Highly inspired by the dark arts and combining early influences from bands such as MERCYFUL FATE and CELTIC FROST, MORTUARY DRAPE developed their own unique style, defining themselves as black occult metal and releasing the demo Necromancy in 1987 which spread their name throughout the underground; though it was not until 1992 that their first official release surfaced, with Into the Drape. This was followed by the debut full-length album, the classic All the Witches Dance in 1994.
Tolling 13 Knell, MORTUARY DRAPE's third full-length album was originally released in 2000 on Avantgarde Music. Often regarded as one of the band's strongest works, the album delivers an eerie concoction of evil metal riffing anddark occult atmosphere to unnerving effect.
Tolling 13 Knell has now been fully remastered especially for this release, with the process overseen by the band. This reissue also contains extra tracks in the form of re-recorded versions of the infamous Doom Return demo songs. These new versions were recorded during the 'Tolling 13 Knell' sessions.
Review
Describing the album as anything other than "old-school Greek" is a futile exercise; Mortuary Drape's classic combination of heavy metal sentiment with utterly necro riffing is something that defies explanation altogether. Atmosphere is of prime value it seems, and T13K absolutely reeks of the same damp caverns and dripping dungeons first seen on Barathrum's early albums... - Chronicles of Chaos 4/5
