TIME MACHINE : MAGIA POSTHUMA

MAGIA POSTHUMA. Post-Mortem Magic.
This is the name of a black metal band that was formed in 1992 in the Belgian city of Charleroi, born from the desire of several young men to play metal that reflects their personal values and their love for the occult, myths, death, and most importantly, nature.

The idea for the band originated with Marc “Magus” Bailly,  bassist and vocalist of the band. He was soon joined by drummer Thiery “Zargan” Bailly (Magus’s brother) and guitarist Bythos. For a time, they were accompanied by guitarist Countess Cravelos, who performed with the band at concerts before leaving Magia Posthuma to fully dedicate herself to her new band, Mystica. She was replaced by Nornagest, the vocalist of the cult band Enthroned, which emerged about a year after Magia Posthuma.

The name of the band is directly connected to vampirism and vampire magic, with the overall concept based on nocturnal creatures and enchanting darkness. Magia Posthuma (the magic used by the undead) has been explored for centuries, yet very few works have been written about it. One of the earliest accounts comes from Charles Ferdinand in 1706, serving as a warning about the dangers of vampires to Charles Alexander of Lorraine—Governor and Captain-General of the Netherlands and the fifty-second Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights from the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty.

Following the atmosphere described above, the Belgians managed to create the demo Triumph of the Nocturnal Depths in 1995. The recording was made as a trio with Magus, Zargan, and Bythos, while the cover art was created by artist Kris Verwimp, who you may recognize from the covers of bands like Absu, Ancient Rites, Afsky, Sear Bliss, Sabbat, Old Man’s Child, Marduk, and many others.

As tradition dictates, the demo was recorded in a limited cassette run and distributed hand-to-hand, entirely shared among the band members.

The demo is a classic vampire epic centered around nocturnal creatures and darkness, with the band emphasizing Scandinavian mythology, particularly the material from the Edda collections.

You can listen to  “Triumph of the Nocturnal Depths” below:

Aside from the demo, over the years the band released an entirely lost split album with the Norwegians Ildkrig in 1995 (if anyone finds it, drinks are on me) and participated in the compilation Encyclopedia Pestilentia by the French label Velvet Music International with the track “Bereavement” in 1997. Shortly after these releases and a series of local concerts, Magia Posthuma entered a state of hibernation without providing any explanation.

Although officially recorded in metal archives as an inactive band, there is no confirmation that this is indeed the case… and hope for the revival of Magia Posthuma still lingers. Will the children of the night rise again?