Mütiilation: Sorrow Galaxies (2007)

In the early to mid 1990's, France was the home to a wave of black metal bands.  Calling themselves Les Légions Noires (The Black Legions), the members frequently collaborated together and formed and re-formed in a variety of lineups to make up different bands.  The common thread between the bands was raw recording quality.  Very few of the bands stood the test of time ultimately.  A few of them made lasting impressions.  Groups like Bèlketre, Torgeist and Vlad Tepes released well-regarded albums.  Mütiilation fit in with those bands as well.

This is just the second Mütiilation release I have heard, after their legendary album (and perhaps the single most widely-known LLN release) Vampires of Black Imperial Blood.  They are also probably the longest-lasting LLN group, running on and off until 2017 or so.  Mütiilation was made up of one primary member, Meyhna'ch, and the occasional session musician.  After the height of the LLN, Mütiilation went on to gradually change and mature their sound. 

And this all takes us to Mütiilation's 2007 release, their sixth full-length album.  To date, this is the band's last full-length album and Meyhna'ch has only released an EP, a compilation of rare demos and a split with Drowning the Light and Satanic Warmaster.  It is not an easy album to get into.  As is typical for the style, there is nothing melodic or pretty here.  Even the slower parts are characterized by Meyhna'ch's tortured howling and atonal guitar chords.  The faster parts meanwhile consist primarily of tremolo riffing and pounding drums.  This is the first Mütiilation release to feature a live drummer instead of a drum machine, which is a big help.  The songs are long, each of them eclipsing the nine-minute mark, and they feature a number of tempo changes, which does help to keep from losing the attention of the listener.  But with just four songs, and of such a length, it is not easy to just turn the album on as background music. 

I still think I prefer the more raw, primal sound Mütiilation produced on their earlier releases.  The band has managed to improve their sound somewhat, while not completely turning against their roots.  Unfortunately, this album just does not have the same morbid charm as the earlier material.  Maybe if there were some shorter songs mixed in, it would have a different feel.  Mütiilation is definitely not for everyone.  This is a challenging release, but I have found that I like it quite a bit.  Just not as much as their earlier material.

Metal Scenes: Les Legions Noires

In the late 1980's and early 1990's and possibly continuing until today, a group of musicians in France began calling themselves Les Legions Noires, the Black Legions. There were about ten individuals, though reports may differ, and they combined in a variety of lineups to form a number of black metal/ambient groups. Many of the groups never actually released a full-length album. Most of the known recorded works of the LLN groups came in the form of a large number of demos and splits.

The LLN releases were mostly lo-fi dirty-sounding recordings. One popular myth has recording being made with the microphone inside the body of a dead rat. The LLN releases are mostly extremely limited and rarely available on a medium outside of vinyl or cassette.

Some of the better-known groups that were part of Les Legions Noires were Vlad Tepes, Mutiilation, Torgeist, and Belketre.

MARCH TO THE BLACK HOLOCAUST
This is a split album featuring two of the more well-known bands in the LLN scene. The recording styles differ wildly, but the music is clearly underground black metal. Each side is long enough to be a stand-alone album, but the bands chose to combine their efforts resulting in a long, but engrossing release.

VLAD TEPES
The Vlad Tepes side of the split album is probably one of the better examples of the LLN sound. The recording quality is surprisingly decent. Vlad Tepes also incorporate more traditional heavy metal influences into their black metal. It is not just Transilvanian Hunger worship, there is a lot of depth and effort put into the music. The music is more melodic and full.

BELKETRE
Belketre on the other hand, produce a sound that is bitter and hateful. Much closer to stereotypical raw black metal, Belketre also utilize some powerful ambient parts to their side of the split. There is virtually no bass sound, and the side as a whole is much more aggressive and dark.

MUTIILATION: VAMPIRES OF BLACK IMPERIAL BLOOD
One of the few full-length releases by any LLN band, Mutiilation's first release is closer in sound to Belketre's side of the above split, rathen than that of Vlad Tepes. This is much more traditional-sounding black metal with harsh riffs, raspy shrieks, and pounding drums. The sound is raw and evil, and often depressive at the same time. Mutiilation is one of the few LLN bands to still be active, and for good reason. Mutiilation perfectly captures the original spirit of black metal on this release. It's dark and oppressive, and that's the way it should be.