Kerno

KERNO was the brainchild of original VICE HUMAN guitarist Kostas Manopoulos (also a member of über-cult band VAAL); presumably an attenpt at 1980s-styled Black Metal right in middle of the second wave-boom. The band also included Vasillis Kapsalis (bass), Angelos Tsoukalas (drums, backing vocals - BLOODSTAINED, PHANTOM LORD, POWER CRUE, etc.), Mary Ioardinou (vocals) and session keyboardist Nick (surname unknown, probably the guy doing production).

With the exception of a few scattered, unreleased tracks, the sole official recording by the band was released as a demo tape entitled ”Satan Master” (1993). Now, while not sounding much like VENOM (or BATHORY for that matter), ”Satan Master” emanates a certain eighties Black Metal vibe rather than emulating the Nordic sound or its Hellenic counterpart. The music has one foot firmly placed in Heavy Metal, but also touches on the kind of evil Death Metal produced in the late-1980s. The employment of pitched-shifted voices, female vocals (!) and spooky keyboard interludes makes the demo stand out even more as somewhat of an oddity. As the demo progresses though, the style morphs to something more akin to then-contemporary Greek Black/Death Metal - something which is also evident on the unreleased compisitions floating around in the tape-trading community.

According to internet sources, KERNO was put to rest sometime after the band had acted as local opening act for TIAMAT in 1993. Kostas Manopoulos would of course show up on the scene again, most prominently in VICE HUMAN’s comeback as well as a stint with the Death Metal group OBDUKTION.

Compilation appearances:
* Crucifixion Compilation Tape [Cass, Comp, Hand-numbered: Self-released, 1995]
* Μεταλλικά Όργια #2 [Cass, Comp: Self-released, Unknown]