After their debut album “The Just Law” was released in 1992 on the now defunct Norwegian cult label Head Not Found, the Swiss band Alastis released their second album in 1995 on the equally cult French label Adipocere, which also released the debut albums of now well-known and successful bands such as Moonspell and Bethlehem. The first thing that catches the eye is the beautiful, mystical, poison-green cover artwork, which leaves room for speculation and stimulates the imagination. The album begins mystically with “From the U.W.” featuring keyboards and accompanying narrative vocals, before “Through your Torpor” kicks in with mid-tempo black metal reminiscent of Celtic Frost and early Samael. Speaking of Samael: their long-time bassist, who left the band in 2015 after many years of membership, was also briefly a member of Alastis and can be heard on their first demo “Black Wedding” from 1990. It's obvious that Samael were a little ahead of their time with the release of their debut album and its successor in direct comparison to Alastis back then.
What follows are nine more tracks at the intersection of black and dark metal (although this term wasn't really used in 1995, even though Bethlehem, mentioned earlier, released their debut album “Dark Metal” in 1994). I would particularly like to highlight “By Thy Name,” which has a truly anthem-like character with its chorus, is very catchy, and thus has a kind of underground hit potential, so to speak.
Alastis demonstrate their full potential with simple yet highly effective riffs, particularly in “Your God,” “The Psychopath,” and the concluding “Messenger of the U.W, (Second Act).” The last track once again makes particularly good use of accentuating, obscure synthesizers, which send the listener off from this small milestone in 90s black metal history in a melancholic and sad way.
After this album, Alastis released three more albums on Century Media Records, which made greater use of melodic, catchy moments and are all of a very high standard, some of them again reminiscent of later Samael. I can wholeheartedly recommend the direct successor to “...and Death smiled,” namely “The Other Side.” The last album, “Unity,” was released in 2001, and the band broke up a few years later, although Metal Archives says they have been active again since 2024. However, I have not been able to find any evidence of this on the internet.
