Horde

Horde (originally called Beheadoth) is the black metal solo project of Australian musician Jayson Sherlock, formerly of Mortification and Paramaecium. In 1994, the only studio album, Hellig Usvart, was released on Nuclear Blast Records. With a session line-up, Horde played live in 2006 in Norway and in 2010 in Finland and Germany. Hellig Usvart proved to be a seminal release for the unblack metal movement, and the album was highly controversial in the secular black metal scene at the time it was released. History Sherlock recorded one studio album, Hellig Usvart ("Holy Unblack"), under the pseudonym "Anonymous" (a possible play on "Euronymous", Mayhem guitarist), releasing it on Nuclear Blast in 1994, followed by a later re-release by Rowe Productions. The album title is Norwegian, a fact which led many to believe, while Sherlock was still anonymous, that Horde originated from Norway, a fact backed up by the poor production quality on the album, considered to be a trademark of Norwegian black metal. Upon the initial release of Hellig Usvart, a publicity campaign was launched throughout the black metal community, revolving around Sherlock being credited as "Anonymous". Unsuccessful death threats were given to Markus Staiger at Nuclear Blast, who founded the record label, to reveal the identity of the anonymous musician who had created the album, although the identity of the musician was later revealed as Jayson Sherlock. Horde as an entity also received death threats for being a Christian band playing black metal. Upon its original release in 1994, 4,000 copies of the album were printed. In 1999, Rowe Productions purchased the remaining copies and distributed them worldwide. Hellig Usvart was re-released for the album's tenth anniversary in 2004 on Rowe Productions and Soundmass with an additional track entitled "Mine Heart Doth Beseech Thee (O Master)", which was originally included on Godspeed: Australian Metal Compilation in 1994 by Rowe Productions and also included on later Soundmass reissues of Hellig Usvart. The album is difficult to come by and sought after by many. In April 2007, a live album, The Day of Total Armageddon Holocaust – Alive in Oslo, was released on Veridon Music and contains the 2006 performance of Horde at Nordic Fest; a video album of the concert was released by the same label on DVD. In May 2008, Polish label Metal Mind Productions released a remaster of Hellig Usvart with three bonus tracks from the 2007 live album.