The Danish group Iniquity without question is my most loved death metal band not just of the 1990’s but of all time. I could pile on the reasons and have in past writings. Their style is distinct and their unmatched might mixed with complex, soulful writing remains impressive no matter who they’re juxtaposed with. I’ve heard virtually all their material hundreds of times over, I own all their records and obsess over their 1996 debut Serenadium to an unhealthy degree. So when I found out the line-up from their second greatest release The Hidden Lore had reassembled and was planning a series of tours, I was floored. I was too young to even be aware of them or the genre when they were active, let alone get into a show. I was also on the wrong continent. Of course I knew I’d never get to see Iniquity live even when they came back (MDF was their only North American tour date) and that they weren’t going to release anything new — in fact I’d rather they didn’t — but just the idea that they’re playing their best material as spot on as on record again somewhere, even without Petrowsky, made me feel good. As one can imagine I felt even more surprised and pleased when I then read that they were compiling and repressing their long gone Entering Deception demo tape along with their ’93 Promo tape on one record. The reasoning is that there is some significant material on both releases that I haven’t heard. The only stuff of theirs I haven’t heard outside of maybe the early Swollen material, which made it into Iniquity’s discography later (‘Cocooned’, ‘Surgical Orb’, “Forensic Alliance”, etc.). If you don’t know anything about Iniquity, go listen to Serenadium or The Hidden Lore until you’re bleeding profusely from its unique bludgeoning. What’s special about finally having these two releases back-to-back (aside from the fact they’re on some nice wax and art now) is you get two very distinct phases of Iniquity’s evolution, and it’s a sharp contrast in some respects. You can clearly hear over the span of both sides when the band found it’s footing, grabbed their truly incredible style, and ran with it. The influence of Petrowsky on their early sound is important especially when you compare it to their later discography which while strong does not leave you reeling in psychosis
