTFALL, NILE, etc.), Achilles A (keyboards – SILENT WINTER) and Anastasia (vocals). A full-length album (the band’s first actually) is currently in the making under the working title “Daemonic Pyre ov Gnosis”.

For those with an interest in Greek Black Metal during its golden era, DARKEST OATH’s early material is obligatory listening. Their most easily accessible work – both in musical and material terms – is probably the “Paradise of the Infernal Torment” seven-inch, which can be found quite easily on the second-hand market. Alternatively, the compilation CD put out by Cryptia/Bowel of Noise is of course another good entry-point as it presents the band’s entire output in chronological order and can also be found relatively cheap.

Compilation appearances:
* Warzone VI [CD, Comp: Metal Invader, 1998]
* Black Metal Hellenic Cult [3CD, Comp, DVD Box: Azermedoth, 2017]