Darkwoods My Betrothed

Darkwoods My Betrothed are a Finnish black metal band from Kitee, Finland.[1]

Darkwoods My Betrothed
Also known asVirgin's Cunt (1993–1994)
OriginKitee, Finland
GenresBlack metal, symphonic black metal, viking metal
Years active1992–1998, 2000–2001
2020–present
LabelsSpinefarm Records
WebsiteDarkwoods My Betrothed on Myspace

Formed in 1993 as Virgin's Cunt, they set out to be the "most blasphemous black metal band in Europe", in a rather tongue-in-cheek sense. After recording a couple demos under this name, the band started to take themselves a lot more seriously and changed their name to Darkwoods My Betrothed. They recorded the demo Dark Aureolis Gathering in 1994, not too different from the band's roots in extreme black metal, but it started to show serious maturity in the song-writing and delivery; not only a traditional black metal shriek, the singers also did a wail-type of scream.

In 1995, Hammerheart Productions released Heirs of the Northstar, their first full-length album, which was a turning for the group. The band started to experiment with a slower-paced and more melodic viking metal sound, and usage of "drunken Viking" style clean vocals mixed with the traditional black metal screams. The lyrics were also quite different from those in the demo days; rather than dark and Satanic rantings, bassist/lyricist Teemu started a powerful fascination with Odinism and the Gods of Valhalla, and anger towards Christianity.

1996 saw the release of Autumn Roars Thunder, this time under the Solistitium label. Though retaining the same anti-Christian and Odinistic rhetoric, the music itself moved away from the melodic viking approach and entered back into a faster, more black metal-oriented direction.

In 1998, the band returned with Witch-Hunts, a conceptual album which eschewed much of the melodic stylings of the previous two albums; the Viking metal sound was replaced with black metal. Due to numerous delays by the record label, it was released roughly one year after it was originally planned.

After the release of "Witch-Hunts", the band split up for a few years until they came back in 2000 with a new line-up, a compilation album and potential live work. In 2001, the band split up again.

In December 2020, Teemu ”Hexenmeister” Kautonen told in an Finnish Inferno-magazine interview that Darkwoods My Betrothed are active and will release their next studio album in late 2021.[2][3]

Discography

Demos

  • Dark Aureolis Gathering (1994)

Albums

  • Heirs of the Northstar (1995)
  • Autumn Roars Thunder (1996)
  • Witch-Hunts (1998)
  • Angel of Carnage Unleashed (2021)[4]

Compilations

  • Dark Aureoles Gathering (Compilation) (2000)

Members

Current members
  • Teemu "Hexenmeister" Kautonen – bass (1993–1996, 2020–present)
  • Jouni "Hallgrim" – guitars (1993–1998, 2004–2005, 2020–present), bass (1996–1998)
  • Pasi "Emperor Nattasett" Kankkunen – vocals (1993–1998, 2020–present), bass (2004–2005), drums (1993)
  • Tuomas Holopainen – keyboards (2020–present)
  • Kai Hahto – drums (2020–present)

Former members
  • Tuomas "Spellgoth" Rytkönen – vocals (2004–2005)
  • Juhana "Icelord" Salo – guitars (2004–2005)
  • Larha Rytkönen – drums (2004–2005)
  • Juha "Magician" Kokkonen – keyboards (2004–2005)
  • Tero "Ante Mortem" Leinonen – guitars, vocals (2004)

Former session members

Timeline

References
  1. "Darkwoods My Betrothed - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives". Metal-archives.com. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  2. Isoaho, Timo (25 December 2020). "Metallipioneeri Darkwoods My Betrothed palaa pitkältä levytystauolta - Tuomas Holopainen on nyt mukana vakiojäsenenä". Soundi (in Finnish). Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  3. "Darkwoods My Betrothedin paluu on todellisuutta - kokoonpanossa mukana myös Nightwish-maestro Tuomas Holopainen". Inferno.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  4. "Darkwoods My Betrothedin paluu etenee - yhtye julkaisi tilannepäivityksen studiosta ja paljasti tulevan levyn nimen". Inferno.fi (in Finnish). 6 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
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