Review 8 - Beastcraft - Pentagram Sacrifice 8/10

Hidden gems are always out there and this is one of them!

Beascraft's demo "Pentagram Sacrifice" was something that went largely unnoticed and as with the band stayed in the shadows until recent years, which by that time nobody knew that band was destined to end.

This first release had everything a Black Metaller was looking for, atmosphere, rage, the lot!

Very strong influences of bands such as Gorgoroth are made very clear BUT IN NO WAY COPYING.

Best of 2014 series

As the title suggests between today and the end of this year (which is coming very soon) we'll be have a best of series. This best of series shall not just be overall Black Metal BUT of the various subgenres too and we shall aim to hit as many as possible before our final tally near new years.

Stay tuned!

Humble beginnings 1 - Burzum - Demo 1

Every band / project starts somewhere, ladies and gentlemen I give you...

Burzum - Demo 1

Released way back in 1991, such a long time ago and already featuring rough, demo, instrumental versions of VERY well known songs on his massive catalog.

This proves that music is something special where a young musician was already coming up for such great riffs which we later saw in popular albums. Which many still listen to to this day and where so many other young musicians were inspired from.

Fighting among the "Immortal" ranks

It has recently been discovered that there is on-going legal issues in between the legendary Black Metal band Immortal, now while legal issues are no stranger to the Black Metal world never have I been so shocked to hear about this...

We will have a massive post about this on going issue and our thoughts and views coming about this soon...

Review 7 - Nargaroth - Jahreszeiten - 9/10

Love it or hate it this album was a stroke of pure genius!

A conceptual album based around love which we half all felt sometime or another this album really shows pure emotion on Ash's part.

The fact is that this album is so different and so inspired, it just shines and proves that Black Metal has more depths to it than people thought.

I have heard people make fun of this album due to some "happy" riffing but what people do not seem to understand the message behind it. Many bands have done this sort of concept and very VERY few people seem to understand the nature of this work so I will try to explain as simply as possible...

Spring - Love starts

Summer - Love fully blossoms

Autumn - The love starts to fade

Winter - Love is gone

It is a simple concept but guess what? It is all too real.

This type of shit happens every single day and happens to everyone at one point or another.

Ash did an amazing job creating this.

Band overview - Silencer (Swe)

From a band which released so little since its birth till its eventual death there have been none so controversial, so hated and so loved than Silencer!

Formed way back then in 1995 by musician Leere (of later Shining (Swe) fame) as a solo project which then took a turn with the addition of one of the most controversial vocalists in Black Metal... Nattramn.

If Leere knew what he was going to be getting himself into would Silencer still been a thing?

With Leere's amazing musicianship and Nattramn's deeply disturbing howls of pure pain Silencer released one demo "Death - Pierce Me" and a album with the same name.

-Let us not forget drummers Jonas Mattsoon and Steve Wolz who played session drums respectfully.-

In 1998 Silencer released their demo "Death - Pierce Me" which featured only one track, the title track and quickly saw them being signed to the German label Prophecy Productions to later release a album with the same name a few years after.

The released spawned both hate and love in the Black Metal community with many praising the release for its interesting take on the genre and many also showing nothing but hate. To date I have yet to hear any conversations as heated about a about than I have about Silencer as a whole.

By the time this album was released the band was apparently broken due to Nattrramn being institutionalized... and this is where Shining started getting "famous" or better yet "infamous". Rumors started spawning around this musician... Rumors which honestly I have no idea if they are true are not but lets see some of the rumors I've seen online shall we?

-Nattramn tried to kill a little girl (sometimes said it was two) with an axe

-During that event he was screaming at the police officers to shoot him

-He mutilated a pig and try to sew the pig's feet onto his arms

Perhaps the most bizarre rumor I have ever heard about this vocalist is that he never existed and all the events and the Nattrramn persona were fabricated!

One can only wonder where Silencer would be today if this supposed events did not happen and they simply continued to create more of this music.

Where are they now?

Leere:

Leere joined the Swedish band Shining (Yes that Shining) for about a year but did not take part in any recordings. Then the most we know of him after is that he composed a track for the Swedish Black / Death Metal band Zavorosh in 2006.

Nattrramn:

He formed a industrial project called Diagnose: Lebensgefahr and eventually released a book called Grishjärta.

Not much is known about both these musicians and who knows if we will ever see them take part in anything Black Metal related in the future but time will tell.

Trivia: Leere was a VERY young musician when he founded Silencer, being around the age of 13 when it was founded.

Covers - Love them or hate them?

One can simply find hundreds if not thousands of well known (and lesser known) Black Metal tracks being covered on youtube by solo projects, bands, collaborations, etc. So here is a question for you...

Love them or hate them?

I've seen comments ranging from "Oh this is epic" to "Stop bastardizing a good song", and I was curious to know what people's opinions are on this subject...

I personally like the idea of covers as you can see most of these musicians covering said tracks are normally paying tribute to musicians who have inspired them in some way or another... Obviously this is a matter of opinion so why not comment and let people know?

Review 6 - Cirith Gorgor - Onwards To The Spectral Defile - 9/10

We're going back to 1999 here, I know lots of Black Metallers are stuck in the 90's but there is a good reason... It was just that damn good most of the time!

Cirith Gorgor's first album "Onwards To The Spectral Defile" was just a masterpiece and is still one of my top albums I hear constantly. The fact that this band has been in the dark for so many years baffles me, it really does.

Faint melodic points grace this brilliant release added along with masterfully played guitars and some of the most furious vocals I have heard in a while.

While I may be overselling this slightly as I just love this album but I could really say this is one of the ESSENTIAL Black Metal albums to listen to. Not just for old school veterans but for new blood also!

Review 5 - Forgive Me - Jerusalem, the Rhyme of the Deceased - 8/10

Very rarely will you find DSBM project that can actually provide a atmosphere so devastating it makes you wonder what going in their minds.

Forgive Me released this EP back in 2011 but have had this track other for people to listen to since 2009 and I have to say I was impressed. While the musicianship is quite simple it only proves that skill can come from even the most simplest of playing.

The drumming must be the weakest instrument in this release but the guitars and vocals are done immaculately and completely overrides the simplicity of the drums. Overall this was a brilliant release and would recommend this to many DSBM fans.

Are you stuck in the past?

Whenever I find a fellow Black Metal fan out in the real world I often see the conversation treading back to the "true" acts as many call them... Mayhem, Burzum, Immortal, Emperor, etc

Over time I've asked myself "Are people just living in the past?"... People who claim to "live and breath" for Black Metal just seem to just stay back then in the early 90's and never want to look forward and honestly I don't know why!

The great thing about this young genre is that is is growing with the times and the acts we have all followed and still do are growing with them. If we can still listen to Mayhem, Burzum, etc who have changed over the years why not embrace the new blood?

The new bands, artists, musicians who are making their way, who have recently discovered the genre and have fallen into its grips like we may have many moons ago?

Sure we hear of a few great projects popping into the scene every now and again but here I ask you, the readers... Do you think that is it? Are there no more hidden gems?

Why do we have the "elitists" who like to hide the gems they find because if anyone else likes them they are not "true"?

This is why the genre is looked at with ridicule because WE the fans do the damage.

Review 4 - Fallen Voices - Fallen Voices - 8/10

I fail to see how something like this has gone under my radar, really I do, the only reason why I have heard this is because someone texted me about them and I am quite happy they did!

Fallen Voices boasts so many different influences on this small album that just counting them may take days if not weeks!

While the mix in-between the tracks may be a little off and some tracks being louder than others, that is literally my only complaint I'd say! The music was created and arranged amazingly well and few bands can actually pull out such work from their first release!

This is the type of music you'd want to relax too while sitting near the ocean and just stare out into the distance.

Review 3 - Darchon - From Unknown Vastlands of Isolation and Death - 8/10

Sometimes you can find some hidden gems out there and this release is just what I was looking for!

Sadly this EP is just two tracks long lasting at nearly 15 mins in length but this small release has made me sure to check this band out for this reason...

Both tracks vary in style and I don't mean two different styles of Black Metal. The first track has all the typical common traits of Black Metal but that second track is this amazingly beautiful ambient piece which sometimes it hard to understand how someone can actually create something so mesmerizing and emotionally enthralling.

Review 2 - Bartholin - 2009 Demo - 1/10

"Side note don't google this bands name with out having the word "band" beside it... trust me..."

Right so here we go! Bartholin are a two man Black Metal project from the good old USA and this is a review of their first demo.

At almost four minutes in length this release holds three tracks:

Quadbeta 00:31
Skene 01:51
Mercy Genocide 2:11

I'm sorry I was not impressed.... I listened to it a few times yet I couldn't see what was "Black Metal" about this.

The first track sounded like a instrumental errr whats the word? "Pronogrind" song? Just seemed like random riffing and playing.

Track No2 "Skene" was some sort of space ambient track and while I get the band used some space themes are are attempting to... The issue was with the recording quality. Why is the world does this space ambient track have worse recording quality than the first metal track? If anything don't the ambient tracks normally sound better quality wise than the metal tracks? Maybe they are trying to be different or maybe they had to use some sort of different toaster to recording their song on... Who knows?

Finally we get to track 3... Mercy Genocide which FINALLY had some Black Metal riffs and drumming... Well for like 30 seconds and then we get back to some more space ambient feedback bullshit. I don't see these guys going far.

Also those vocals... Why?

This gets a 1/10 because I did like the little actually Black Metal (all 30 seconds of it).

Review 01 - Trauer - ...hungrig durch die kalte Nacht - 7/10

"..hungrig durch die kalte Nacht" is the German band Trauer's second release. A four track demo which lasts about 35 minutes in length. While I was only made aware of this project recently via a friend I decided to check it out.

While not the most amazing release I have ever heard from any project the demo plays quite nicely and was somewhat enjoyable..

This release has all those "raw" elements that most Black Metal purists are looking out for nowadays. It is raw, sometimes the timing is off and the mix is lacking as with most Black Metal demos but this is still a solid release!

There are some sweet points where some riffs shine through and capture some atmosphere (Tracks 1,3 and 4 are quite decent), the songs are stereo-typically long but they hold out with some minor changes here and there without overusing the riffs being used.

I do have to admit the little use they put in with keyboards was very nicely done and surprising at some parts. It added that little extra bit to the atmosphere that was needed to give the demo a much more of solid sound. Particularly on the final track "Ending World's Suicide", those beautiful keyboard passages that seem to compliment the rest of the instruments and the vocals were not only simple but they were SPOT ON.