Back in 2004 when Pentacle entered Harrow Productions in Losser, The Netherlands, for the “Under the Black Cross” album sessions, we recorded three extra songs. Except for Necrovore’s “Divus de Mortuus” the band recorded two songs (“A Hellish Descent” and “Blast them from the Sky!”) for an additional release called “Archaic Undead Fury”.
Originally meant as a split 7” EP on Metal War Productions with the mighty Blood Storm featuring 1993 live recordings from our side (later released in its entirely as the “Into the Depths of Mill” live tape on Afterlife Productions), the release morphed into a 10” vinyl on From Beyond Productions containing both mentioned songs.
Though the history of its conception was rather troubled, “Archaic…” always remained as one of my favourite Pentacle releases. Released in 2005, the artwork kicked ass, the layout was awesome, the poster looked amazing and both songs truly delivered the goods. “A Hellish Descent” was the first song we wrote after the “Ancient Death” MLP / MCD and “Blast them from the Sky!” was the last one written before we set foot on hallowed Harrow ground. Both songs complemented each other very well and one can hear the band was on fire… After the original copies were sold out, “Archaic…”remained unavailable for many years.
Roel (Vic Records) was very interested in releasing the 10” on CD. He reached out to me many times to show his enthusiasm and dedication to make it happen. I really liked the idea, though I was rather hesitant as I knew there was no extra material to add to both songs. “Divus…” was already released as a CD bonus track on the US version of “Under the Black Cross” (Ibex Moon Records) and later on the “Vestibule of Hell” compilation LP (Wolfsbane Records) as well. There was no decent live material or rehearsal recording from this era of the band available, so that was not an option either. In the end, both Roel and I decided to make it happen anyway. As a band we still enjoy the original release very much and we thought it was a good idea to make it available on CD as well. I added lyrics, extensive liner notes and additional photo material to the booklet to add some value for money.
So, here you go! If you’re interested in a copy, please contact us or Vic Records.
Many thanks go out to Roel and Vic Records, Richard Schouten for the (additional) layout and everyone involved in the original release!
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