Bigotry - Step to The Grave (1993)

   On the side of Cryptic Tales, Bigotry was one of the earliest Eastern European death/doom bands. Even though the band's activity under this name was short kinda lived (later they continues as Dissolving of Prodigy) and only one demo was recorded, their early works definitely deserving attention. By a late nostalgia wave of old school death metal, plenty of previously barely known, underrated and forgotten releases and demo records have been re-released since the late '10s. Among them this demo was re-released as well in 2023. 

   The previously mentioned poor recording circumstances and the that time still embryonic form of the extreme scene in the region both left their marks on "Step to the Grave", but compared to most of it's coetaneouses, it was quite a decent record. The music was unified enough and it was way more than some experiment, unlike what from most extreme bands could have been heard of those times in that area. This made the record a real old school  death/doom gem. Bigotry seemed determined enough for their picked style, that was the mix of the earliest concept of death/doom and the the more melancholic, slightly romance influenced late wave. They kept this direction later on, and with time the melancholic direction gained more focus. In the early '90s the difference of these 2 forms couldn't haven't been distinguished yet due to the low number of death/doom bands and their mostly briefly lasting active periods. Funeral doom also just showed up recently that time, but listening to "Step to The Grave", it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that their music included funeral doom elements or influences too.