This album is dedicated to a man so immersed in the ideas of Polish Black Metal that, even though he didn't create music, the BM elite decided to pay tribute by including their recordings on this compilation. The release is by Dark Blaze Stronghold, and Syrragh, responsible for the release, has done a great job packaging the CD in a superbly presented digipack, complete with lyrics and a story about Herr Burzum.

The rendition is beautiful and tasteful, although the booklet's thickness makes it a bit of a pain to close. The lineup includes 11 artists, including BATTLEMOON, DARK FURY, NECATOR, SELBSTMORD, PLAGA, KRIEGSMASCHINE, INFERNAL WAR, SUNWHEEL, WOLFF, LEGACY OF BLOOD, and MERETRIX IMMACULATE. As you can see, the vast majority are very distinguished bands. I must admit that until now I hadn't heard of BATTLEMOON and WOLFF (and the former delivered a truly excellent track here!).

The situation is different with MERETRIX IMMACULATE, which is included on this compilation due to its relationship to Herr Burzum, being the deceased's cousin. This rather weak performance is treated as a bonus track. The bands performed their first, previously unreleased songs, with the exception of LEGACY OF BLOOD, as their recording had already been released on a split with SELBSTMORD, albeit in a different version and with a different title.

Of all the tracks, in my opinion, the most noteworthy are "Assassins of Peace" INFERNAL WAR (which is played at concerts), KRIEGSMASCHINE "Unto Wormfeast Flesh," DARK FURY "Three Decades of Hatred," SELBSTMORD "Rabid," and BATTLEMOON "Glory of Darkness." In fact, aside from MERETRIX and NECATOR, all the rest are also very good.

A few months after the CD version, a double-disc vinyl of this tribute was released. Thanks to a lucky email to Syrragh, I ended up owning two vinyls in different colors: yellow splatter and red splatter. The large format makes the content even more impressive than the CD. Even the vinyl wrapper features the Lawless Brotherhood logo, familiar to me from AZELSGARD releases.

There are also two stickers. Despite the rather high cost, I think they're worth the price, as they're world-class. I recommend both the CD and the LP to everyone.

Contact Dark Blaze Stronghold:

syrragh@wp.pl