Another essential PARAFERAL Archive project is about to bear fruit! Hammer of Damnation, the influential underground music zine edited by Niko Skorpio in the early 1990s is becoming a book. Realized in cooperation with the German record label / publisher Darkness Shall Rise Productions, the hardcover book is now available for preorder at the DSR shop. Darkness Shall Rise Prod. have previously released another Paraferal Archive project, namely Through the Pits of Time cassette boxset by Thergothon.
The book archive project began in 2019 with the scanning and restoration of surviving material. We gathered together all five issues published 1991–1996 as well as dozens of related newsletters from the period. We found the layouts and interviews made for unpublished issue 6, and pages from the rare precursor zine Grinding Death from 1990. Niko Skorpio also wrote introductory notes to each issue, reminiscing the making of the zine and various related events from the time period. The book will include all these and more.
The Hammer of Damnation book contains 288 pages in 24 x 32 cm size, hardcover with hot foil printing on cover, spine and back. The release date is February 27, 2025, pre-orders are taken now on the DSR shop. There are various pre-order bundles available with shirts and postcards included.
Hammer of Damnation book and related items will be on sale at the PARAFERAL Shop, too, in the new year. (While waiting for that you might want to check out our End of Year sale with 20% off from all items!)
Darkness Shall Rise presents…
For the rise and development of the global Death- and Black Metal underground scenes of the 1980s and -90s, fanzines were of pivotal importance. With no internet to rely on, publications like SLAYER, VOICES FROM THE DARKSIDE, PETRIFIED and myriads others played a key role in the scene as they would provide fans with valuable information and an opportunity to discover new bands or learn the latest news and offer bands a platform to present themselves.
One such fanzine was Finnish HAMMER OF DAMNATION. Founded in 1991 and solely run by one passionate enthusiast called Niko Sirkiä, 5 issues were spawned within the fanzine’s 5 years of existence. Niko, also known for having been the vocalist of Funeral Doom pioneers THERGOTHON, was from the get-go hell-bent on featuring some of the most fascinating and obscure bands the underground had to offer. MAYHEM, BURZUM, NECROMANTIA, BEHERIT (one of the very first interviews of the band), SAMAEL, AUTOPSY, UNHOLY etc. and many less famous bands – you name it – they all appeared in one form or another within the handmade pages of HAMMER OF DAMNATION.
Not bound by scenes or exterior expectations and with his personal feelings and interests as his only compass, issue 4 saw the zine shifting its focus towards electronical and industrial sounds. While, the first 3 issues were predominantly devoted to Death-, Black Metal and Grindcore, the last two issues introduced bands like BRIGHTER DEATH NOW, MORTIIS or BLOOD AXIS.
Always prone to deliver nothing but the highest quality, we spared no expenses making sure the 5 legendary issues of HAMMER OF DAMNATION get the treatment they deserve. Put in front of each issue are very interesting personal reflections on the contexts each issue was created in penned by Niko especially for the occasion of this re-release. For the very first time the 6th unfinished issue is presented to the readers too. If that wasn’t enough already, you now have the chance to discover Niko’s first attempts as a fanzine editor and browse through plenty newsletters and flyers from 1992 – 1997 as well.
This heavy tome comprising almost 300 pages is like a peephole into an era before the advent of the internet. Although, now long buried by time and dust sitting down with the book and soaking in its atmosphere while listening to some classic album one can still get a taste of all the Blood, Fire and Death that once ruled supreme.