Black Metal!

http://www.invisibleoranges.com/2010/12/bullpen-bulletins-3-metal-hardcore-regurging-the-merging/

Out of the merging of metal and punk (or hardcore), we ended up with stuff like nu-metal (of course, the merging of rap and metal is partially responsible for this as well, something I have not the time, patience, nor thankfully the knowledge to expound upon——but I will admit that the inception of this merger was a good thing in theory as well) and grindcore (sorry, guys, but you know how I feel about this….). I’d hate to blame Henry Rollins for the tough-guy Pantera/Machine Head vocal style that became so popular in the ’90s, but I suppose he’s ostensibly one of the biggest influences on it—–although I’m sure he’d try to disclaim it—–and understandably so (but then Jesus Christ did say, “By their fruits ye shall know them”, not by their disclaimers….).

...

In the late ’80s and ’90s, I thought hardcore was partially to blame for the lack of songwriting and imagination developing in metal—–bands like Anthrax (after the first two albums) became the standard for goateed, shorts-wearing thrashers by playing cookie-cutter riffs with unimaginative lyrics, and eventually Machine Head and contemporaries brought “metal” to its lowest point with the whole “urban metal” hard-guy approach. Although these styles took a lot from rap and hip-hop, I think hardcore was an equal if not larger contributor to their origins. But these are just the negative examples.

Thoughts?
I assume all the black metal bands hated that style of 90s american tough guy metal and I know there was always a mistrust of each other by BM & DM bands.

was and eventually Machine Head and contemporaries brought “metal” to its lowest point with the whole “urban metal” hard-guy approach. a low point for metal or keeping the metal flame burning as it's fans like to proclaim?

I'd say, MH dropped the flag during that time but now has picked it back up...

I was in a band that was managed by their same guy, and I saw them influenced by a lot of surrounding things, including my band at the time. I'm glad they are doing some quality Metal now, but it was pretty hurting for awhile..

Isn't Scalzi talking about all MH though? esp the 1st album

funnily enough i didn't mind machine head at the time.

I would rather listen to any Machine Head album than any Slough Feg album.

you sound like bill magill!

i just keep playing that new inquisition album. man, i cannot get enough of that.

― scott seward, Saturday, February 19, 2011 6:28 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark

man, these guys ARE really good!

Theyve probably been mentioned but Agalloch are really amazing, and not just for a local (Portland) band. I love how their songs begin with lovely, shimmering appregios that'd catch Johnny Marr's attention.....and then the vocals kick in

I bet Inquisition are great live. There's no way that guy can keep up that croak in a live setting.

Bike Snob NYC
@bikesnobnyc

Just read a Sasha Frere-Jones article about black metal in the New Yorker. Ugh. Feel like I just ate a gallon of artisanal mayo.
8 hours ago

Liturgy have done a masterful job of having journalists posit them as the only American black metal band to exist.

not sure I've seen a single piece that gives off that impression, which ones were you thinking of?

Just got sent a new album by Venom ...

Used to be huuuuge into black metal back in the 90s. All this talk about Liturgy got me into reexploring it ... kinda forgot about it as a bad memory of teen angst. Liturgy's alright, music's not bad... has the sound of black metal but lacks the spirit, I guess.

Used to really like this album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wxLD5vULaI

Kinda got out of it when I realized a lot of the bands I liked were fascists/nazis ... but it's not a surprise since some of this stuff sounds like watching Conan the Barbarian. I remember being recruited by some white supremacist group back in the day, it was weird learning some of your friends were actually part of these hate groups. I think that's around when I started leaving it behind and got into bands like Stereolab and Soul Coughing.

Of course, now all the Stereolab and Soul Coughing fans back then are into black metal now. (I might lie.)

that's not inaccurate

I'm admittedly a pretty serious metal n00b, and while I've spent the past year or so digging into classic stuff--Maiden, Mercyful Fate, Venom, Celtic Frost, Megadeth, etc--to supplement the very limited stuff I already knew and loved (Slayer, Priest, Motorhead, a few other obvious suspects), I hadn't up until this past week even begun to dip my toes into the waters of Black Metal. I'm actually sort of embarrassed to say this, but I picked up last year's Wolves in the Throne Room record since it struck me after reading various things that it might be a good "gateway drug"... Well, I was so put off by its frilliness and what I felt to be this sort of overwarmed hippie vibe that I spent all of yesteday (and well into the after-midnight hours) reading this thread and listening to Darkthrone's A Blaze in the Northern Sky several times through on Spotify. Okay, now THAT'S more like it... I'm ready to keep exploring now! (I should know at this point in my listening life that I usually hate "gateway drugs"!)

Listen to more Darkthrone. Mayhem are great too. Agalloch are kind of proggy but have BM influences. Liturgy, if you don't care about "authenticity" (I don't, personally).

Thanks for the rec's... I've actually heard a few Liturgy tracks. I loved one I recall that was sans-vocals; it actually reminded me more of a sort of mathy Glenn Branca, super cyclical and rocking. I had a hard time getting with the dude's voice, though, which I know is such a cliche Stumbling Block for BM n00bs, but still. It struck me as both far too strident yet totally and completely mannered, lacking a certain roughness or rawness even though it was "raw"--it's hard to explain. It seemed to be wearing its Will to Catharsis too obviously and openly, the same way Wolves in the Throne Room was wearing its woodland mysticism-y vibe. I've been wrestling with the whole importance-of-authenticity thing a lot lately, as I've always hated the idea of being hung up on it but I'm slowly realizing that it actually is something that matters to me on some level... I'm still working it out.

clarke do you have spotify? if so set up a collaborative playlist, give us the link and we can add albums.

here's a wee playlist of tracks i have
http://open.spotify.com/user/pfunkboy/playlist/1FSwZilfF39V0nBjcLwSx7

Thanks, AG; I'll figure this out and set it up when I'm back at my proper computer... I'm also looking forward to checking out Immortal and Abus (based on ILM enthusiasm).

I had a hard time getting with the dude's voice, though, which I know is such a cliche Stumbling Block for BM n00bs, but still. It struck me as both far too strident yet totally and completely mannered, lacking a certain roughness or rawness even though it was "raw"--it's hard to explain.

Compare w/ Darkthrone 94/95 (Transilvanian Hunger/Panzerfaust) where the vocal track is mixed loud, no FX, right up front and you can feel the blood and bile coming off the vocal chords splattering on yr eardrums.

That's what I like to hear... It almost sounds like the guy from Liturgy is *inhaling* when he wails; it sounds like this thing I do when I "imitate a dinosaur" where I breathe in and kind of screech at the same time. I will check out Transilvanian Hunger tonight; from what I've read, it sounds like it's less crisply produced and less deathy than A Blaze... Is there much in the genre that combines the sort of suffocating rushing wash with more overtly technical playing (with solos and stuff)? I'm not even sure those things would mesh well together, but I think it's easier for me on a basic level to appreciate hyper-technical brutality like Death, etc, than yer standard (or what I perceive to be standard) BM tropes.

sort of overwarmed hippie vibe

yeah. i have been kind of wondering lately if 'cascadian black metal' etc. picked up listeners that would have been digging on godspeed you black emperor!!!!! a decade ago.

They actually came to mind almost immediately, j! I used to like them quite a bit a decade ago, but my tastes and priorities have changed so much since then--and even then I got the sense they were a bit much.

oh man you need to listen to Ulver - Bergtatt and Nattens Madrigal

Also Nifelheim.

I will check out Transilvanian Hunger tonight

shit yes, you must do this. so great, by far my favorite darkthrone.

if you like it, and i hate to be this guy, there are a few early albums by a certain "important figure" that you probably ought to check out...

after some back and forthing, i too have come to the conclusion that i have no use for the likes of agalloch and wolves ittr

The day I first listened to Darkthrone's A Blaze in the Northern Sky in my car I got in a car accident and then I got trapped in a garage's elevator. Honestly I was worried about whether I should continue to listen to that record and band. That shit happened several months ago. Now, though, I think they're one of the most pure rock 'n' roll bands I've ever heard.

I've only heard three of their records, and my favorite is Under a Funeral Moon. I love the drumming.

those 3 records, i can guess what they are, are amazing

god i love enslaved

btw, any recent recommendations this year? haven't been paying that much attention (last thing i heard was dead reptile shrine's latest).

Clarke B. on a (more or less) recent usbm tip, you should check out krallice, leviathan, stuff from the black twilight circle and weakling (obv). also, striborg and akitsa ('goetie' esp.)

when it comes to classics : ildjarn, ulver's 'nattens madrigal', early gorgoroth, some legions noire stuff.

Thanks for all the rec's, you guys; much appreciated.

shit yes, you must do this. so great, by far my favorite darkthrone.

if you like it, and i hate to be this guy, there are a few early albums by a certain "important figure" that you probably ought to check out...

So I listened to Transilvanian Hunger last night--twice--and I'm on my third listen today. It confused me at first--so muffled, so distant sounding (I know it's a legendarily lo-fi recording, but the extent of it surprised me; I wonder though how much this has to do with Spotify and my probably not-awesome laptop soundcard (although I'm playing it through my decent stereo setup))--but it's clicking now. I found I had to let go of my preconceptions of what I thought it was going to be like, and really actually abandon my notion of it being "metal" in any sense I've previously understood the genre to be. Echoing someone above, the beats are relentless to the point of almost being tranquil, just a steady rolling pummel, like Rashied Ali on Coltrane's Interstellar Space or something. The sound and feel is not even "metal" like any metal I really have known up to this point, more like the most fevered explosions of My Bloody Valentine fused with gothy postpunk. I'm sure the muffled quality is part of the point for a lot of fans, but I can't help but wonder what this would sound like if it had been recorded with Reign in Blood-level clarity and punch--probably shit-inducingly terrifying.

it wouldn't be the same. its perfect as it is

the beats are relentless to the point of almost being tranquil, just a steady rolling pummel, like Rashied Ali on Coltrane's Interstellar Space or something. The sound and feel is not even "metal" like any metal I really have known up to this point, more like the most fevered explosions of My Bloody Valentine fused with gothy postpunk.

otm, that's exactly what i love about it. always picture a hearse hurtling down some cartoon mountain road at night, as glimpsed through black branches, just barely hanging on. it is probably being driven by a dracula.

x-post -

yeah, it is perfect. I love how, despite its lofi nature, 'transilvanian hunger' is NOT a muddy recording. every element of this (admittedly, very stripped-down) sound really pops out of the recording. the bass sound in particular is killer which is nice since you p much can't even hear bass on most black metal records. just another demonstration that these guys knew EXACTLY what they wanted to do on this record.

but I think what's most important is that the lofi sound is not a crutch - the songs would still work if rick rubin produced. just a great set of songs.

it wouldn't be the same. its perfect as it is

I think I prefer it the way it is, too. I think the muffled rush of it allows it to be more immersive, and that aspect of it would suffer if the sound itself was more direct and confrontational.

x-post -- Alan, what you're saying makes me think I'm hearing a degraded version of it though my crappy laptop Spotify airing. I need to get my hands on a legit copy, I suppose.

yeah, try cranking it on a decent stereo or through some nice headphones and I think you'll see what I'm getting at.

btw blut aus nord memoria vetusta ii is easily my favorite black metal record of the last couple years. the guitar interplay is seriously beautiful.

if you want some kinda experimental out there newer black metal that i think still works and doesn't break the basic vibe of the thing, give a listen to Peste Noire - Ballade cuntre lo Anemi francor

Forgot to mention Krallice, they're ace. Cobalt are also pretty great USBM, though they verge into noise at times. Fen, Falloch, Drudkh are all good too- they sometimes verge on shoegazeyness.

heheh jjj totally in character

runner-up to blut aus nord for my fave of the last few is the last one from nokturnal mortum:
http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Nokturnal_Mortum/%D0%93%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%81_%D0%A1%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%96_%28The_Voice_of_Steel%29/257430/PhantomMullet

might even like it more. they both suit very different purposes.

and god, this solo!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4ZzqWhvOVA

too bad they're racist assholes. :-/

hah, didn't mean to link to that particular review but you get the idea

If you like the production on Transilvanian Hunger, check out Mutiilation (and the other Black Legions bands), Paysage D'Hiver and, bringing it right up to date, the Black Twilight Circle: Volahn, Ashdautas, Arizmenda and the rest.

Mutiilation were so great. One of my favorite weird BM lyrics is from their "Black Eggs of Melancholy":

The desertic summer fades, the black curtains opens on a depressive autumn.
The ground gave rotten fruits this season.
The black wings of melancholy above the superstitious mortals.
The dogs bark at the moon, children wake at night.
Since the appearance of those weird black eggs

It's like a pocket Lovecraft story.

Ah, shit... Burzum's really good. I just discovered this today.

Abbath meets Trivium:

http://p.twimg.com/AviZ_YYCAAAFQpg.jpg

Six months or so into my Black Metal self-education, and here's what I know so far:

1st wave/influences: Bathory, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Venom, Hellhammer
2nd wave: Darkthrone, Mayhem, Burzum, Emperor, Gorgoroth, Satyricon
French: Belketre, Vlad Tepes, Mütiilation
newer stuff: Wolves in the Throne Room, One Tail One Head

Notes (to myself):

- I love Darkthrone. They've become one of my *all time* favorite bands just in this last half year or so. HOWEVER, they actually seem like one of the least "black" sounding bands of the list above, even on their BM classic records. I gather they were tremendously influential for a lot of other bands, esp on the production front, but from my retrospective viewpoint, it's not surprising they eventually grew out of playing BM, and went thrashier.

- Emperor is hugely overrated. When you look at what Mayhem, Burzum, Darkthrone, et al were doing at the same time, Emperor strike me as more style than substance.

- I LOVE the French bands listed above. Possibly the darkest sounding stuff of all, and definitely the harshest production

- all the stuff that supposedly influenced the 2nd wave ROCKS. Celtic Frost, at least in the 80s, was great, and it's kind of mindblowing to me to know that Bathory existed in the 80s. So black!

- newer BM seems to mostly take the "post-rock" path, ie walls of guitar noise and blastbeats instead of big riffs. Darkthrone and Mayhem actually did play lots of riffs, and sometimes even doom-y sludge beats. I think that's why I like those bands more than the rest -- more contrast.