Greek soil was among the most fertile for the development of the Second Wave of Black Metal in the 1990s, and it is axiomatic to declare Rotting Christ, Varathron, and Necromantia as the progenitors of the Greek Black Metal scene.
Another band that was active during those early years, Necromancy, is often mistakenly thought of merely as a “pre-Necromantia” project due to Morbid/Magus Wampyr Daoloth’s involvement in the band until he left in 1990 to focus on Necromantia.
Originally named R.O.T. (Reek of Terror), Necromancy evolved out of the Death Metal scene. The band was originally formed by guitarist Hades (Chris Tsoukalas) and lead guitarist/vocalist Living Dead (Giannis Karasarinis). The subsequent inclusion of Unblessed (Vagelis Vafias) on drums and the aforementioned Morbid on bass rounded out the band’s lineup. It was this assembly of musicians that created Necromancy’s “Visions of Lunacy” demo released in 1989, which captures the band in its primal stage: feral Deathrash, overflowing with evil intent. Although the demo material displayed tremendous potential for the band’s growth, Necromancy’s existence was short-lived. Unknown to many, however, is the fact that Necromancy persisted following Morbid’s departure after which Hades, who previously played rhythm guitar, assumed responsibility for the bass instead. In 1991, Necromancy entered the studio as a three-piece to record a MLP entitled “Ancient Wrath.” Unfortunately, the three songs that comprise the “Ancient Wrath” recording would never see the light of day, nor would the many other songs the band had written but not yet recorded. In the winter of 1992, while serving in the Greek military, Living Dead suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 20. Without Living Dead’s involvement, Hades and Unblessed chose to terminate their mission, and the “Ancient Wrath” MLP remained unreleased and unheard for over two decades.