Belial were a Finnish death metal band active from 1991 to 1995. They
released 2 albums, 2 EPs and 2 demos. In their earlier work they played a
more traditional style of death metal with black metal influences.
The 500 copies of the original pressing of the Gods of the Pit demo tape sold out and gave the band cult status in the underground. This resulted in the re-release of the demo, entitled Gods of the Pit pt. 2 (Paragon So Below).
However, the re-release and the original demo are two different items
as they have different track lists with the exception of the first two
tracks.
Belial started as a black/death metal band. With the loss of guitarist Jukka Valppu, the band headed in a more progressive rock/punk direction. The album 3
features material drastically different than that which appeared on the
first releases and is considered gothic rock/punk. The album's title is
also a nod to Led Zeppelin, as rather than naming the release, they
dubbed it 3 since it was their third album.
Three of Belial's members were involved at grunge rock band named Autumnfire in 1994/95. These were Jarno Anttila, Reima Kellokoski & Jani Lehtosaari and they've done one promo demo in 1994.
Demigod are a death metal band formed in 1990 in Loimaa, Finland. They were a popular group in the death metal underground of the 1990s; however,
despite a steady status and a healthy number of gigs, the band split up
in the mid-90s. The band's debut album Slumber of Sullen Eyes is highly regarded in the heavy metal community.
Demigod re-formed in 1998 and was eventually signed by Spikefarm, a sublabel of major Finnish metal record company Spinefarm, who released the band's second album Shadow Mechanics.
Somewhere between 2002 and 2006, this co-operation came to an end, and the band recorded the follow-up to Shadow Mechanics
without a label. The recordings were finished in the summer of 2006,
and the album was released by the band's own label, Open Game
Productions, in 2007. Since late 2007, worldwide distribution has been
handled by the Spanish label Xtreem Music,
leaving only the Scandinavian market for the band's own label. Xtreem
Music has also re-released the debut album, previously long out of
print.
In 2012, Esa Linden and several of the other "Slumber of Sullen
Eyes" members took part in several reunion shows.
• Jarno: Vocals
• Jarno: Guitars
• Jani: Bass
• Jukka: Guitars.
• Tero Laitinen: Bass
• Seppo Taatila: Drums.
