UMUR
"Seventh Blasphemy" is the first demo recording by Finnish black/death metal act Beherit. The demo was independently released in February 1990. Beherit formed in 1988 under the Horny Malformity monicker, but soon changed their name to Pseudochrist. In 1989 they finally changed their name to Beherit. After releasing three demos and an EP under the Beherit monicker they changed their name again to The Lord Diabolus and released one demo in 1991 under that monicker before ultimately changing their name back to Beherit only a few months later.
The original incarnation of Beherit was the trio of Nosteratu (guitars, vocals), Demon (bass, vocals), and The Last Slaughter (drums). This lineup recorded the three demos and the 1991 "Dawn of Satan's Millennium" EP, before Demon exited and the two remaining members changed the name to The Lord Diabolus. The name change was not solely due to the lineup change, but more a consequence of the issues Beherit had with the Turbo Music label. The label released the "Dawn of Satan's Millennium" EP, and Beherit did actually record a full-length studio album, which was ready for release in the spring of 1991, but it ended up shelved and didn´t see the light of day until June 2011, when it was released through the Kvlt label.
Stylistically the four tracks featured on "Seventh Blasphemy" (one is a dark and atmospheric demonic voice intro) are relatively simple, raw, and savage black/death metal. Considering that it´s the first demo recorded by a very young band, Beherit have actually managed to produce a decent sounding recording. It´s lo-fi, murky, and distorted, but there is exactly the right amount of aggression and blasphemous occult charm to it, which fans of the genre appreciate. The Finnish black metal scene was just starting out at this point, and "Seventh Blasphemy" is one of the first Finnish releases in the genre. It´s rough around the edges and not as extreme as some of their subsequent releases, but there are moments of promise here. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.