The story of Archon Satani may be known by now. In the early 90’s this dark ritual project lead by Tomas Pettersson and Mikael Stravöstrand from Sweden created various intense releases. After 1993 the duo separated. Pettersson concentrated on Ordo Equibrio, Stravöstrand made some more Archon Satani on his own and released as Inanna. In 2002 Cold Meat already released the double cd Of Gospels Lost and Forsaken, which compiled various LP and tape tracks. Now Cold Spring reissues the remastered cd Mind of Flesh and Bones, originally released in 1993 on Staalplaat.
The booklet does no make you much wiser. The album contains five untitled tracks, and there are no liner notes or other information. The music of Archon Satani does not take long to get me in it suffocating spell, with minimal and hypnotic sound structures. Deep drones, monotonous percussion with ritual hammering on metal, eerie sounds & evil voices, you get the picture. Most impressive part of the album for me is perhaps Part 4, with a dark dungeon atmosphere and very loud percussive blows.
Though much similar industrial ambient music has been created in the decade, Mind of Flesh and Bones stands out as one of the more convincing creations in the genre. It’s truly dark and haunting, without becoming kitsch or cliche.
