Secrets of the Moon were a

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw ( lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...

band from

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a populat ...

, Germany, founded in 1995.

Biography

Secrets of the Moon were founded in 1995.''The Band''
, accessed on 22 March 2013. After their first two demos they released a split with the German band

Lunar Aurora Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

. Thrawn, who knew the band since the first demo tape, met them the first time in 1997 and played with their vocalist and guitarist sG in another band, joined Secrets of the Moon in 2000 or 2001.''Secrets of the Moon Interview''
5 December 2009, accessed on 22 March 2013. Their debut ''Stronghold of the Inviolables'' was released in 2001 on LP only. It was rereleased on CD 2002 and 2010, the last re-release contains some bonus tracks of an unfinished album called ''Thelema Rising''. In December 2001, Secrets of the Moon supported Godless North, Krieg and

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

on the North American Black Metal Invasion tour dates in Germany. LSK (

Antaeus Antaeus (; Ancient Greek: Ἀνταῖος ''Antaîos'', "opponent", derived from , ''antao'' – 'I face, I oppose'), known to the Berbers as Anti, was a figure in Berber and Greek mythology. He was famed for his defeat by Heracles as part ...

Hell Militia In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells a ...

Vorkreist Vorkreist is a French blackened death metal band based in Paris that shares members with the black metal bands Antaeus and Hell Militia. "Vorkreist" is a barbarism created by the band that supposedly means '' Antichrist''. Biography After a ...

) got to know Secrets of the Moon during their tour with her band Antaeus and joined them when their former bass player left in 2008. In 2012 the band recorded ''Seven Bells'', aided by

Thomas Gabriel Fischer Thomas Gabriel Fischer (born 19 July 1963), also known by his stage names of Tom G. Warrior and Satanic Slaughter, is a Swiss metal musician. He led the groups Hellhammer and Celtic Frost, and today is the frontman of the band Triptykon. Caree ...

(

Triptykon Triptykon is a Swiss extreme metal band from Zürich, formed in 2008 by Thomas Gabriel Fischer, founding member of the pioneering heavy metal bands Hellhammer, Celtic Frost and Apollyon Sun. History Fischer announced his departure from Celti ...

) and V. Santura (

Dark Fortress Dark Fortress is a German melodic black metal band from Landshut formed in 1994. They have released seven studio albums, a split album and a demo album. History Early history The band formed in 1994. In 1996 they released the demo ''Re ...

, Triptykon). The album featured guest appearances by Ulf Theodor Schwadorf (

The Vision Bleak The Vision Bleak is a German gothic metal duo comprising Ulf Theodor Schwadorf (famous for his work with Empyrium and Noekk) and Allen B. Konstanz. The group's lyrics are noted for their horror themes and heavily allude to works of classic write ...

Empyrium Empyrium is a German symphonic folk/doom metal and (later) neofolk/dark folk band. History Empyrium was founded in 1994 by Markus Stock (mostly using the pseudonym Ulf Theodor Schwadorf) and Andreas Bach, but later many other musicians par ...

), Kvohst (

Dødheimsgard Dødheimsgard (also known as DHG) is a Norwegian extreme metal band formed in 1994. Dødheimsgard originally played black metal, but 1999's '' 666 International'' saw them change their style into experimental and avant-garde/industrial metal. In ...

, Code, Hexvessel) and Morten Gass ( Bohren & der Club of Gore). The band gave no interviews related to the album, refused to promote it and did not want their label to pay for advertising, because they did not want any "bought success". Their first interview since the release was given to German ''Rock Hard'' in 2013. In 2022, the band announced their disbandment with a last live appeareance in August of the same year.

Musical style and ideology

Secrets of the Moon were called "the chameleons of black metal" in German ''Rock Hard'' magazine due to their style changes with every album.''Dämon am Steuer''
In: ''Rock Hard'', no. 234, accessed on 22 March 2013. Although their style changed, Thrawn, who is one of their main songwriters, still has the same influences as when he started making music, like 1990s

Swedish death metal Swedish death metal is a death metal music scene developed in Sweden. Many Swedish death metal bands are associated with the melodic death metal movement, thus giving Swedish death metal a different sound from other variations of death metal. ...

. Their second album ''Carved in Stigmata Wounds'', featuring fast as well as slow,

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

-like passages with keyboards, was compared to

Samael Samael ( he, סַמָּאֵל, ''Sammāʾēl'', "Venom/Poison of God"; ar, سمسمائيل, ''Samsama'il'' or ar, سمائل, label=none, ''Samail''; alternatively Smal, Smil, Samil, or Samiel) is an archangel in Talmudic and post-Talmudic ...

. Some parts on ''Privilegivm'', which is more experimental and atmospheric and less accessible, are close to doom metal. Their fifth album ''Seven Bells'' is mostly in mid-tempo and reminiscent of

's music. When asked to "sum up Secrets of the Moon's music" and what their music "is all about", Thrawn replied: "Darkness and death", and LSK added "experimentation". Thelemnar names "nature, darkness,

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehoo ...

" as main influences and recommends to read

Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim (; ; 14 September 1486 – 18 February 1535) was a German polymath, physician, legal scholar, soldier, theologian, and occult writer. Agrippa's ''Three Books of Occult Philosophy'' published in 1533 drew ...

and

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the prop ...

, whose

Gnostic Mass A Gnostic Mass is a liturgical Mass administered by a Gnostic church. Several such churches exist, each with its own version of the Mass. Some of these are: * Ecclesia Gnostica celebrates a traditional Gnostic Mass called the Gnostic Holy Eucha ...

starts the album ''Carved in Stigmata Wounds''. S. Golden also refers to Crowley,

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism ...

ism and Satanism.David E. Gehlke
''SECRETS OF THE MOON – Solarfall''
, 30 April 2008, accessed on 22 March 2013.

Members

Current members

* sG - guitars (1997–present), lead vocals (2008-present) * AR - guitars (2009–present) * Daevas - bass (1995-2007, 2016–present), lead vocals (1995-2007) * Erebor - drums (2014–present)

Former members

* Schizo - guitars (1995-1996) * Thelema - guitars (2001-2002) * Ohtar - guitars (2003) * A.D. - guitars (2004-2008) * K.S.A. - guitars (2008-2009) * LSK - bass (2008-2011; died 2013) * Naamah Ash - bass (2011-2016) * Frazer - drums (1995-2001, died 2021) * Thrawn Thelemnar - drums (2001-2014)

Timeline

Discography

Demos

* ''Unearthed Arcana'' (Demo, 1995) * ''Vanitas'' (Demo, 1997)

Split releases

* ''Auf einer Wanderung durch goldene Sphären'' (

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertain ...

with

, 1999) * ''Black Metal Endsieg III'' (Split with

Armagedda Armagedda is a Swedish black metal band that was founded in 1999. By 2004 the band had split-up but was reformed in 2020. History Armagedda was created in the mind of A in early 2000, but then went by the name Volkermord. Their idea was to c ...

, Dark Storm and Bael, 2002) * ''Bestien in Engelsgestalt'' (Split with

Averse Sefira Averse Sefira was a black metal band from Austin, Texas. Biography Averse Sefira was formed in 1996 by guitarist and vocalist Sanguine Mapsama and bassist Wrath Sathariel Diabolus.True, Chris " Averse Sefira Biography, ''Allmusic'', Macrovis ...

, 2003)

Albums

* ''Stronghold of the Inviolables'' (2001) * ''Carved in Stigmata Wounds'' (2004) * ''Antithesis'' (2006) * ''Privilegivm'' (2009) * ''Seven Bells'' (2012) * ''Sun'' (2015) * ''Black House'' (2020)

Contributions

* "Condemnation (of the Inferiority) (Unrel. Version)" on ''Jesus Wept / Black Arts comp #1'' (2002) * "The Protagonist" on ''Tribute to Dead Can Dance – The Lotus Eaters'' (with Nostalgia, 2004)

Singles and EPs

* ''The Exhibitions EP'' (EP, 2005) * ''The Exhibitions EP'' (EP; Lupus Lounge) * ''Them Bones / This Inner Soil'' (7", 2010) * ''The Ambience of a Dead Star'' (12", 2010) * ''Warhead'' (7", 2011)

Other

* ''De Musica Mundana'' (compilation, 2002) * ''Live in Bitterfield 2001'' (live, 2002)

References

;Footnotes ;General references *

Secrets of the Moon Secrets of the Moon were a black metal band from Osnabrück, Germany, founded in 1995. Biography Secrets of the Moon were founded in 1995.Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

External links

* * {{Authority control German black metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1995