What is "mastiphal"

Mastiphal the Hunting Sovereign is a demon lord, in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.

Mastiphal is a demon prince listed in an apocryphal book Little Genesis, lost except for quotations by 11th century Byzantine monk and historian Cedrenus.

The name has then been used for:

• Mastiphal, a prominent Black Metal band from Poland (1992-1998, 2009-)
• another Polish band by that name, who also played Black Metal (1993-1994); having recorded a demo named Nocturnal Landscape
• Mastiphal the Hunting Sovereign, a demon lord in Dungeons & Dragons.

Mastiphal is a Polish black metal band. It has been founded in Katowice in 1992, initially named Dissolution, thanks to effort of Rafał "Flauros" Góral (later a vocalist for Darzamat) and Cymeris (in latter years associated with Iperyt). A year later the band has been renamed to Mastiphal.

They released one LP: For A Glory Of All Evil Spirits Rise For Victory (1996), two demos: Sowing Profane Seed (1994) and Promo'96; and an EP Seed of Victory (1998), after which the band split up.

It has been reactivated in 2009. In September that year a Białystok label Witching Hour Productions released a two-disk issue Damnatio Memoriae, including all past songs by Mastiphal. In 2010 the band has been joined by guitar players Damian "Daamr" Kowalski and "Opressor", and also percussist Paweł "Senator" Nowak.