Galaxy black ice 3-LP in tripple gatefold cover with 24-page 12" booklet. Limited to 222 copies.

 

The history of black metal written by the Czech messengers of darkness!

 

In 1988, two years before the fall of the Iron Curtain, when playing rock music could land you in jail for violating communist law, Jiří "Big Boss" Valter and Petr "Blackosh" Hošek joined forces to found Root. Adverse conditions and limited funds could not prevent this eager group from moving forward. When Big Boss, who wasn’t yet the band’s singer but played the drums before switching to vocals for good on the fourth demo, and ROOT’s guitarist Blackosh found Dr. Fe, who sang on the first three demos, and Dr. Zet, who played the second guitar, ROOT were ready to strike.

 

During their initial pre-album stage, ROOT came up with four legendary demos before eventually releasing their debut album, Zjeveni, in 1990. Although influences from BATHORY and VENOM are apparent, especially on the first three demos, ROOT managed to carve their own idiosyncratic niche right from the start. Thrashy riffs, a total lack of bass, stomping primitive drums, and Dr. Fe’s original Czech vocals mingle with and are interspersed by acoustic interludes, strange spoken-word passages, incantations, and samples from movies, resulting in an eerie, off-kilter cocktail that is still unheard of today. However, it wasn’t until the fourth demo, 'The Trial', when Big Boss finally took over vocal duties, that ROOT had found their unmistakable sound. The Trial is undoubtedly the best demo in terms of songwriting and recording quality, and has everything that ROOT would go on to develop further on their subsequent albums.

 

Exactly ten years after ROOT's tape box was released by Darkness Shall Rise, we are thrilled to present this luxurious compilation of the first four groundbreaking demos by one of the founding fathers of black metal in various formats.

 

For the first time ever, all audio files have been restored and mastered from the original tapes by Patrick W. Engel.