When we decide to do cover songs, there are a few criteria they have to uphold. At first the band/artist and song in itself must have made a sort of impact on us personally. The songs we do should also be musically a bit different from what we play with Dark Funeral; preferable we pick a slow song to cover. And we must also feel that we are capable to do an honest version of the song. Instead of Remember The Fallen, I would personally have liked to do Nuclear Winter, but it was already taken. I think it was Krisiun who did it. Otherwise I'm very satisfied with the selection of songs.
Lord Ahriman / Dark Funeral interview, Highwire Daze, 2000
DARK FUNERAL released the Teach Children to Worship Satan mini-CD on this day in 2000 through No Fashion Records. Teach Children... includes four cover songs and one original, "An Apprentice of Satan" which is also available as a video - with footage shot live in Uppsala - on the enhanced-CD.
Our first intention was to record these four cover tracks for tribute albums only. But when our record company eventually listened to the songs, they felt they were too good to only be featured on the tributes. They suggested that we should release them as a sort of special Dark Funeral MCD, in the wait for our next full-length album. We thought the idea was good, but felt this special release would not be complete without at least including one new Dark Funeral song. So we got together in the rehearsal room. And wrote, and eventually recorded "An Apprentice Of Satan" together with Tommy Tagtgren in the Abyss Studio 2.
Musically it takes off pretty much from where we left on Vobiscum Satanas. Compared to our previous albums, the song is a bit more variated and does include more slow and atmospheric parts. Beat-wise it is the fastest song we have ever done, but since it's including some slow parts. It may not give that impression on the listeners. All in all, it shows pretty much in what direction we are heading. To a faster, more variated and atmospheric style.
Lord Ahriman / Dark Funeral interview, Highwire Daze, 2000
...we came up with the idea to record a live video for the new song and feature it as a MPEG track on the MCD. At the time we came up with this idea, we had a gig confirmed in Uppsala (Sweden). And we felt like, if it's going to happen, it has to happen on this gig. So we hired a video crew to film the show. Ylva, the movie director that filmed and edited the video clip we did on The Secrets Of The Black Arts, edited the video. It turned out killer. The release is somewhat delayed, but is finally scheduled for a release in March 2000. The complete track listings is a follows; An Apprentice Of Satan, The Trial (King Diamond), Dead Skin Mask (Slayer), Remember The Fallen (Sodom) & Mayhem (Pagan Fears) plus the live video for the new song "An Apprentice Of Satan" CD-extra MPEG video.
Lord Ahriman / Dark Funeral interview, Highwire Daze, 2000