In 1991, Dark Opera was formed in Lodz, Poland, the very same city in which the band’s compatriots of similar ilk in Pandemonium had united approximately two years earlier. Dark Opera’s first year of existence was plagued by several lineup changes, but it stabilized later that year when the band began to write its own songs and played its first live gig in Lomza. The following April, Dark Opera recorded its first demo, "The Day of Pariah", at Ariadna Studio in Lodz. Originally, this cassette was self-released, but the band was later signed by Carnage Records, who released a second iteration of the tape with alternate artwork. In 1993, the band added a second guitarist and recorded its first and only album, "Calling the Legend", in April of that same year. Like the demo that had preceded it, the album was released by another Polish label, Baron Records, who made it available on cassette format only. Like the aforementioned Pandemonium, Dark Opera’s music was reminiscent of the great Samael and others like Alastis and Taranis, but it also incorporated a somewhat greater influence from both death and doom metal. Nuclear War Now! is proud to be the first to reissue both Dark Opera recordings on vinyl and thus continue its neverending objective of rekindling the great fires once set and then left unattended in the most obscure caverns of the underground.
Die Hard edition on "coke bottle" clear vinyl with an A2 poster, gatefold jacket, 36?x36? cloth tapestry, and two silver foil stickers.
It is rare that a band lives up to the promise of its initial recordings by the time it releases a debut LP. A band that releases a well-conceived demo or EP and immediately becomes engulfed in hype is often doomed to fail. Sacriphyx are one of those few bands for which the debut LP is represents both a continuation of the trajectory laid out in the band?s previous recordings and also a substantial step forward. Some years ago, NWN! received the ?Lone Pine? demo CDr from the band.
