A History Of Norwegian Black Metal

1349 ‘Demonoir’ Indie Recordings
	Average, ruthless Norwegian Black Metal that is littered with hyper blast beats, deranged vocal snarls and epileptic guitar chords. The previous, Revelations of the Black Flame, album was an experiment that went slightly wrong as here the band have returned to what they do [and I presume can only do] best. With the unstable Revelations album, the band were flirting with clever ideas and a more creative post black metal focus. It never quite worked and now we have a return to form with a roasting collection of songs designed to blow your arteries into space. The technical aspects of the compositions are startling and it is a feat for everyone concerned to remember where they are during the lightning fast pace
they need to follow. This is one of the most super tight, scorching releases of the year and that in itself is praise enough. It is just so 1349, it makes no attempt to change a winning formula and that is its only flaw. If you like paint by numbers, high quality chaotic Black metal intent on ripping out your pancreas then look no further than here.

Avstand ‘Motstanderen’ Misantrof
	The Satyricon style intro [Dark Medieval Times] evokes the glorious past of the Norwegian scene. Piano and rain dampen the air and that cold brooding Nordic landscape 'Open the Gate, stomps out of the frozen mists and takes us from the initial Satyricon flavour towards a more raw icy primitivism. The initial musical rancour subsides into some great mid tempo tracks, namely, The Beginning, and, Walk With me and open your eyes. These are slow burning atmospheric numbers that let this band breathe. But it is the quite resplendent, Hand me my Spear, that really showcases the finest points of Avstand. At 12 minutes, this singular track embraces a distinct Scandinavian feel and rips through numerous speeds and
tempos. The final track, Essence of Negativity, is like an ambient Mortiis piece that slithers along for a lengthy 11 minutes. Avstand was formed as a solo project in 2005 by Antiminister (who helped with the recording and mixing of Framferds last album), as a means of expressing thoughts and feelings that he couldn’t express in any other artistic medium The album is available on www.misantrof.net Preferring to see itself as an “anti” label, and headed by its founder, Carpathian Forest bass player Daniel Vrangsinn, Misantrof’s aim is to offer an alternative to mainstream labels. Beyond covering its usually very minimal expenses, Misantrof ensures that it takes no profits and that the artists themselves retain complete control of every aspect of their releases and benefit from all the revenue generated by sales, something that is virtually unheard of with usual labels. Having previously restricted itself to releases available via free download only, Avstands’s “Motstanderen” is the first Misantrof release to also be available to buy in CD format.

Borknagar ‘Universal’ Indie Recordings
	Borknagar are the groundhog day of Norwegian Black Metal [well, to be fair there are many bands who tread water and churn out the same music album after album] Here we have a collection of songs that are pure unique Borknagar. Up-tempo, epic, solid songs that repeat what the band are about from previous outings. The music here is very similar to the previous albums, Empiricism and Origin [we can erase that not so spectacular, Epic acoustic outing] This is the bands eighth studio album and confirms they are a force to be reckoned with. Here we have a progressive black metal band using layered harsh and clean vocals, keyboard and flute melodies [with a heavy emphasis on the keyboards, but it isn't as
fast or groove laden as something you'd hear from Satyricon. The samples of the flutes and violins work well within the compositions, and there is a heavy seventies influence running though the up-beat music with the likes Jethro Tull shifting around the atmospheres.. The use of a Hammond organ amplifies this connection also. The stunning vocals of Vintersorg and the keyboards presence of Lazare of Solefald add some dynamics to the solid compositions. This album is definitely one of Borknagar’s finer moments and as always retains that very distinctive guitar drive.

Byfrost ‘Black Earth’ Painkiller Records
	Debut album from this Black thrashing Bergen based Norwegian band. This is far removed from the icy chill of Darkthrone style primitivism. Here we have a more reined chopping guitar sound akin to Meliah Rage and Immortals, At the Heart of Winter. Thrash has grown in popularity again and many Nordic acts are channelling this retro phenomenon into their music. The likes of Blood Tsunami, The Battalion, being an example. Byfrost however are not an all out blast of technical speed and velocity. This band are pure METAL and the richness of the music here is quite astounding. Those little bits of Metallica that make the hairs on your neck stand on end appear in sporadic moments throughout this album. There
is even a splattering of classic Destruction to bang your head to. This is music with great riffs, awesome drumming and a clear solid production. The vocals are similar to Abbath, but there is no blatant Immortal comparison as this band do have an identity of their own. The sound has a punch that will flatten your skull. Think TRASH at its finest.

Dauden ‘demo’ Byllepesten (2008)
	01- Intro 02- The day the sun has died 03- Faceless in the shadows of forest 04- Sucked into the depths of hell 05- Foraktelse 06- Byllepesten Demo quality raw to the bone Norwegian Black Metal that reminded me of those early Mayhem and Burzum rehearsal tapes. Muffled vocals and tinny percussion gives off that
authentic touch and once you get acclimatized to the raging music there is a fine band to be found. This is fast, Dead era Mayhem style Norwegian Black Metal with a heavy slice of Taake and Isvind thrown in the mix. Snarling vocals rip though the air as the guitars and drums blast forwards to form a chaotic melee of pure muggy underground music. The second track bursts from a synth intro in much the same way the first appeared fro the guitar feedback. There is little outside what you can expect from this style, and the band stay within its confines for the duration of the cd. There is a tendency to stay TRUE to the musical roots of the genre and if you enjoy the rough and ready DIY sounds this rich vein of the genre has to offer then check this out. www.myspace.com/daudentarfatt

Faustcoven ‘The Priest's Command’ Under the Sign Of Garazel
	Ugly as a witches lip wart, more foul than a monks burst haemorrhoids. Faustcoven are the black slime that rests upon the very lowest gutter of the black metal underground. This cd contained, 01-06 "Satanic Doom" demo '02, 07-12 "The March of Cloven Hooves" demo '03, 13-16 "The Halo of Burning Wings" Reh. '03, 17 "Atomsmasher" Reh. '06 (Cirith Ungol Cover Version). This is like very early Venom meets very early Celtic Frost in style [there is even a grizzled cover of Venom's, Warhead] so what you get here is retro style black thrash with a bit of blackened doom. The quality of each demo is slightly different but the texture remains the same. Other main influences are Black Sabbath and Hellhammer.
The track, To Walk the infernal Fields, from the Cloven Hooves demo, is a fantastic Darkthrone cover. So the speed of this particular Darkthrone song [very Bathory sounding] is what dictates the sound of Faustcoven. A kind of decapitated NWOBHM. Apparently the creator of the music here is a full time chemical engineer and that is a side to most bands that we mere mortals never appreciate. The image of Black Metal band members living in caves wearing nothing but leather shorts and eating priests kidneys is only a myth [no, really]

Gangrenator ‘Tales From a Thousand Graves’ Apocalyptic Empire Records
	Featuring members of Dodheimsgard and Nattefrost who combine to create a caustic deathly grind release. The music here is pure and simple death grind with groove. Its like the simple sides of Obituary and early Entombed clashing in a sea of blastbeats and aching guitar chords. The vocals are similar to Jon Tardy, deep resonant roars that can strip wallpaper with ease. The songs pummel the senses, evoking other acts along the way like, Acheron, and Incantation, Gangrenator is a resurrection of dirty, rotten dystopian sci-fi/ horror, real, true old Grind/ Death Metal . Their debut-album "Tales From A Thousand Graves" is a collection of hooded ghouls, mangling murders and heavy gravestones of
Grinding Death Metal! Its quite catchy at times and in no way the gurgle one dimensional noise of the extreme end of the genre. There’s not much else to say really.

Keep of Kalessin ‘Reptilian’ Indie Recordings/Nuclear Blast
	A predictable yet none the less enjoyable romp across a polished clear production and hardened well played post Black Metal. The trouble with this album is it shows no forward thinking and thus resides this band to where they already are in the pecking order. Nuclear Blast now have their claws into the backs of this band and I can see the watered down familiarity of a band treading water. The song for Europe debacle is a mainstream farce, although the song, The Dragontower, is rather good, [more of that later] This album is very similar to the well received, Kolossus. Fast, ruthless melodic Norwegian Black metal polished and spat out with intent. It’s not as good as Kolossus, and here rests the
conundrum that is the track, The Dragon Tower, as it is the band's contribution to the Norwegian national Eurovision Song contest called "Melodi Grand Prix". Available only as an e-single through Itunes, and sits here like a twat in a pot of cocks. From the cauldron of steaming riffs and rabid percussion slips forth this melodic, catchy and extremely well formed song. To be fair, its probably the best track on the album but its original purpose stinks of mainstream Nuclear Blast bullshit and of that I cannot condone. I’m all for a band to progress [and Dragon Tower is a remarkably catchy and decent song] and yet I cannot see any compromise between Black metal and Eurovision. [What a load of idiots who thought this nonsense up!!] To me this band should be ashamed of even considering such a move as it insults the fans who bolster the whole top heavy dross that suppresses the underground who made them in the first place. The loyal fans shouldn’t need to be repaid with such shit. To forget where one came is the ultimate betrayal and the label here is obsessed with money overriding a true sense of passion for a genre now so watered down with commercial rot it is in danger of becoming a laughable circus. Anyway back to that conundrum. The band will obviously move onwards into that more subtle melodic progression and I look forward to that. Keep of Kalessin can write fantastic music and yet I feel their legacy is forever tarnished by the aforementioned nonsense.

Ragnarok ‘Collectors of the King’ Regain Records
	This band released their first demo in 1994, this is their sixth album and still they reside in the second tier of the Norwegian Black Metal hall of fame. With the abandonment of any keyboards or acoustics, the current sound is very much set in an old school style. With the film sample of an exorcist staring the proceeding here, first song proper, Stabbed by the Horns, is just how you would expect a Ragnarok album to sound like. Fat smouldering Norwegian Black Metal that embraces the fluency of Mayhem, Tshuder, and Taake. Like the last album, Backdoor Miracle in 2004, this pulverizes the air with slick riffs and thrashy rhythmic precision. The vocals here aren’t as ear ripping as Hoest [who sung
on Backdoor Miracle], but they do their job well enough. Ragnarok are one of those bands who seem to tread water, like Keep of Kalessin, both bands are fantastic at what they do but never seem to do anything else. I suppose progression does not count for being TRUE. Ragnarok have the experience, the smooth fluency of a well conceived engine and yet the lack of distinctive songs sets this album in ‘heard it all before’ category. That said, if you like extremely volatile, manic Black metal of the Nordic style, you’ll enjoy this.

Sarath ‘Siste Indre’ Terratur Possessions and Apocalyptic Empire
	Out of the twisting intro shrieks the vocal menace of the intro, the wonderfully charcoal atmosphere of Sarath's pure Norwegian Black Metal rages forth. This is a time capsule of extreme metal evolution and this mid nineties raw hollowness if fantastic to behold in the modern strains of the genre. One can sense the early croaking of Mayhem/ Burzum and Darkthrone dragging their ideas out of a semi-deathly nucleus to form the unique Black Metal catalyst of the early ninties. The first track, Mellom Livshunger og Dødsangst , is a catchy melodic romp though those halcyon days and its delivery is one of sincerity and
smoking zest. Bursting from its heels is the frantic, Saa Kom Kvaelden, a more ragged and angst ridden track and yet that spine of melody is still evident throughout its 8 minute tumult. The far more slothful, Om Hundrede år er Alting Glemt, follows, and here we find the band dragging their raw icy sound across a Strid like brooding atmosphere, again crawling towards the eight minute mark. The final track, Siste Indre, is another slothful Black Metal crawl, dismissing any warmth that yearns to enter the mood via the melodic guitar strum, instead embracing a morbific edge throughout. The wailing vocal strains enhance the dreary atmosphere. Its simple riffing, simple arrangements and yet played with menace. It is bands like Sarath who will keep the scene alive and save it from the more commercial bands comical exploits that tear at its heart.

Slagmaur ‘Domfeldt’ Nocturnal Woodlands Productions/Inferna Profundus Records
	Originally limited CD-R demo, it is now re-mastered and re-released as a Digipak CD limited to 1000 copies . This band are an anomaly in the Norwegian scene, a freak show that courts derision and intrigue. Musically they are a band wallowing in fuzzy feedback, of abstract sound sand hell born vocal utterances. This is what the intro emits as it claws its way to the first track, Vandalens Hevn. Here the music plods over a slight industrial mood, enhanced by some simple keyboard arrangements and a seemingly standing on the spot rhythmic chill. The vocals groan and croak their way into a piano section that sound out of tune and the whole song is poised to break apart and yet never quite does so. Gloom
affixed and post Black Metal trappings evoke a slight, Ved Buens Ende feel, though the atmosphere here is far more twisted and cold. The following, Gnager, is a similar journey through a sludge symphonic wasteland. The following songs also wrap their compositions around a funeral gloom of discordant sounds, off the wall arrangements and very distinctive music. This is not for everyone and has a very solitude like feel. Imagine a caustic hybrid of Nortt and Summoning, boiling in a vat of despair and purgatory. Khold are a similar band in texture but are at the other end of the scale in terms of groove and catchy rhythms. Slagmaur are just downcast, desolate and utterly lacking of any warmth.