Description
OUT NOW! Nameless Grave Records is proud to announce a special archival split of two cult heavy metal demos from two legendary bands, both available in full on vinyl for the very first time: Twisted Tower Dire’s Triumphing True Metal demo from 1997 and Cauldron Born’s Beyond the Shade Gates demo from 1993! This comes complete with liner notes for each side, a new high quality vinyl master from Resonance Sound Studios, artwork from Alex Shadrin, and a beautiful layout from Obscure Visions.
It’s no secret that in the United States, heavy metal was nearly dead in the 1990s. Bands that played it were mocked by their peers, often openly and to their faces. Lineup issues were common as dedicated diehards relied on uninterested friends to fill in rather than finding like minded maniacs for permanent positions, and label interest was similarly difficult to obtain when it existed at all. Twisted Tower Dire and Cauldron Born were both completely disdainful of the state of affairs and the result is what can be heard here- untrendy, eternal heavy metal for the ages that soars and resonates even now, decades later.
Twisted Tower Dire’s side of this split represents all of their material with Janet Rubin on vocals, including not only the original Triumphing True Metal split but also “Starflight Requiem” from 1998’s Metal Injection compilation; this was Twisted Tower Dire at their most primordial, distilling all of their youthful energy, passion for heavy metal, and endless hours jamming in Marc’s basement into a single set of magickal recordings.
The other side on this split has the very first recordings for the project, still under Howie Bentley’s own name at the time, that would later become Cauldron Born. It was recorded entirely with session musicians for the roles Howie could not perform himself, and is unique in both that regard as well as in being the only Cauldron Born recording showcasing Howie on bass. As with Twisted Tower Dire’s side this shows a band that was still finding their stylistic ground, and influences that would later be stripped out- such as a strong helping of Morbid Angel on “Wicker Man”- are here in full force.
Knights of True Metal is a special and limited one-time release, and only 300 copies were pressed, all on black wax. Get yours while you can!
