Although they broke up in 1992 without a record to their name -- just demos and an EP's worth of unreleased material -- Norway's Old Funeral enjoy an unusually lofty standing in black metal history because they housed several important members of the local black metal scene's so-called "inner circle" at one time or another. These included vocalist/bassist Olve Abbath Eikemo and guitarists Harald Demonaz Nævdal and Jørn Inge Tunsberg (all subsequently of Immortal) as well as the notorious Varg Count Grishnackh Vikernes (later of Burzum and a 20-year sentence for murder!), but most of them weren't even in Old Funeral at the same time -- just long enough to contribute to their meager discography and disproportionate legacy. This, ironically enough, consisted primarily of death metal before the band's late-career conversion to black metal, and was largely documented posthumously, in 1999, by way of two catchall anthologies of the band's 1989-1992 oeuvre named Join the Funeral Procession and The Older Ones, featuring the above-named musicians plus vocalist/drummer Padden (Amputation, Immortal) and guitarist Tore Bratseth (Desekrator). A selection of raw 1991 live performances was also exhumed for 2001's Grim Reaping Norway, but that apparently scraped the bottom of the Old Funeral musical mausoleum, allowing them to rest -- or better yet, haunt -- in peace. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, Rovi