Rakoth

Rakoth, drawing its name from the "Master of Darkness" in Nick Perumov's Chronicle of Hjorvard, assembled in Russia during 1996 and set out to explore literary black metal laced with folk mysticism rooted in J.R.R. Tolkien's writings. Rather than delivering the unrelenting barrage of searing riffs and malevolent vocals common among most European black metal acts, the ensemble favored greater sonic variety. This choice shaped a vividly layered Middle Earth alive with lore, legend, illumination, and shadow.

Multiple personnel shifts preceded the group's stabilization around Rustam on keyboards, P. Noir handling vocals and flute, Dy on guitars, and Leshy at the drums. The debut demo, Tales of the Worlds Unreal, was tracked inside Rustam's garage and self-distributed in August 1997. Later that year, the follow-up demo Dark Ages Chronicle was captured live in a single four-hour session. Leshy exited without replacement during October.

By February 1998, favorable notices for The Dark Ages Chronicle had surfaced, prompting several Eastern European distributors to move the cassette in volume. The band then entered the studio to record its first full-length, Superstatic Equilibrium, which appeared to strong critical response. Rakoth next signed with the Italian label Code666 and tracked Planeshift in 1999. Released in 2000, the album received perfect scores from Holland's Aardshok Magazine and Norway's Scream Magazine. The recording upends typical metal expectations, redefines the form, and places Rakoth closer to Current 93 and Godspeed You Black Emperor! than to many other metal outfits.

Code666 issued Jabberworks in 2001, presenting re-recorded versions of earlier demo material. Late that year, Rakoth secured a four-album contract with Earache Records. The label promptly reissued the striking Planeshift to American listeners in July 2002.