Darkwoods My Betrothed

Darkwoods My Betrothed are a Melodic Black Metal band from Kitee, Finland. Formed in 1992 as Virgin's Cunt, they set out to be the "most blasphemous black metal band in Europe", in a rather tongue-in-cheek sense. After recording a couple demos under this name, the band started to take themselves a lot more seriously and changed their name to Darkwoods My Betrothed. They recorded the demo Dark Aureolis Gathering in 1994, not too different from the band's roots in extreme black metal, but it started to show serious maturity in the song-writing and delivery, mostly noticed in the strange and rather unnerving vocals; not only a traditional black metal shriek, the singers also did a wail-type of scream. In 1995, Hammerheart Productions released Heirs of the Northstar, their first full-length album, which was a turning for the group. Still holding true to their black metal roots, the band also started to experiment with a slower-paced and more melodic viking metal sound, and usage of "drunken Viking" style clean vocals mixed with the traditional black metal screams. The lyrics were also quite different from those in the demo days; rather than dark and Satanic rantings, bassist/lyricist Teemu started a powerful fascination with Odinism and the Gods of Valhalla, and anger towards the old Christian kings that forced their religion down the throats of the heathen Scandinavians. Most of the lyrics seem to dwell on the old days and the destruction of the cross in the name of Odin. 1996 saw the release of Autumn Roars Thunder, this time under the Solistitium label. Despite the melodic meanderings of the 11 minute opening title track, the rest of the album screams by with the intensity and rage of the days of Dark Aureolis Gathering. Songs such as Nightowl and The Conspiracy of the Pagan Cult explode with the same energy and raw power of the other black metal contemporaries. In 1998, the band returned with Witch-Hunts, a conceptual album which eschewed much of the melodic stylings of the previous two albums; the majestic viking metal sound that took center stage was replaced with pure, unholy black metal. Due to numerous delays by the record label, it was released roughly one year after it was originally planned. Afterwards, the band seemed to disappear off the face of the earth. They recently resurfaced for a few shows and talks of releasing a new album.