Gehenna - The Birth of Vengeance 7"

Among other things, I have been trying to get hold of the earlier Gehenna releases for a while now. The opportunity to acquire this record has appeared a few times, but it had seemed to be either too expensive or at times when there were other things I just had to buy. A few weeks ago however, I was able to pick up my own copy from a seller on Discogs (I think) for a reasonable price.

Released all the way back in 1996, this marks Gehenna's second vinyl release, after their split with Apartment 213. It contains five tracks, that are really just as Brutal today as they were 17 years ago. Any of you that have "The War Of The Sons Of Light and The Suns Of Darkness" will have already heard the tracks, as every one made it's way onto that compilation 12".

As what seems the norm with Gehenna releases, the record itself is very plain. Just plain black with no labels. Although I have a feeling there is another version out there with white labels. What I know for sure is the existence of a version with different artwork. Instead of the shot of buildings, there is a picture of a snake (as can be seen here). Included with the record is a printed lyrics sheet.

I thought I would scan a nice high-resolution image of the artwork, as I wasn't able to find such a one on the internet to make my iTunes complete. When I was doing so I noticed a rather faint image on the back of the artwork card. It is mostly red, but I could definitely make out an image very similar to the artwork present on Pulling Teeth's Witches Sabbath series.

A quick scan and some dodgy image manipulation later, and I was correct. It is the same work as number V in the Witches Sabbath series. Of course the art itself comes from Compendium Maleficarum by Francesco Maria Guazzo. 

Rot in Hell demo tape

Another day, another awesome Rot in Hell release. I must admit, I do check Ebay and the like relatively frequently for RIH releases, but I am still really quite surprised when a rarity such as this pops up. For whatever reason, I didn't have to bid particularly high to win it either. 

This is the original RIH demo tape. Their first release, all the way back from 2007. This has later been produced into a 7", and included on the Hallways of the Always compilation.

Although the side of the case contains lists only two tracks, the tape does contain three. These are exactly the same three that appear on the later releases, which includes "Final Word" in addition to the two below.

Even though the tape is the first thing released by the band, there is still the attention to detail put into the packaging that is present on the later RIH releases. The tape itself is plain black, but comes housed in a great cardboard sleeve, which has been given a sort of grainy effect. The whole thing has a lot of Process-themed imagery.

Inside the cover is an insert similar to what was inside the "Sins of Malice" EP. The same Robert deGrimston is used, although this insert folds out into a cross shape. The lyrics are printed below the picture, although they are quite jumbled and written over the top of one another.

I also noticed the card used to create the sleeve is rather interesting. I was expecting plain card, but there is definitely something printed in there. I could never cut it open, but I sure am curious to see all that lies within....