NAER MATARON

Formed at the end of 1994 by guitarist/vocalist Morpheas, Greece's Naer Mataron is committed to perpetrating the most extreme brand of black metal imaginable while glorifying their Hellenic heritage with their historically minded lyrics. 1997's "The Great God Pan" demo tape landed the group a deal with Black Lotus Records and their first full-length work Up from the Ashes (featuring vocalist Efialtis, bassist Kaiadas and drummer Lethe) was released the following year to moderate local acclaim. Despite its constantly shifting membership, the band remained very active, regularly performing with like-minded extreme metal groups and even managing the occasional opening slot for major international acts like Mayhem. New vocalist Aithir stuck around barely long enough to work on 2000's Skotos Aenon album, after which Morpheas assumed all screeching responsibilities once and for all on next year's vinyl-only A Holocaust in front of God's Eyes EP. This, in turn, was followed by 2003's River at Dash Scalding," which qualified as possibly their most frenetic and relentless album to date thanks in no small part to new skin-basher Warhead.