Cantique Lépreux: Paysages Polaires (2018)

That's a lot of French in that band name and title.  It comes as no surprise then that Cantique Lépreux hail from Québec.  Well, maybe a little.  Looking at the album cover, one would think that if this band were truly metal at all, that they would be atmospheric black metal focused on nature or something of that sort.  One would be wrong.

This is a surprisingly aggressive form of black metal, though not without its more melodic passages.  The music is very cold, owing a great deal to Canadian black metal bands like Gris and Tenebrae, along with some Immortal and Mayhem thrown in.  Featuring icy tremolo riffing and chilling shrieked vocals, you can almost see your breath while listening to this album. 

There is an overwhelming sense of isolation and foreboding doom hanging over this entire album.  The English translation of the title is "polar landscapes" and the title could not be more apt.  This album puts into music the sense of terror at being lost in a frozen wasteland.  It is cold and hostile and yet can be beautiful and atmospheric at some times. 

This is an intriguing album that stays with the listener long after it is over.  The band successfully captures a cold and lonely atmosphere throughout the entire album.  It is incredibly effective.  I am definitely looking forward to more.

Geheimnisvoll: Venomous Sorcery Through Hidden Darkness (2019)

Okay, then.  "Geheimnisvoll" is apparently German (obviously) for mysterious or arcane.  I suppose it is an apt name then, because the music on this release is certainly dark.  I picked this one up after seeing it reviewed in an issue of Decibel recently.  I do not frequently do that anymore, but I liked the description and due to my recent obsession with lo-fi black metal, I went out and grabbed it.

I cannot find much information out there about Geheimnisvoll, not even which country the band hails from.  It does appear to be a one-man raw black metal project.  Certainly not unusual.  This is a four-song demo, though it is not easy to determine when one song ends and the next begins.  If listening to it as background noise, it sounds like just one 20-minute long song. 

The influences on Geheimnisvoll are obvious.  The songs are fairly lengthy, composed of one or two riffs almost endlessly repeating and vocals delivered in incomprehensible shrieking.  Early Burzum and Transilvanian Hunger-era Darkthrone are the reference points. 

This is not a terribly original sound, and yet, despite that the release is entrancing.  It builds an impressively dark atmosphere even in its simplicity.  This is lo-fi, raw black metal done right.  It belongs on a playlist with other groups in this vein, such as Drowning the Light, one of my favorite current black metal bands.  I'm anxious to hear more.

Heathen Fury: Heathen Fury (2011)

Here is a one-man band from West Yorkshire, England whose sound is derived almost completely from the early days of black metal.  I am not really sure what is currently happening with this project.  This demo was released back in 2011, and there has been no follow-up since.  The sole member has about 20 other projects going so it is entirely possible that this was meant to just be a one-off.

The cover is a tad misleading.  One would think with the colorful cover and the font and everything else that this would more likely be a a traditional metal album or at least a viking metal sound.  Instead, this album has much more in common with early black metal artists like Bathory, Mayhem and even a little Master's Hammer.  Opening track "Russian Winter Sacrifice" in particular sounds like an early Master's Hammer track, due to the weird groove it locks into.

The sound is raw and primal, with heavy, galloping riffs.  Several of the songs have a very retro sound to them.  "The Power of Mighty Thor" for instance sounds like something that an early doom metal band (think Cirith Ungol or Trouble) would produce.  With the gang vocals (where did those come from by the way?), it is easily the catchiest song on the demo.  "Valkarye" then is the slowest and most melodic track on the release, but with a deep sense of unease.

This is an intriguing demo.  It would have been interesting to see something more from Heathen Fury, but I really think this is probably it from them.  It was a Hel of a ride.

Azaghal: Valo Pohjoisesta (2018)

A few days back, I covered a couple of Finnish death metal bands, which scene is well-known for its experimental and weird sound.  Well today I have a Finnish black metal band, and one of my favorites at that.  I like Impaled Nazarene, Archgoat, Behexen and others, but for some reason Azaghal has been my particular favorite since I first heard Omega.

This is Azaghal's eleventh full-length release, and just my third.  I have a long way to go to get into the band's full discography.  But that tells you how great their music is when I have heard so little of it and consider them one of my favorite Finnish black metal bands.  Particularly since I have no idea what the lyrics mean.

This album starts out like so many do, with a creepy instrumental introduction before descending into the madness of the first real song "Mato joka sinut turmelee".  Featuring pounding drums, a whirlwind of riffs, deeply unsettling atmosphere and shrieked/snarled vocals, the song is a good look at what Azaghal is all about.  But the title track is my personal favorite song on the album with its uniquely melodic chorus breaks which is at odds with their otherwise merciless assault.  That is largely what makes Azaghal such an intriguing band.  They will be playing a perfectly normal and traditional-sounding hateful black metal riff, when, out of the blue, they will begin playing a dark and twisted melodic riff that is unlike anything heard before in black metal.

Azaghal has impressed me once again.  I will have to do some research into their other albums because every one that I have heard is amazing. 

Colosus: Blestem (2013)

This one kind of found me.  This was a throw-in by the record label when I bought the Ataraxie album.  It is fairly unlikely that I would have sought this one out myself, though I do recall looking at it when I ordered the Ataraxie album.  I think I decided it did not sound like something I would have been that interested in.  And for the most part, I was correct. 

When a band names itself "Colosus" (never mind the spelling mistake), one would assume that the band's sound would be slow and lumbering and monolithically heavy.  Well, the slow and lumbering part is absolutely correct, but this is not particularly heavy.  This Colosus is much more devoted to creating a dark and foreboding atmosphere.  The riffs, when present, more resemble the Norwegian black metal groups like Burzum and Darkthrone, other bands whose primary concern is atmospherics over heaviness.  Think Darkthrone riffs in a Burzum ambient track and that is halfway there.

I will give the band credit for managing to provoke an extreme sense of dread and unease throughout the album.  Unfortunately the songs, and album as a whole, are just so damn long that it is sometimes difficult to maintain interest.  Colosus has a tendency toward creating large gaps of ambient noise and mindless noodling that is a little too much at times.  The truly great moments tend to get lost in the shuffle.

I do not really dislike this album, but I likely would not have picked it out myself.  Atmospheric black metal can be done really well.  Just look at my previous reviews of groups like Saor and Vvilderness.  Unfortunately Colosus misses the mark more than the band hits it.

Mayhem: Grand Declaration of War (2000)

De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is quite possibly the greatest black metal album of all time.  So the big question is: how the hell do you follow it?  Do you try to replicate its success?  Do you try to top it?  Or do you do something completely off the wall and weird?  Well, Mayhem tried the last one, releasing an album completely different than the previous album.

Anyone with a general knowledge of Mayhem knows that a lot of things happened with the band after their landmark release.  Guitarist Euronymous was murdered by bassist Varg Vikernes.  Vikernes went to prison for his crimes.  The band was embroiled in controversy after controversy.  It is unsurprising that it took six years before the band was able to release anything new.  And of course by that point, for obvious reasons, the band looked significantly different.  Only Hellhammer remained from the lineup that released the previous album.  Blasphemer and Necrobutcher took over on guitar and bass respectively.  Maniac returned to the fold as the vocalist.  And with a new lineup, the band's sound changed as well.

The change is evident from the beginning of the album.  The music is slower and doomier.  The vocals are the biggest change and likely caused a lot of "What the fuck?" reactions.  There are some typical black metal shrieks, but they are mostly relegated to backing vocals behind spoken word vocals delivered in an almost campfire horror story tone and cadence.  These take the form of dramatic speeches about warfare and philosophy.  It takes some getting used to, but these are generally the better parts of the album.

There are some major missteps along the way.  "A Bloodsword and a Colder Sun" is almost completely worthless.  Featuring menacing whispers over an electronica beat, it sounds completely out of place with everything else that is going on in the album.  There are other moments where the experimentation goes off the rails as well.  The use of robotic vocals in a few places sounds ridiculous and off-putting.

Despite the weirdness, missteps and the unexpected general sound, this is a decent enough release.  It does not hold a candle to what came before, but Mayhem still put out an intriguing release.  Perhaps it is better to think of this as a completely different band, or to acknowledge that some bands are not content staying in one place musically.  That definitely seems to be the case with Mayhem after the issues with Dead, Euronymous and Varg.

Imha Tarikat: Kara Ihlas (2019)

Imha Tarikat (and no, I don't know what that means) is a German black metal band.  Despite Germany's impressive history in various metal genres (heavy, speed, power and thrash in particular), there is not nearly as much black metal that has made an impression on me.  There are definitely a number of bands that I have enjoyed (Dark Fortress, Bethlehem, etc.), but compared to the country's other scenes, there is not quite as much representation in black metal.

Apparently, Imha Tarikat has Turkish roots and takes some measure of influence from the Quran, which is definitely an unusual lyrical theme in metal, in particular the often anti-religious black metal.  But apart from having song titles in Turkish, there is not really much to set this album apart from most other black metal.  I would expect some Middle Eastern folk music elements or chanting, or something, but there is not really anything of the sort here.

None of this is to say that the music itself is disappointing.  Musically, Imha Tarikat derives a lot of influence from the nastier moments of Norwegian groups like Darkthrone (A Blaze in the Northern Sky) or Enslaved (Frost), although almost exclusively the relative bands' obviously black metal output.  The band is a duo consisting of a singer/guitarist and a drummer.  Most of the riffs are pretty standard for black metal, and the drumming is fairly typical as well.  The most interesting aspects are the frequent blazing solos and the harsh, yelled vocals.

I actually really enjoy this release, even though it really is not ground-breaking.  It is a fairly safe black metal album with some great songs and terrific riffs.  Just because it does not break the mold does not mean that it is bad by any stretch.  There is a lot of talent here and this is the band's first full-length.  I look forward to hearing more from Imha Tarikat.

Omenfilth: Devourer of the Seven Moons (2019)

Here we have Omenfilth, a black metal band from the Phillipines.  They have only been around since 2013, but they have already proven to be prolific, releasing three full-length albums, a live album, a demo and a couple of splits.  This is my first experience with the band.

Omenfilth blends a couple of seemingly disparate black metal sounds into a surprisingly cohesive new sound.  On the one hand, there are influences from the early South American scene from when thrash and death metal were first crossing over into black metal.  It is the raw, aggressive warfare sound of groups like Sarcófago and Bestial Devastation-era Sepultura.  This influence is clear from the fact that Omenfilth covers Vulcano's "Bloody Vengeance".  And then there is the Hellenic black metal sound from Greece.  This is a far more atmospheric, haunting sound calling to mind groups like Kawir, Varathron and Rotting Christ.  Omenfilth combines these two influences into something new and interesting.  The result is an album that can be bestial and primal one second and ethereal and atmospheric the next.

There are a couple of complaints I have about the album.  First off, the production is not great.  That is not really shocking, particularly in light of the South American influences, but the album is sometimes difficult to listen to.  Secondly, there are two live tracks tacked onto the end of the album that seem very much out of place.  For awhile, I thought this was some kind of compilation release.  Adding live tracks to a full-length at the end does not add anything to the release except to make it longer and this album does seem very long as a result.  The complaints are minor, but they do make this a somewhat difficult listen.

This one has been growing on me since I first heard it.  At first, I was turned off by the production, but as I have listened to it more and more I have been very impressed by it.  It is not quite what I thought it would be, but there is quite a bit to discover with time.

Abhor: Occulta Religio (2018)

Abhor fits in well on a playlist with Fleshgod Apocalypse.  For one thing the music is fairly similar: extreme metal with symphonic elements.  In addition, both bands are from Italy.  But that is where the superficial similarities end.  Abhor bases their metal sound in black metal whereas Fleshgod Apocalypse is more of a death metal band.  And of course, the symphonic elements are toned down considerably in Abhor's music, but they are a major element in that of Fleshgod Apocalypse.  I guess I really have no idea where I am going with this.  I am not sure how this band escaped my notice for so long, because I really enjoyed this release.

The album title here is definitely appropriate.  Abhor's music is generally slower-paced, doom-laden black metal but with some symphonic elements.  Many of these come in the form of organ music that gives off the atmosphere of an occult ritual in most parts.  In other parts, the effect is of the soundtrack to a cheesy ghost movie.  The vocals are often delivered in a guttural raspy voice, but there are moments of clean singing and even chanting which just adds to the occult ritual and/or ghost  story soundtrack.

Abhor strikes a perfect balance between traditional black metal and symphonic elements.  Those elements never overwhelm the black metal foundation and complement it quite well.  This is a very impressive album from a band I was not previously aware of, but will definitely be checking out further now.

Oyhra: На язычніцкай зямлі (1996)

I could be wrong, but I think this is my first album by a band from Belarus.  That seems likely because Belarus is not exactly known as a metal haven.  There may be quite a scene there, but I can not think of any bands from the country.  I had not even heard of this band for instance.  This album was a throw-in from the seller from whom I bought the last several bands reviewed here (Batushka, Kroda, Nokturnal Mortum and Maniac Butcher).  And so, here we are: most likely my first band from Belarus.

Oyhra had a very short career and released very little music.  It is a one-man project of Radzim that released three demos from 1996 through 1998, and a compilation of two unreleased albums from 1998 through 2000.  Unsurprisingly given the one-man status, origins in a small Eastern European country, and only releasing a few demos, this is a black metal band.

This is raw and primal pagan black metal with heavy doses of folk melodies and some very intriguing almost-tribal drumming.  The production value of this demo is decidedly lo-fi and it is not incredibly "heavy" in that there is very little bottom end.  The distortion does not come through very well either, mostly due to the production job.  So it is a decidedly rough offering.  Repeated listens reveal some impressive guitar melodies and a stark, ritualistic atmosphere, however. 

This is a grower.  It did not do much for me the first time or two through, but it has become more interesting to me with repeated listens.  I do not know if I would track down anything else by Oyhra, but at least it is one of the more interesting throw-ins I have gotten recently. 

One and Done? Pt. 14: Батюшка

Because I do not feel like copy and pasting the band's name again, I am going to refer to them translated from this point on.  This is Litourgiya by the Polish band Batushka.  Now, let's get started.

Man, the Polish black metal scene is absolutely on fire.  Mgła, Behemoth and Forest Whispers have all put out terrific albums recently.  Add Batushka to that list.  Unfortunately this will be the band's only album.  There were only two permanent members of the band and now there has been a split with both members claiming they kicked the other out of the band and then formed a new one.  Both bands are trying to claim the name, though they are now different groups and each are releasing their own music.  Maybe this is too early to tell, but maybe not.

Batushka made big waves in the extreme metal world with this release that combines traditional black metal with doom metal and drapes everything with an incredibly sinister atmosphere via the usage of Christian church ritual elements.  They use Orthodox chanted vocals, chimes, bells and more to create the feel of attending a church service, even if the underlying music is malevolent and dark.  It is an absolutely intriguing and spell-binding release that haunts the listener long after the album is done.

Even without the added touches, the music of Batushka is powerful enough on its own.  It is dark and atmospheric black metal that occasionally drags and oozes, combining a funereal tone with the blackened riffs.  Every once in awhile, a guitar solo shines through like a beam of light in the darkness.  The primary vocals are delivered in a harsh shriek, typical of the style.

It will be interesting to see what comes of the split of the two primary members of Batushka.  Some people have picked their sides already and each band has already released something.  I have yet to pick either one up, but I am anxious to hear what each one has to offer.  This album is incredible.

Nokturnal Mortum: Return of the Vampire Lord/Marble Moon (2001)

It feels like I am starting a lot of posts recently with a line about how so-and-so is a black metal band that I have long heard good things about but only recently checked out.  And so it is with Nokturnal Mortum.  Now, there is a pretty good reason for that.  And here we get into the next most-frequently used line about how this black metal band had NS ties at one point.  That is true of Nokturnal Mortum who were fairly anti-Semitic at one point in time, and this release came out during this time, though I cannot find any particularly offensive moments in the music.  The band has since distanced themselves from this ideology. 

As I said, this was released during Nokturnal Mortum's controversial phase.  Well, not much I can do about that now.  As usual, I am just here for the music.  This was a compilation that collected together two of Nokturnal Mortum's EPs (hence the two titles), both of which were released in 1997.  It also features cover songs from two more very controversial black metal bands: Burzum and Graveland.

The album kicks off with the absolutely amazing "Return of the Vampire Lord", the high point on the entire release.  It is a lengthy song but features some spell-binding melodies and terrific interplay between the guitar-driven riffs and usage of synths to carry the melody.  And though it is over eleven minutes long, it never drags.  The next two tracks are also off of the Return of the Vampire Lord EP.  Those tracks are decent, but not nearly as good as the first one.

Next is the Marble Moon EP.  This one finds Nokturnal Mortum tightening up their sound and never indulging in the kind of lengthy epics like "Return of the Vampire Lord".  In addition, this is much more of a rarities kind of collection with several demo versions, three instrumental tracks (including two under three minutes in length) and a cover of a Death SS song.  The short instrumentals feel very out of place and sound like rejected tracks from a Finntroll or Korpiklaani release.  They are far too upbeat and bouncy, and simply do not fit in with the rest of the release.  Unfortunately the result in all of this is that the Marble Moon tracks feel like filler rather than a real release.

This is a very uneven release.  "Return of the Vampire Lord" is an excellent look at how good Nokturnal Mortum can be, but much of the rest of the album fails to live up to the immediate high point.  That is very unfortunate.  I doubt that I have heard the best this band has to offer, so I will refrain from writing them off after this.

Maniac Butcher: Epitaph - The Final Onslaught of Maniac Butcher (2000)

If I had to pick one band to show what a stereotypical black metal band was all about, Maniac Butcher would be on the short list of groups to consider.  It can be seen in the band's visual aesthetic.  Just look at this patently ridiculous album cover, and all of their album covers are variations on this same theme.  It can be heard in their music: minimalist riffs repeating over and over on top of pounding, blast-beat driven drums and harsh, raspy vocals.  There are no keyboards, no clean vocals, no complex melodies.  It is just pure, hateful black metal.  And I love it.

This album was intended to be Maniac Butcher's final album, and the band did go on a lengthy hiatus before reuniting and releasing an album in 2010.  They disbanded for good when one of the two primary members died in 2015.  The Czech band formed in the early 1990's with some of the local masters of first wave black metal (Root, Master's Hammer) as primary influences, and taking that influence in as extreme and direct a direction as they could.  Along the way, they refused to compromise their position, refused to expand their musical influences, and absolutely refused to sell out, remaining an uber-kvlt black metal band through and through.

Maniac Butcher's albums are all basically the same, the band never changes the formula in any real ways.  The riffs are fast and intense, the kind of riffs that made up the black metal coming out of Norway in the early 1990's (think Immortal's early work).  The band has a gift for these kinds of riffs and there are some damn good ones here.  The vocals are croaked and raspy, like Barbarud Hrom is tearing his throat apart to deliver them.  The last song stands out because it is much slower and quite long.  But that is the only departure for the band.

A quick note about my own history listening to Maniac Butcher.  I first discovered the band several years ago with their album Černá krev.  But I did not really get them at the time, mostly because the production value of it was so shitty.  The band's albums are all being remastered now and the sound is much improved.  And now, I am going to pick up as many of the albums as I can.  I already have another two coming.  And that should be all you need to know.  Highly recommended.

Jordablod: Jordablod (2015)

I was blown away by Jordablod's debut album Upon My Cremation Pyre immediately upon hearing it back in 2017.  It did not make my Top Albums list only because it was so late in the year that I heard it, but subsequent listens have led to it being one of my favorite black metal releases, much less debuts, in the last ten years or so.  It is remarkably creepy and atmospheric and it really does not sound like anything else.  They have yet to release a follow-up, but they did previously release an EP and a demo.  I picked up the demo last year, and this is the EP.

This is the first recording by Jordablod and it is definitely rough around the edges, both in songwriting and in the production values.  None of these three songs appear on the band's debut album or the demo, so it is likely that these songs were written well before anything from the album released a couple years later.  That being said, these three songs are a very good introduction to the band and definitely show what the band was aiming to do later on.  The elements of what made their debut album so intriguing are present from the very beginning.  The band's ability to create a dark and hostile atmosphere through riffs that call to mind the first wave of black metal (Bathory, Master's Hammer, Root for reference points) sounds completely fresh and alien and unique all at once.

I am absolutely looking forward to hearing more from Jordablod.  I now have all of their releases and I enjoy the band more and more every time I hear them.  This is a truly unique black metal band.  More people should be aware of them.

Kampfar: Ofidians Manifest (2019)

Kampfar is yet another one of those black metal bands that I have heard good things about for a very long time, yet never got around to checking them out (like Shining and Drudkh).  They have been around since the mid 1990's and have released eight full-length albums, yet this is the first album I have heard.  Part of that may have been due to the language barrier.  Otherwise, it is likely they just were not completely on my radar.  As a result of this discovery of the band, I am hearing them fresh and do not have the reference points in the band's career to compare this.

In a couple of ways, this release reminds me of Theogonia by Rotting Christ.  First of all, musically.  Kampfar combines traditional Norwegian black metal with pagan and folk influences, including chanted vocals.  Now obviously the pagan and folk influences on this Kampfar release differ in origin to the Rotting Christ album.  Kampfar, being Norwegian, would obviously have different folk music to pull influence from than the Greek band Rotting Christ.  The folk elements complement the otherwise dark and grim black metal riffing quite well, making this a very intriguing listen.

The second way in which this album reminds me of Theogonia is due to my own personal experience with it.  Like Theogonia for Rotting Christ, this is my first experience with Kampfar and is their newest release.  I had the same response to this album, being one of awe and amazement, for the most part.  The album does tend to drag a little bit toward the end.  And so time will tell if I get into Kampfar as much as I did Rotting Christ.

I found myself extremely impressed by this release by Kampfar.  It is a terrific example of taking disparate influences like black metal and traditional folk music and combining them into something beautiful and powerful.  Obviously many bands have been doing this for quite some time, and of course Kampfar is one of them, but they still make it sound new and fresh.

Leviathan: Scar Sighted (2015)

As I have mentioned many times recently, I have been on a major black metal kick.  This has resulted in checking out a lot of bands that I have previously either actively avoided or just plain did not care enough about to listen.  Some of the bands I have gotten into includes Drudkh, Shining, Drowning the Light and many more.  One particular black metal scene that I have largely missed out on is the American depressive black metal scene, which is kind of odd since you know, I am in the U.S.  I have a Xasthur album, but until recently just never really cared much for it.  Leviathan is another such band that has just never been a priority for me to check out.  I decided to change that.

Wrest, the only member of Leviathan, is something of a controversial figure, especially in the last decade or so.  He had legal troubles with Moribund Records and had some criminal charges as well.  He was charged with multiple counts of sexual assault, but was found not guilty of everything except a domestic battery charge and was sentenced to two years of probation.  Despite being acquitted of most of the charges, it has been a long road back for Wrest.  Of course, he did not exactly help himself by releasing an album called True Traitor, True Whore afterwards.  By no means am I defending him here, the domestic battery is still a shitty thing to do.  But it was time to at least check out the music.

In reviewing information in anticipation of this review (I freely admit that I am not familiar with Leviathan's work previously), I learned that this album is fairly different from their previous material.  Specifically that there is more ambient material and some other influences that come forward.  So, I do not have much of a frame of reference for the band's prior material, but I can tell what is here.  There are definitely some odd moments and this is far from a straightforward black metal release.  At one point in the first true song, the music drops away to some subtle guitar noodling and narrated vocals.  At other points, the guitars come charging back in and Wrest affects an impressive death growl.  And at still other points, Leviathan barrels forward in a typical black metal style.  It is the constantly fluctuating style that makes this an intriguing listen.

One thing that is easy to tell from this release is that Wrest is going through some shit.  It is obvious how much of his heart and soul is poured into this project and it comes off strained and anguished and just frankly pissed off.  The emotion from this release is painfully clear.  It can be incredibly harsh at times, and at others, be absolutely gut-wrenchingly devastating.

This is my first experience with Leviathan and I came away very impressed.  It is one of the more emotional black metal releases I have heard in some time.  I am definitely going to keep my eye out for more of Wrest's material.  I may still skip True Traitor, True Whore though.

Drudkh: Forgotten Legends (2003)

Dread Records has started to re-release Drudkh albums starting from the very beginning.  And this is that beginning.  Forgotten Legends is the Ukrainian black metal band's debut, released in 2003.  And as a result of my sudden interest in the band (this is my fourth album by Drudkh since checking them out for the first time last year), I jumped on it.  And I will likely do the same with each new (old) release.  The next one is already on its way.

I talked about the concern I had with Drudkh in the last post.  The reason that it took me so long to get into their music.  I do not see that as a continuing issue though and I am not going to get into it again here.  Quite simply, the music of Drudkh is terrific and any potential ideological issues with the band are tenuous enough to ignore. 

Drudkh emerge on their debut album fully-formed.  Very little has changed musically for the band in the more than fifteen years since their debut.  The Drudkh heard on their latest album is the same Drudkh that appeared here.  The album contains just four songs, three of which are proper songs, and each of those is lengthy.  The songs are generally based around slowly unfolding riffs with a lush and warm atmosphere that is unusual for a band whose primary influence was likely Burzum.  But where Burzum's music calls to mind icy winters, Drudkh's perfectly captures the feel of the autumn.

Drudkh's particular brand of atmospheric, folk-influenced black metal is hypnotic and mesmerizing.  It is a slow-burning melodic album that ebbs and flows naturally.  The album sounds like the soundtrack to the Fall.  It moves from the warm, lush melodies (even with the raspy vocals) of the opening strains to a much harsher final song that ultimately ends in a rain storm.

Later albums by the band would incorporate more traditional metal elements, such as guitar solos.  This release though was based in Burzum's take on atmospheric black metal.  The band puts their own spin on things though and does not fall into the trap of being a clone.  I am still discovering material by this band, but their debut is going to be hard to top.

Burzum: Burzum/Aske (1995)

Look, I am not going to waste a lot of space and time discussing Varg Vikernes.  Everyone has their opinion on the man.  Certainly there are a lot of reasons to never want to listen to Burzum.  From the church burnings to the murder of Euronymous to the NS leanings, Vikernes is not exactly a positive role model.  Among all the reasons to avoid Burzum's music, there is one reason to check it out: the music is generally amazing and was legendary in the burgeoning black metal scene of Norway in the early 1990's.

I am a particular fan of Burzum's early material, before Filosofem, when the black metal material outweighed the ambient material.  In fact, Det som engang var is the only album by Burzum I have picked up.  Until now.  This is a compilation of Burzum's earliest major material: the first full-length from 1992, and the follow-up EP in 1993.  It is the period I prefer from Burzum, and it was recorded before most of the truly objectionable events in the life of Vikernes, with one notable exception.  At this point, Vikernes was far more interested in Tolkien and Lovecraft than in race relations or anything of that sort.

The aforementioned exception is the church burning.  The original cover of Aske when it was released on its own was a photo of the burned-out church.  So, Vikernes was on his way down the rabbit hole at this point, but most of the worst things he had ever done was yet to come.

Much of the music on this compilation is raw black metal, performed entirely by Vikernes.  The riffs are fairly simplistic, yet hypnotizing, and the vocals are typically delivered in harsh shrieks.  There are a few more ambient tracks, but it is not close to the focus.  Some of Burzum's most potent songs appear on this release, including "War" and "Ea, Lord of the Depths". 

This is by no means a perfect release.  Varg's songwriting and musicianship were very raw, but the potential is definitely there.  Obviously a lot of people have chosen to avoid Burzum and I will not tell them they are wrong to do so.  I understand why people would avoid anything with Vikernes's name attached.  I will not defend his ideologies or actions, both of which I find deplorable.  But it is possible to respect the art that a horrible person has created, and that is where I find myself.

Uada: Devoid of Light (2016)

The Uada concert a couple months ago turned out to be one of my favorite concerts I have attended in quite some time.  I thoroughly enjoyed each of the bands so much that I decided to buy an album from each of them.  Wormwitch and Cloak will be coming soon.  From Uada, I picked up the band's debut album which I was surprised to see still available at their merch table.

Uada seems a bit more influenced by a combination of the Polish black metal scene (particularly groups like Mgła) and the more melodic black metal bands from Sweden (Dissection, Lord Belial, Naglfar).  Their music is cold, but has some impressive melodies weaving their way through the dark and cold atmosphere.  Most of the songs are structured around one or two main riffs and layer solos, drumming and the gruff vocals on top.  But this relative simplicity works for Uada because it makes the songs catchy as hell.  The groove that Uada locks into certainly helps as well.

The last two songs are the big highlights.  The first three songs are fine, but nothing really special, but Uada really gets going on the second half, starting off with the terrific "Our Pale Departure" and then continuing with the neck-breaking "Black Autumn, White Spring".  I remember the latter quite well from the concert and was blown away by it then.  It absolutely slays, particularly the second half.

This is Uada's debut album and it was a terrific initial release.  Uada has made a lot of noise among the American black metal scene and this album shows that the hype is deserved.  They are even better in concert.

Hades: ...Again Shall Be (1994)

Hades is kind of a forgotten band among the Norwegian black metal scene of the early 1990's.  I know I forgot about them.  I have a split of theirs that they did recently with Drudkh and did not realize it was the same band as this one.  I blame the fact that they are now called Hades Almighty after some legal issues with another band called Hades.  It was only after thinking this logo was vaguely familiar-looking that I realized the mistake. 

This album is much more similar to groups like Enslaved and the recently-reviewed Borknagar than to some of the more raw and aggressive black metal bands from the scene.  As such, Hades is an early band whose music could have been lumped into the "Viking metal" sub-subgenre.  The songs tend to plod along and have melodic keyboards and almost chanted vocals at times.  The riffs however are massive and the sound is monolithic.  It is an absolutely huge and impressive sound that can be beautiful and harsh at the same time.

This is a terrific album that should be considered among the classic albums of the Norwegian black metal scene.  Unfortunately, Hades never reached the heights of their brethren in Darkthrone, Emperor, Mayhem, Immortal, Enslaved, Satyricon and others.  They were just kind of forgotten, even though the band is actually still active.  It is a shame, because Hades was easily the equal of those bands back then and, if that split with Drudkh is any indication, still putting out great music today.