Sanguineus - Bloodstained (2001)

   Sanguineous was formed in the mid '90s, but only had one demo release so far. This demo illustrated well the tendencies that became trend after the second wave of black metal, such as strong, symphonic atmosphere, clear and better sound quality and the involvement of a second, deeper backing vocal.
   But the same time, Sanguineous also relied on aggressive, nearly raw black metal-like approach, that was also a possibility from the second half of the '90s. Unlike at the that time newer waved black metal bands such as Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth or Old Man's Child, in this case the vile, hostile tone didn't reduce drastically, and by keeping more traditional features, Sanguineus' music took place somewhere between the style of the mentioned symphonic black metal bands and the more tradition keeping aggressive direction, bands like Carpathian Forest and Marduk, and raw black metal bands. Also it's important to mention, that Sanguineus had only one demo, and in it could be also taken as an early experimenting period like in the case of nearly all bands in general. Or if it's about the mentioned ones, it might be enough to think about the "Organistic Pleasures" demo by Cradle of Filth, how much it differed from their well known late style. However, by its raw form, the "Bloodstained" demo might sound pretty nostalgic and enjoyable for those who prefered the sound of late '90s black metal and the transition of how a new style was formed inside the genre.