Badger Records, a small label from the city of Utrecht, The Netherlands, is dedicated to (re-)releasing vinyl only records. So far, they’ve published only two albums: Belgian mince core heroes Agathocles (the Bomb Brussels LP) and Officium Triste’s debut album Ne Vivam. Ne Vivam is originally released by Teutonic Existence Records in 1997 and has been out of print for ages. To make it somewhat special the LP will be released in just 500 copies, hand numbered in five different colours (100 copies per colour). Gatefold sleeve, 180 grams vinyl and black neon print on black background.
This should give a record collector a boner in no time.

Besides the great packaging, (I’m anxiously awaiting my blue version) this is also a great piece of doom metal. Not just your everyday happy doom metal but the real deal. DOOOM metal with a capital D. It reminds of bands like My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost and Anathema.

Slow melancholic metal with great riffs and a vocalist with a thunderous grunt. Officium Triste has all off the above qualities and can be considered as the top doom metal band in The Netherlands, and should appeal to doom fanatics all over the world. If you want a copy, you’ll have to be quick because they’re almost sold out. The main difference between the cd and the vinyl version is the fact that for the vinyl re-release all tracks have been re-mastered and the track “Happy Forest” is excluded from the LP-version. This is no loss because “Happy Forest” stinks and Ne Vivam is better off without it.

I’m eagerly awaiting Officium Triste’s next release, Reason which should be out by the end of May on Displeased Records. In the mean time I’ll drown myself in sorrow and despair with Ne Vivam.