1349 - Liberation (2003)

1349 appears to be one of the more popular bands to emerge from Norway in recent years. The reason for this is quite unknown. One listen to their debut effort, 2003's Liberation, is proof enough that the fires of old school Black Metal have truly been extinguished in Norway. No amount of well-known musicians or big labels can make up for lack of quality. 

One word can sum up everything that is wrong with this album: modern. Here one can find a mixture of influences that are forced together, awkwardly, with no real direction and a total lack of focus. So much of the material is played at hyper-speed for no other reason than to be fast. Despite the high tempo, there is absolutely no sense of aggression or urgency to these parts. Worse still, the drumming dominates the entire album. Frost's performance here is completely over-the-top and just a masturbatory display of technical skill with no thought to what would best benefit the compositions. To make matters more unbearable, his overactive percussion is far too high in the mix and distracts from the rest. 

The songwriting is not utterly terrible, though mostly generic. None of the guitar melodies are given any real time to play out or to breathe, shifting from one pointless riff to the next. There is absolutely no atmosphere to be found on this album. One can detect bits of old school influences, which would be a good thing if not for the fact that they float around as fragments of what once was, in a sea of modernity. The best song on here is a cover of Mayhem's "Buried by Time and Dust", and they completely butcher it and render it lifeless and bereft of the morbid feeling possessed by the original.

Liberation is a good example of modern 'extreme metal'. The original material clocks in around thirty-five minutes and it must not have taken much longer than that to write this simplistic nonsense. 1349 fail to create an atmosphere of darkness or to convey any evil feeling, whatsoever. This is just more watered-down, easy-to-digest kiddie trash, masquerading as Black Metal. It requires more than fast playing, spikes and corpse paint to be Black Metal, and these guys really missed the mark. Avoid this.

Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult - The Pest Called Humanity (1999)

Over the last several years, and particularly during my stay in Berlin, it has been difficult to avoid hearing about the German Black Metal band known as Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult. With such an over-the-top name, it would be wise to make sure that the band is able to deliver. Their first official release came in early 1999, in the form of an E.P. titled The Pest Called Humanity. 

Upon first listen, it is really difficult to understand why this band is so hyped, as the songwriting is rather mundane. The extremely poor production does it no favours. In particular, the hollow drum sound is distracting and irritating. The riffs lack any feeling of darkness and come across as generic and pointless. The vocals are another big problem; as misogynistic as it may sound, female vocals have no place in Metal, especially Black Metal. That goes for clean singing or these pitiful attempts at harsh vocals. No matter how many people try to tell me, "oh, this one is different, she's really good", I can always pick out weak female voices and they never suit this music properly. 

The Pest Called Humanity is below-average and nothing more than a mesh of random influences, poorly executed. With such a weak scene, compared to their northern brethren, it is not surprising that Germans would cling onto anything that might seem passable, but Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult simply fails to live up to all of the underground hype. If you want to hear real German Black Metal, seek out Moonblood or Katharsis. Avoid this novelty act.

Taake - Nattestid... (1999)

For well over a decade now, it has been nearly impossible to not be confronted by the overrated and over-hyped entity known as Taake. One of the latecomers to the Norwegian scene, this band's first full-length was not released until 1999. Nattestid... is a very tedious listen and one that offers very little reward. 

The first things that once notices when listening to this is the horrid production. Or, rather, it is seems that it had a clearer production and then some sort of trickery was involved, after the fact. In the end, what we have here is a tenth-generation dub of the original master tape, in an insincere attempt at sounding grim. The result is something that is just noisy and irritating, as certain frequencies are just grating to the ear. As is often problematic with modern releases, the drums and bass are too high in the mix and create a muddy feeling. 

Musically, this is just a complete mess. There is far too much going on, and yet not enough really happening. The various layers do not seem to fit together very well. The drumming is just too much, with so many useless fills and tempo changes. The clean guitars that are added on top of the rest just make things more difficult to grasp. Then there are the disgusting clean vocals that kill any attempt at atmosphere. This really sounds like the result of a few kids making a poor attempt at picking up from where Emperor left off with Anthems..., along with some influences from Satyricon and early Aeternus. Regardless of what influenced this atrocity, they failed to really understand what Black Metal was supposed to be about, because this isn't it. Despite the aesthetics and techniques, this is the total opposite of dark or evil. Perhaps this is supposed to be some sort of Viking Metal or "Forest Metal"? At any rate, Taake failed to create anything worthwhile. Imagine an album like The Return... or Under A Funeral Moon that was drowning in clean guitars, over-audible bass lines, classical influenced melodies and clean wailing. It is very likely that Hoest and his pals were part of the later generation that were exposed to modern flower metal before ever hearing any real Black Metal. 

Nattestid... is not a totally worthless album. The band are fairly competent at playing and Hoest's vocals are not bad at all. If you are into the 'pretty' and 'flowery' side of Metal, this will appeal to you. However, if you are seeking a solid offering of Norwegian Black Metal, you are in the wrong place. Turn away and flee.

Pest - Blasphemy is My Throne (2002)

Sweden's Pest is an interesting band. They began doing a weak imitation of Darkthrone, among others. Over the course of their career, there have been some highs and lows, ultimately leading them to embrace an even more old school sound to which they are better suited. However, their early years were quite mediocre and this is exemplified by the 2002 E.P. Blasphemy is My Throne. 

The songwriting here is incredibly weak. The compositions are too lengthy and they go absolutely nowhere. The title track has a couple of riffs that could have been useful, but ended up languishing amid several generic riffs that just go nowhere. These guys are just going through the motions, knowing which notes to play but not why they need to be played or how to put it all together. There is not an ounce of darkness to be found within these songs. "Along the Path of the Fallen" is another painfully generic track that meanders along for eight minutes and accomplishes nothing. 

Side B is similarly frustrating. "Towards Desolation" features some half-decent tremolo melodies that are very reminiscent of early Burzum, but the modern studio production sort of kills the vibe. The song is then buried in an unmarked grave when things transition to a poor man's Ravishing Grimness. "Circle of Damnation's Fire" displays some of the worst Celtic Frost imitation ever heard. 

Sometimes, a band should demonstrate a bit of patience and, rather than releasing material just for the sake of getting their name out there, they should hold off until they've written songs that are worth listening to. In the case of Blasphemy is My Throne, Pest seemed overeager to release something, despite the songwriting being utterly below-average and tedious to sit through. Some bands are slow starters and these guys really should have remained in the demo stage a lot longer, because this E.P. is completely worthless.  

Xasthur - Nocturnal Poisoning (2002)

Nocturnal Poisoning was released in late 2002, marking the first of many disappointing full-lengths to come from Xasthur. Alongside trash like Nargaroth, this may be one of the most overrated bands to ever soil the realm of Black Metal.

After being introduced to this solo bedroom project with the track "May Your Void Become as Deep as My Hate" (which was fairly decent and Burzum-esque), I did a little research and decided to give a listen to the first Xasthur album. Of particular interest was that this offering featured a cover of an old Mütiilation track. It seemed as if this band might have some potential. I was quite wrong.

Nocturnal Poisoning is an incredibly tedious listen. To my understanding, this is a fairly clear example of DSBM, but the only depressive thing about this is how utterly boring and mundane it all is. From the first track, it is apparent that Malefic is incapable of doing even the most basic Black Metal vocals, as his voice is so drowned in digital effects that all chance for any feeling to be conveyed by the vocals has been eliminated. That is not too much of a problem, as the songwriting is amateurish and bland. In fact, one would be hard-pressed to even call this songwriting. It would be more appropriate to call this a collection of uninteresting, generic, interchangeable and forgettable riffs that stretches on for over an hour. The overuse of clean guitars in the forefront also does a lot to remove any possible edge this music could have possessed.

Malefic demonstrates that Burzum and Strid were not the only bands he wished to emulate, as "A Gate through Bloodstained Mirrors" gives off somewhat of an old Graveland vibe, particularly with the drum programming. Occasionally, a guitar passage will feel slightly gloomy, but there is nothing to compare it to other than the terribly monotonous and boring riffs that make up the bulk of this wretched album. There are no ups and downs, no journey into the darkness. The riffs have no feeling, the vocals are just a pathetic mess of sound effects and the tracks are all the worse for the fact that they just drag on and on.

The best and most offensive song on here is "Black Imperial Blood". The soft and modern production neuters it, for the most part, with the horrible fake drumming overpowering the guitars. Anyone with any respect for Mütiilation would never have released this atrocity, as it is a complete raping of the original. That said, these are clearly the most interesting riffs on the whole album. In this case, not only was it a bad idea to include the cover track because of how poorly it came out, but it also shows just how weak the rest of the compositions are by comparison.

Later songs introduce more synth into the mix, as if this filth wasn't horrible enough already. "A Walk Beyond Utter Blackness" introduces a somewhat average guitar riff, then proceeds to do nothing to capitalize on it, spoiling it further with random clean guitars and excessively loud bass lines. Finally, nearly an hour into the torture session, the first decent (original) riff appears. The title track starts out with a rather lifeless and sombre melody, but soon loses steam and turns into a terrible Opeth outtake.

Truly, Nocturnal Poisoning is a complete mess. Cover art and song titles aside, there is nothing even remotely dark about this. This guy really just picked up on the absolute weakest elements of Black Metal and failed in his attempt to emulate them, creating a disgusting and worthless string of albums and split releases over the years. It's a shame that so much talentless scum manages to gain notoriety and support for the complete trash they call music, while other bands go unnoticed or forgotten. You are far better off listening to the older works from Burzum, Strid and Mütiilation. Xasthur was never anything more than a failed effort at making a cheap imitation of those that came before. Avoid this.

Nargaroth - Black Metal ist Krieg (2001)

Things are not always what they seem, and it is always important for one to think critically about the information that is presented to them. Black Metal has enjoyed a rather high level of popularity, within the underground (and beyond), for the past decade and a half. For those who do not remember, or were simply not around, it must be mentioned that things were not always this way. It was once something quite obscure and unknown to many. Even those who were aware of it often mocked and ridiculed it. With the media storm surrounding the Norwegian scene in the mid-90s, the popularity of this form of music began to grow at an astounding rate. Bands sprang up from all over the globe, and more and more listeners were turned onto this dark art. By the late 90s, it had become quite trendy in a sense, and a great number of posers and idiots had flocked to the bloodstained altars, in hopes of capturing some of its dark essence. Many attempted to recreate the magic of the past, while others simply adopted whatever elements they chose and mixed them with other influences, producing some bastardized form of music that should never have been. In this chaotic time emerged a Black Metal warrior from the long forgotten past. He went by the name of Kanwulf, and his band Nargaroth was established to uphold the true ways of the black cult. Not really... in truth, he was just another goth kid that latched onto the latest trend in hopes of impressing people and finding some community of outcasts to take him in. This feminine loser was better known to his friends and family as mild-mannered René Wagner.

Of course, anything of any real quality will, inevitably, begin attracting the attention of the wrong kind of people. It has happened within any kind of movement imaginable, whether it be related to music, film, politics, etc. Black Metal was no different, except that the shameful losers it attracted were even more ridiculous than usual. Ranking near the top of that list was the feeble-minded René, a disgrace to his German blood. Like many others, he was drawn to the aesthetics and the dark atmosphere evoked by the music, but he failed to look beneath the surface. His understanding of Black Metal is shallow and rooted in self-created mythology, influenced by fantastical stories printed in newspapers and magazines. 

This goth loser was not introduced to Black Metal until 1996, at the very earliest. More likely, it was even a year or two later. This is when he formed his own band and began imitating his new-found heroes. After a couple of demos, his band Nargaroth released Herbstleyd at the end of 1998. For one reason or another, this record appealed to a decent amount of people and this is something that René should have been proud of. He had infiltrated a world in which he did not belong, like so many others were doing around that time. But this was not enough for him. He wished to be associated with the originators of this musical style, instead of being among the legions of imitators. So he began to create a backstory for himself and his band, to gain more credibility in the scene.

According to his story (which often changed), he formed Nargaroth in 1989 and recorded the first demos in 1991 and 1993. During this time, he traveled to Norway and met with both Dead and Varg Vikernes and discussed the ill-fated path that Black Metal was on. He then went to prison on charges of manslaughter, then re-emerged a handful of years later to constantly weep and mourn for the old days (of which he was never a part, in any way) and to keep the ancient flame burning with his musical contributions. The only problem is that none of this is true.

The German Black Metal scene was a small and close-knit group, back in the mid-90s. No one involved had ever heard of Kanwulf or Nargaroth until 1997 at the earliest, and when asked about this idiotic drama queen Varg denied meeting him and went on to say that no foreigners were present except for a handful of Swedes. This does not even take into account that he was a mere child at the time, anyway. Countless people have come forth to dispute the claims made by René, in his quest for acceptance. Also worth mentioning is that his pseudonym was taken from a Canadian television program that did not even air in Germany until 1996, or so. Obviously, this would add more suspicion the the claims that those “old demos” were recorded and released in the early 90s. René also admitted later on that the inspiration for the name of his band came from Gorgoroth, which certainly did not exist in 1989. How ironic that this poser scum took on a dramatic tone in so many interviews, talking about how Black Metal died in 1994 and that everything that came after that was utter garbage. He was describing himself, perfectly. Somehow, he had convinced himself that his lies were truth and that he was the last of a forgotten age. The truth of the matter was that the era that he was so desperate to associate himself with was over before he had even heard of it. He spent a lot of time and energy in trying to craft the perfect image for his Black Metal persona, yet he allowed his true face to appear on national television in late 1999.

On a tv talk show called “Sonja Live”, he appeared in all of his feminine glory, seeming very giggly and shy and allowing himself to be ridiculed in a very low-class environment. Smiling and soft-spoken, he sat there in a fishnet shirt while his roommate lambasted him for listening to music too loud. The old school Black Metal warrior backed down and agreed to retreat to his car to listen to music, and could not have come off as more of a homosexual unless he began making out with the guy on stage. Far from the honourable Black Metal warrior that he pretended to be, this was most likely an accurate representation of his true personality.

To defend his actions, René took to the internet and masqueraded as other people in order to back up his own ridiculous claims or actions, as well as to speak highly of his own band. It was later discovered that the IP addresses for the fake users were all linked to the very university where René was taking classes. He brazenly lied time and again and then posed as random people to support his claims and to be his own number one fan... This guy truly had no shame.

As for his band's second full-length album, Black Metal Ist Krieg, it is nothing more than a pile of garbage and stolen ideas. It contains four cover songs from a handful of obscure bands that few were aware of. He had only been introduced to these bands a short time before recording the songs and, in the case of Moonblood, had actually said that they "were shit". Obviously, the idea behind this was to build even more credibility by pretending to possess knowledge of these obscure bands. Weird that someone would cover a band that he considers to be terrible, but understandable since they had a level of respect in the underground and he knew that others regarded them highly. Even more disgusting that this shameless poser has amassed such a following while a brilliant band like Moonblood languished in relative obscurity.

As for the rest of the album, it contains ridiculous lyrics that are all about Black Metal itself, resulting in unintended self-parody. Riffs are stolen, such as the Strid melodies in “Seven Tears Are Flowing to the River”, the Immortal plagiarism in “Erik, May You Rape the Angels” (which is a total farce, making a tribute song to someone that he had never met, pretending to be some close friend) and the obvious theft from Darkthrone in “Possessed By Black Fucking Metal”. Obviously, he spent a lot of time listening to End of Life, Pure Holocaust and Under A Funeral Moon, when writing the material for this album. Outside of these “borrowed” concepts, his own material is incredibly derivative and more of a mockery than a tribute. Just listen to “The Day Burzum Killed Mayhem” and read the lyrics and wonder how René managed to record this with a straight face. Such a laughable pile of human waste shouldn't even be allowed to utter the names of those bands. Boring and generic riffs, comical displays of false emotion and horrid movie samples all populate an album that has, somehow, gained a high level of respect among more casual listeners. Sad to see so many listeners that do not realize what a piece of trash this album really is and this was only the second one.

René continued his pathetic antics, even including a home video of him whining and crying that some people had seen through his lies and burning t-shirts and records for some unknown purpose. The thing that seems to go unnoticed is that this loser is an attention whore and always has been. Like a lot of other people, he saw Black Metal as some “island of misfit toys” that would accept him in ways that the goth community would not. It was also probably more interesting and excited him to think that he could be a part of something that was, at times, dangerous and legitimately evil. Kanwulf is nothing more than a weakling that has enjoyed the attention of uninformed listeners that take his false claims and simplistic music at face value.

That is the real problem here. It is not just that some loser ran around, spreading lies and trying to be part of something to which he did not belong. Posers are all over the place, and their presence is annoying but, ultimately, does not matter. The thing is that this particular person managed to create a mythology around himself (not so much his true self, but a character that existed only in his mind) and his band to fool many in the underground for several years. There are many that still revere the work and words of this fool, based on his hideous lies and posturing, and it should not only be known that it was all false, but that others like him are surely lurking all over. Honour is something that is rapidly fading from this world. Disingenuous people are multiplying in this modern age of technology and it is only getting worse. Do not be so quick to offer your support to such scum. Avoid anything that has to do with the stain upon Black Metal known as Nargaroth.

Maniac Butcher - Cerná Krev (1998)

Hailing from the Czech Republic, Maniac Butcher are well-known for a grim style of Black Metal that takes a lot of cues from their northern predecessors, as well as some influence from the likes of Master's Hammer. Anyone familiar with the band has a general sense of expectation whenever exploring a new album, as Barbarud and Vlad were very consistent with their songwriting. This hold true for their fourth full-length, released in 1998, Cerná Krev.

One of the first things that one might notice is that the production is slightly improved from the last offering. Without being overly plastic or soulless, Krvestřeb was still too over-produced for this type of music. Cerná Krev appears to correct some of the mistakes, with a more cohesive sound. The drums are not quite as hollow and distracting as the last time around, though they could still be buried a little more in the mix. The guitars have a cold and thin tone, really suitable to the compositions. 

Regarding the songwriting, this record contains over half an hour of rather straightforward Black Metal. The vocals are raw and often tormented, sounding like they are emanating from a shredded throat. This is quite appropriate, as the guitar riffs are razor-sharp and hearken back to the classic Norwegian albums from the likes of Darkthrone and Mayhem. There are even certain shared sensibilities with early Gorgoroth, especially as it relates to the guitar melodies. There is a good dynamic with the somewhat epic riffs contrasting with more urgent and intense ones, though the difference is subtle enough that it may not be perceptible by all. It is a shame that the song titles are not only in Czech, but that they are so lengthy, as it is rather difficult to identify the tracks by anything other than their numbers. The exception to this is the much more ethereal "Intermezzo", which slows things down and creates an atmosphere of almost calming darkness with more melodic riffs and use of a somewhat introspective clean guitar. After the blistering aural assault of the previous three songs, this instrumental is somewhat necessary. 

Following this, the album shifts back into high gear with intense riffs that would make Euronymous proud. Despite the obvious influences, by this point in their career, Maniac Butcher definitely had a sound that was easily identifiable. There is a certain dreariness that creeps into some of the tremolo melodies that serves as their mark. Track five is the first proper composition to feature any really noticeable tempo changes. The added dynamics do take away from the momentum built up by the initial parts of the track, but this is followed by an even faster section that is almost reminiscent of early Dark Funeral, before the main riff returns. The next song adopts a slower pace, building on the somewhat sombre feeling established in the second half of the album. The effort is a little hampered by the overactive drumming (which would not be as bad if it were lower in the mix). There are certain times when drummers should realize that less is more and that the guitars should be allowed more room to breathe and to create atmosphere, without so many fills and extra bits tossed in without reason. There is a Gorgoroth vibe as the song speeds up, but it is not done exceptionally well. 

Cerná Krev is strong album from this Czech Black Metal band and is an improvement over the previous record. While there are some average parts, the majority of the material is very solid and does well to continue the traditions that were established in the earlier part of the decade, while also putting their own stamp on it. The rawness and intensity shown by this band really put most of their contemporaries to shame and Maniac Butcher deserves all the more respect for keeping this style alive at a time when so many despicable bands were clogging up the scene. If you are sick of all of the current trendy releases and want something much more in line with the classics, this is very much recommended.