The rousing history of the Czech Black Metal bands started on the brink of the communist regime with the Heavy Metal tapes of the ’80s like MOTÖRHEAD, VENOM, SLAYER, MERCYFUL FATE, etc. and fanzines finding their way into the country. Czechoslovakian youth founded more and more amateur, underground bands to play their music as loud and revolting as possible. And, describing the Czech sound is not an easy task, as it’s inquisitive, unconventional and strange. The sound was much more thrashy in comparison to the other scenes, bringing in a heavy dose of unconventional keyboards and mysterious guitar leads that create the perfect feeling for dark magic and clandestine mysticism. In this aspect, Czech Black Metal is different from other early ’90s Black Metal scenes, as they took the theatrical and bombastic elements of early MERCYFUL FATE and VENOM to create a new branch in which Black Metal could lead. To compare, if Norwegian Black Metal conveys obscenity and darkness in frosty landscape, Czech Black Metal is more akin to an underground crypt infused with the scent of esotericism. Following that development, UNCLEAN from Ústí nad Labem (Czech Republic) was formed in 1993. They released their first demo, “Promo MC 1993” in 1993 and the second demo “Tam Kdesi V Hlubinách” in 1995, and then comes their debut full length “Ten, Který Se Vyhýbá Svetlu” in 1997. Like many other short-lived Czech acts, UNCLEAN couldn’t remain active and didn’t release anything in the next ten years except a split with AGMEN. However, like the mystery of MASTER’S HAMMER demos, UNCLEAN also left its mark with their acclaimed second demo “Tam Kdesi V Hlubinách” which can be loosely translated as “Somewhere in the depths”. Although released almost 30 years ago independently on cassette, the first strike to the mind will come with the mysterious cover artwork which was created by revered Czech painter Jirí Lhota. This should evoke the impulses of occultism and ritual committed by the mastermind Lord Unclean (guitars) and Co, even before anyone can listen to the tracks inside. Sound-wise, the record resembles rituals with a darker and murkier atmosphere akin to “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas” in mid-tempo. The opening track ‘Pulnocní Hlasy’ (Midnight Voices), will come as demonically bewitching as possible, and maybe that is why this demo can be considered a distinctive work, even with the passage of years. The murky-sounding drum set became the trademark of the group, which together with the keyboards gave the songs an irreplaceable atmosphere. An equally phenomenal element of UNCLEAN’s work was the excellent vocal performance of Abbé, as he hellishly tore his vocal apart and told the tales of diabolism, magic, occultism and witchcraft in his native tongue. And as the demo progressed with ‘Kainuv Chrám’ (Cain’s Temple), ‘Poslední Žalm’ (Last Psalm), ‘Krížová Cesta’ and the final ‘Golgatha’, you would repeatedly admire their song crafting technique of remaining fascinating and memorable yet as obscure as possible throughout the 30-minute length. And, a charming secret in this record is the use of timpani, which certainly gives a ritualistic sort of tension in the music – an approach that certainly paid off. Interestingly, only two bands in the Czech scene decided to employ it and delivered it extremely well – the aforementioned MASTER’S HAMMER and UNCLEAN. Still, due to short life-span, UNCLEAN might not get mentioned along the same lines as ROOT, TÖRR, MASTER’S HAMMER and AVENGER for creating some crowning achievements of the Czech Black Metal scene, but in terms of song-crafting, atmosphere, and history, “Tam Kdesi V Hlubinách” is an essential demo in its own right. Now, The Devil’s Elixirs has taken the worthy initiative to resurrect this demo from the dusty attic again and offering a digibook re-release (limited to 500 copies) for those interested in keeping an unfamiliar and secret piece of Czech Black Metal history in their ever-growing collection and recall UNCLEAN with admiration. More about the band and record label at: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063954937043, www.facebook.com/thedevilselixirsrecords