Band:

Reverend Bizarre

BiografieHailing from the murky grey depths of the industrial town of Lohja, the Finnish Reverend Bizarre have preached their unholy doom since the mid-nineties. In the vein of such classic doom acts as St Vitus, Witchfinder General and the mighty doomfathers of the genre, Black Sabbath, this band has made bpm-meters move into deeper depths than ever thought possible. Forgetting all fancy knickknacks and sticking to the basics, the Reverend has never needed violins, female vocals nor fancy keyboards in keeping their art pure and doomy. Founded by vocalist and bassist Albert Witchfinder, all it took to make this act complete was one guitarist and a drummer. The guitar was taken over by Peter Vicar, and the drums found their voice first through the hands of Juippi and later through Earl of Void who joined the Reverend in 1998. With the line-up settled, Reverend Bizarre moved their sermons from rehearsal rooms into recording studios in 1999 with their first recording, a demo entitled "Slice of Doom". Their combination of painfully slow, ultra heavy riffage and the clean vocals of Albert Witchfinder was a long-awaited treat for fans of old and new doom alike, making Reverend Bizarre´s success inevitable.



By 2001 the Reverend´s music had not only raised interest in Finland, but also among the metal fanatics of mid-Europe and the United States. Loyal to his parish as the Reverend is, the band travelled to to Germany to complete their part of the "Doom Shall Rise" festival, and the tour that followed in Winter 2002, with fellow doomsowers Revelation and Mirror of Deception.



After completing their first tour, Reverend Bizarre recorded their first full-length album "In the Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend". This debut was first released by Sinister Figure in 2002, and again in 2003 by Low Frequency Records, astonishing metal critics everywhere:



In these dark times old-school doom metal needs a rallying point, something to touch as deeply as once did works of those downcast masters, Cathedral. Once again, Finland has the answer. This is a pure conjuration of ancient downered Sabbath, as summoned by Count Raven, Vitus, early Trouble or Pentagram. A carefully studied but passionate distillation of the purest, wrought-iron doom, it´s the perfect musical accompaniment for anyone wandering over desolate heathland grieving loves lost.
-9/10 Chris Chantler, Terrorizer #100 (UK)-



Who is going to dig this? In the first place those who are into old-school doom in the vein of St. Vitus, The obsessed and the other early doom gods. However, the evilness, grimness, and dark atmosphere of this material shall most probably attract doom death fans and even funeral doom fans as well. Highly recommended to the whole doom community.
-Album of the Month, October 2002, Konstas Panagiotou, Doom-metal.com-



Cathedral´s "Forest of Equilibrium" has been trumped. In the Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend is simply the best post-Sabbath doom record ever recorded.
-Chris Barnes, Hellride Music (USA)-



Hearing and seeing praise for "In the Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend" pouring in from all corners of the world, Spikefarm Records signed Reverend Bizarre in 2003. The first fruit of this unholy union can now be heard in the form of Reverend´s first Spikefarm recording, the 74-minute long "Harbinger of Metal" EP. Doom what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law!



Line-up:



Albert Witchfinder, vocals and bass

Peter Vicar, guitars

Earl of Void, drums
Quelle: http://www.sureshotworx.deDiscografie2002 - In The Rectory Of The Bizarre Reverend

2003 - Reverend Bizarre/Ritual Steel (Split 7”)

2003 - Harbinger Of Metal (MCD)

2004 - Reverend Bizarre/Orodruin (Split 12”)

2004 - Slice Of Doom (Best Of-Compilation)

2004 - Minotauri/Reverend Bizarre (Split 7”)

2004 - Return To The Rectory (EP)

2005 - Slave Of Satan (CDS)

2005 - II: Crush The Insects

2006 - Thulsa Doom (EP)

2006 - Under The Sign Of The Wolf Split (7”)

2007 - Teutonic Witch (CDS)

2007 - III: So Long Suckers

2008 - Reverend Bizarre/Kuolema (Split MCD/7”)

2008 - Reverend Bizarre/Rättö & Lehtisalo (Split 7”)

2008 - Dark World/Deceiver (7”)

2008 - Electric Wizard/Reverend Bizarre (Split 12”)

2008 - Death Is Glory ...Now (CD Compilation)
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Reviews

Death Is Glory ...Now - Cover
Das finnische Doom-Göttertrio REVEREND BIZARRE gehört bereits den Ewigen Jagdgründen an, doch bevor Mastermind Albert Witchfinder (der schon die Nachfolgeband THE PURITAN aus der Taufe gehoben hat) se
Harbinger Of Metal - Cover
Mit Doom ist das ja immer so eine Sache. Sicherlich gibt es absolute Freaks, die auf Doom in jedweder Ausrichtung stehen.
II - Crush The Insects - Cover
Was ist denn mit den finnischen Doom-Helden los? Neues Medikation?
TIPP
III - So Long Suckers - Cover
Only the good die young. REVEREND BIZARRE gehören dazu. Und kurz vorher setzen sie sich vielleicht ein Denkmal mit sieben Songs auf zwei CDs.
In The Rectory Of Reverend Bizarre - Cover
REVEREND BIZARRE doomen durch die Vergangenheit.