Thou Shalt Suffer – Into the Woods of Belial

Once again Darkness Shall Rise Productions rises to the occasion with another reissue of a long out of print classic. This time I’m referring to the Norwegian band Thou Shalt Suffer, and a compilation of material known as Into the Woods of Belial.

Founded by Samoth and Ihsahn in 1991, Thou Shalt Suffer was their main band, and Emperor only as a side-project(!) of this iconic Norwegian duo. Into the Woods of Belial (1991) is their atmospheric death metal demo. Darkness Shall Rise now re-released a double CD/MC and 3 LPs entitled, Into the Woods of Belial but featuring all three recordings that Thou Shalt Suffer had released during their short lifespan. Thus, Disc A is featuring Into the Woods of Belial demo 1991, Open the Mysteries of Your Creation (1991) 7”EP and Rehearsal from the same year. Disc B also includes some Rehearsal (1991), Embryonic demo ‘The Land of The Lost Souls’ from 1990. & Embryonic rehearsal from as early as 1990, finally closing the material with 1990s Xerasia rehearsal.

Into the Woods of Belial blends Morbid Angel-style blackened death brutality with primitive synthesizers and occult themes. Thus, it features Ihsahn’s stands out use of synths, creating an eerie, simplistic, and occasional bursts of chaotic, off-key notes that amplify the unsettling atmosphere. Vocals are deep, guttural, growling and grunting, a contrast to his high-pitched shrieks he adopted later in Emperor. Despite of the fact that we are talking of a few different materials, I think it’s a coherent collection of the equally strong songs. However, if I am to pick a couple of standout moments of this 2026 re-release, it would be; “The Goat of a Thousand Young” – featuring an incredibly memorable and monumental chorus riff, relentless tremolo picking, double-kick drumming and blistering tempo shifts. Another of my favorites is the following, and one of the most dynamic and vicious songs, the one named “Chimera Dimension”. This song is actually one of the few tracks where the furious pounding of the double-bass drums successfully cuts through the raw production. Finally, I find “I Seek the Path of Obscurity” to be worth a mention; the song featuring haunting keyboard intro, followed by a more technical, yet chaotic riff structure, alongside Ihsahn’s sinister vocal delivery.

The production is still lo-fi & raw, but you can clearly hear most of the instruments, with only exception of the drums that often sound drowned out by the guttural vocals, keyboards and guitars. Not only was all the music mastered for vinyl to achieve the best sound by Patrick W. Engel (Temple Of Disharmony Layout), but the guys from Darkness Shall Rise didn’t spare any effort to create a thick booklet featuring old pictures, of which many are unpublished, and a lengthy interview with Samoth.

The artwork for Into the Woods of Belial features atmospheric, grim members of the band adorned in corpsepaint emerging from an eerie, dense forest – simple yet highly effective, perfectly encapsulating the cold, occult, oppressive, vicious and underground atmosphere of early 90s Norwegian extreme metal. This is an opportunity for all those who missed the aforementioned legendary releases, as I consider the re-release of Into the Woods of Belial to be a mandatory listen for fans of old-school extreme metal and those interested in the historical roots of Norwegian black metal.

For a comprehensive package of early Thou Shalt Suffer material (including demo), check out the physical 3LP (in 3 different colors), 2CD and 2MC reissues available through Darkness Shall Rise Productions.