Parched With Thirst Am I and Dying

Quite the title, and quite appropriate for this career-spanning compilation, from the band's earliest recordings in 1984 up through 1992. Unfortunately the liner notes aren't all they could be, listing the origins of some of the tracks but not all. A fair amount are true rarities, though, including cuts from EPs, rerecordings and studio jams, not to mention an unreleased cut or two. Perhaps unsurprisingly, To Mega Therion and Into the Pandemonium cuts feature prominently, though some of the more successful cuts from later albums crop up as well. Admittedly successful is where you find it — the group's late eighties/early nineties veer towards glam and goth would have been more successful had Warrior cut out some of the cheese soloing, but the main riffcrunch usually still did the trick. Regardless, the emphasis is mostly on the doom-shadowed side of the band's work than its sometimes striking genre explorations, though the joys of "Tristesses de la Lune" and a live-in-the-studio rerecording of "Mexican Radio" help leaven up proceedings. It's amusing to hear Warrior's voice change from time to time as the cuts move backward and forward chronologically, from the earlier roars and yelps to the smoother, sleazier approach later on. Add in the sometimes portentous and sometimes lustfully moaning female guest vocals for effect, and things definitely were a most surprising brew sometimes in Frostland. As for the roiling deathstomp material the band made its name with, cuts like the vicious Therion tracks "The Usurper" and "Circle of The Tyrants," to name but two standouts, make it clear that it wasn't all hype. Appropriately corroded cover art and the full source of the title quote — an ancient Greek/Roman prayer — add to the veneer of historical weight the band played around with more than once.