"Al Azif" was originally recorded in 1996 at Nightingale Studio, Berchem (Belgium). Due to rather poor sound quality, I decided to edit the little bastard. So Izzy and I have spent many beers trying to improve this first demo... We hope you like the result! Which reminds me: we threw in one or two additions, listen carefully...

"Beyond the mirror" is the 2000 recording. Although Cavern Studios (Antwerp, Belgium) have delivered a better production, Izzy and I couldn't help to interfere once more: nothing radical this time, just a few beers and a little EQ-ing...

The peeps at Harrow Studios, Losser (The Netherlands) know damn well what they're talking about. "Coming Of War" kicks!! In fact, it took us a lot of beers deciding whether to turn it down a bit or not... NOT!!

Anyway, Izzy and I had a lot of fun and -yep- beer compiling and editing this album. We hope you enjoy it as well!
Maybe you notice there are more tracks on this album than on the others all together... strange, no!?

Greetz
Fille & Izzy

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Biography:

GRINNING GHOUL are a metal band from Lier, Belgium.
In the likes of Morbid Angel and Suffocation, Grinning Ghoul started out as a death metal band.

Sven Van Den Broeck, Leslie Andries, Occulta and Steven Heirwig started the band as Cacodaemon, a name that didn't stick with people so easily. Later the group was renamed to Grinning Ghoul, and with this line-up the first song "Bound To Absu" came to be.

A first line-up change happened about 6 months after they started. Occulta left the group so he could fully concentrate on "Avatar", a well respected black metal underground group. Steven was kicked out and both were replaced by Mattijs Buys and Spawn Daemon.

Filip de Winter replaced bass about a year after the original formation of the band and with this complete line-up they could start making records again. Their first demo was called "Al Azif" and came to be late 1996 at "Nightingale Studios" in Berchem - Belgium. A great deal of the lyrics were influenced by H.P. Lovecraft and The Necronomicon.

The first gig took place in Lier, at the Prins Kardinaal. Joining them on the gig were Orchrist and Avatar. They received good reactions and Grinning Ghoul was climbing upwards on the metal ladder.

Grinning Ghoul suffered a huge blow when members Spawn Deamon and Sven quit. Almost a year went by without any noise from the band. Patrick Smolderen (Patje) later on joined the band on second guitars. The sun really started shining when Sven came back again and pretty soon they were working on new material and playing more gigs.

In 1999 another member left the band. Filip left the band and was replaced by Maes Patrik (Metal Pat). Three months after this they started recording for "Beyond The Mirror" at "Cavern Studios" in Antwerp - Belgium. The sound quality of the cd wasn't exactly how they wanted it to be but nevertheless the combination between Thrash metal and Death metal was very well received and the reviews were positive.

2002 brought more big changes for Grinning Ghoul when the band got Ivan on keyboard in the group. The idea was to experiment and change the style a little bit. In March 2002 Grinning Ghoul bagged their first gig outside Belgium on the Thrash 'Till Death tour with Flesh Made Sin, Suhrim and other bands. Differences finally became too big and the band blew up, leaving everyone to pursue personal interests.

The band was reformed and after some struggle they released Coming Of War in January of 2003, which was recorded in "Harrow Studios", Losser - The Netherlands.