‘tis the season for demo compilations. Some are welcome; some not so much. In the welcome column is the BEHEXEN compilation released on January 17, 2025 via Werewolf Records, entitled Beyond The Four Gates. The two-disc album captures BEHEXEN’s first three demos plus their one demo under the LORDS OF THE LEFT HAND moniker—four demos; four gates.

Beyond the Four Gates has a runtime of over 90 minutes with a solid 19 tracks. Disc one includes LORD OF THE LEFT HAND’s 1995 demo, Reality Is In Evil . . ., and BEHEXEN’s first official demo, the 1997 Eternal Realm. For me, this first disc and its ten tracks steal the compilation. There’s just something about hearing a band in their earliest iteration. Maybe it’s the revelatory nature of hearing the band in a raw, denuded format; maybe it’s just a sense of nostalgia not only for the band but for the era the demos were recorded.

With that said, the four LORD OF THE LEFT HAND tracks have a bizarre Black ‘n’ Roll vibe yet still hint at the evil that is soon to come. The Eternal Realm tracks get a lot more serious but are still heavily melodic and atmospheric with stabs of brutal riffage. And then there’s the dungeon synth and medieval folk flourishes going on, including the whole 1:37 outro that sounds like a bad Renaissance Fair marching band aptly titled “Outro.” Again, disc 1 is just filled with fantastic throwbacks.

Disc 2 includes the band’s 1998 Blessed Be The Darkness demo followed by the previously unreleased Promo '99 for a total of nine tracks. If the six tracks from Promo '99 look familiar it’s because all but “Black Storm of Satan’s Glory” would be re-recorded for Rituale Satanum, the band’s 2000 debut. Compared to Disc 1, Disc 2 is like one big eclipse of Satanic evil. Setting it apart from Disc 1 are the frenetic riffage, rapid-fire drums, and screeching demonic vocals. What a difference a few years can make. Extreme metalists and more current BEHEXEN fans will favor this disc. Absolutely blistering Black Metal.

I’ve always said that demo compilations are for existing hardcore fans and collectors, especially those of the completionist variety. But I think Beyond The Four Gates has the potential to actually appeal to an unwashed wider audience and win over new fans. Beyond the Four Gates offers a walk through the history of one of Finland’s most revered Black Metal bands, demonstrating their unholy trajectory from unknown to damned.