Examiner.com: An Extended Outlet

This is just a post to note that I have joined Examiner.com as a writer on heavy metal. I will be posting here multiple times a week, mostly sharing relevant metal news and my analysis of the significance and meaning of the news. In the future, I will also be posting more elaborate articles on various subjects pertaining to heavy metal and influences on heavy metal, and perhaps reviews and interviews of worthy local music. Please follow my Examiner writings as a sort of extension of The Heretic's Torch. My Examiner page can be viewed by clicking on this icon:



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Necrovation - Breed Deadness Blood (2008)

Necrovation is for those who are looking to recapture (or perhaps see firsthand) a vision of the culture and legacy of the Swedish death metal scene of the late 80s and early 90s. Although they are just one of many newer names that have popped up within the past decade, however, they do manage to stand out a bit from the crowd, and not just for being one of the first to successfully release a full-length, that being Breed Deadness Blood. This is perhaps because they draw not only on the bands who actually played the music that they are more or less trying to emulate, but they also take inspiration from the bands that got their predecessors to pick up their guitars in the first place, which in a sense gives Necrovation’s sound a more genuine quality than most others. What you’ll hear is not only Merciless, Nihilist, Entombed, Carnage, Grave, and Unleashed, but also traces of Autopsy, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Celtic Frost, and Obituary, such as in the closing track, “Divinity Obscure.”

All of the typical aesthetic characteristics of the early Swedish death metal scene are present here; whether one objects to such imitation is another matter which will not be an issue here, as what is foremost at the moment is the strength of the material itself and the authenticity with which it is played. This seems to be an underlying current in some of the lyrics as well, paying homage to their predecessors not merely via echoing their lyrical content, but also imbuing beneath that content a second reading which is in veneration of the past. In “Dark Reverie,” for example, this seems most clear. The song title itself hints at the possibility. The band associates their brand of death metal heavily with darkness and death, unsurprisingly, so to revere the darkness or to do so in a dark manner suggests the possibility that this song could be aware of the undercurrent which speaks of the importance of the early Swedish death metal scene, while at the same time expressing disdain for the pretenders to the throne who poison the essence of their craft, twisting it into something that it was never meant to be. It is unnecessary to examine in depth the lyrics to discover the mere possibility of a double meaning to the lyrics (whether or not they are indeed there intentionally); however, one particular line resonates, and that is “rules of death apply in eclipse of life.” Not only is this line delivered with particular earnestness, but it lends itself quite easily to the aforementioned analysis. It suggests that although the Swedish scene as it was once understood is no longer present, the principles by which it was governed are still essential to the form of music that is its “twisted relic of years,” and which must be adhered to should any attempt to revive that musical legacy, which just so happens to be what the band is doing.

It is unlikely that any would contest that Necrovation does not adhere faithfully to their predecessors’ vision. One may protest that they adhere to it too loyally and say nothing of their own, but that is another matter. That Breed Deadness Blood is firmly grounded in that scene cannot be denied, whether it is through the bile with which the vocals are delivered, or the subtly punk influenced drum arrangements which especially characterized the earliest Swedish death metal bands like Nihilist, or the crushing rhythmic breakdowns which came to be an element that epitomizes the “Swedish death metal sound.” The buzzsaw-like guitar tone and low end of the bass guitar leave the listener with little breathing room and a pounding heart from the sheer power of the sound produced on this album, which was actually a bit old by the time this album finally saw the light of day (as it was recorded in August of ’06 and finally unleashed a year and a half later in February ’08). The production is somehow crisp, with everything being perfectly audible, which especially allows the harmonies and solos to shine through, yet remaining dirty and raw. If production was among the issues which delayed the release of this album, then it was certainly worth the wait, because the production really helps to bring these songs to life.

It is unnecessary to dwell precisely on the sounds of the music, given its largely derivative nature; it should suffice enough to say merely that if anyone both wants to and is willing to relive that early 90s death metal atmosphere and perhaps catch on to its predecessor (it would be unfair to call it a reincarnation), then exploring what Necrovation is doing today would be a good idea. This is a pure act of indulgence—the equivalent of one with a sweet tooth falling into a decadent ecstasy of eating some fine chocolate. For those who live this music, this is a fine chocolate which fulfills everything that one would expect it to fulfill, containing all of the desired characteristics of its given form. From the sinister and blasphemous artwork, to the buzzsaw guitar, to the dark and twisted lyrics, Breed Deadness Blood offers the death metal disciple the full package, if one chooses to partake.

In Solitude - In Solitude

Amongst a small group of resurgent classic heavy metal bands is Sweden’s In Solitude, blending the unique melodicism and occult aesthetics of Mercyful Fate with the archetypal Iron Maiden and Judas Priest metal sound to form In Solitude, their debut album. Traces of vast arrays of heavy metal bands from various scenes are surely also influences, which provide a small bit of variety to the proceedings. However, the fundamental elements here can all be traced back to Mercyful Fate, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden. In “Kathedral”, for example, the blend of Judas Priest and Mercyful Fate is highly evident, from the Priest-like opening riff to the Mercyful Fate styled break midway in which the short, sharp drum hits underscore a classic upward driving riff and melodic lead playing while the vocalist theatrically wails, behind which are falsetto vocals utilized in order to achieve the same energy of the early Mercyful Fate material. While there is not much on display that can be said to be anything approximating originality, what it is, at the very least, is both very well done and faithful to the great heritage of traditional metal, capturing, for the most part, the subtlety and nuance of the aforementioned bands in such a way that makes for a listen that doesn’t feel wholly redundant.

In Solitude’s music takes on a very theatric and narrative quality in that each song is treated as a performance, almost akin to a play, in which a story is being related, and the song responds to the storyline accordingly. Not that this is a concept album by any means; perhaps a thematic album. Nonetheless, the King Diamond tendency to derive musical ideas from the lyrical, or vice versa, so that they are complimentary, is an evident trait in their sound. The varying vocal approaches incorporated into “Witches Sabbath” are a demonstration of this relationship, as the falsettos return for the chorus and a sinister, low register is employed for the demonstrative command of the bridge, “build now a circle, of fire! And drink from your cups. Hail high the baphomet!” The aforementioned break in “Kathedral” is yet another example, as is “Faceless Mistress,” where the chorus of “nothing but death can stop them tonight, in vicious delight” takes the song into a new mood as the shifting tone of the lyrics takes on an ominous, cautionary mode.

Given that they draw so heavily on Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Mercyful Fate, it is little surprise that In Solitude’s music is peppered with leads and solos and melodies used as a counterpoint to some heavy riff. The lead guitarist is an excellent soloist with a strong feel for appropriately harmonized solos that go well with the music to which it is subservient. Main passages, such as the beginning of “Temple of the Unknown,” are driven by a primary heavy riff, over which is played a corresponding melodic at a higher register which allows that main fundamental to reflect a greater variety of moods as the melody shifts above it. Major musical shifts are often intimated by some lead playing acting as a bridge from one movement to the next. They utilize the layering of varying guitar sounds very effectively, successfully capturing, at least in essence, the attention to detail in the melodic writing of Tipton/Downing, Murray/Smith, and Shermann/Denner that were so integral to the sound of these foundational institutions.

What is interesting about this band is that, while their music is very melodic, laced with Iron Maiden inspired harmonies throughout, it is also very dark, influenced obviously by Mercyful Fate, but also perhaps enlightened by extreme metal, not perhaps in sound, but in essence, as In Solitude shares members with the death metal band Invidious, formerly known as Katalysator. Indeed, the bands even share a vocalist. Nonetheless, this is pure heavy metal, though the bands’ affinity for extreme metal perhaps fuels the their interest in dark, occult subject matter, which makes Mercyful Fate’s Satanic lyrics even more appealing. Similarly to Portrait, who describe their sound as “heavy metal darkness,” this new breed of heavy metal bands tends to be more attracted to the dark, evil, occult aspects of the genre, and one wonders how much this relates to the later developments in extreme metal.

Lyrics in metal as a whole are much darker and evil than they were when Mercyful Fate first came out and their over the top theatrics were lambasted by such stalwarts as the brilliant minds who ran Kerrang! in the early 80s. In Solitude is in this context hardly extreme, and not nearly on the cutting edge of anything, but are in fact treading water in the vast ocean of those who came decades before them. For those who feel there is no place for such bands, In Solitude is certainly not going to offer any surprises. On the other hand, there are those who find value in such bands that, while not being ‘retro’ in terms of a trend mentality, are nonetheless centrally derived from what has been the foundation of this style of music for three decades; for these people, there is little to be found that can match the quality of this band. Besides, whether it’s 2008 or 1988, heavy metal of this style was still derivative; it is not as though proximity on a timeline corresponds to compositional quality, and In Solitude seems to have it down better than many bands of similar caliber who are two decades their senior.

The Gates of Slumber - Conqueror

With Conqueror, The Gates of Slumber continues to advance toward a perfect marriage between heavy metal and doom metal. Not to say that the two have ever been mutually exclusive, but in here is a clear convergence of influences from Saint Vitus and Black Sabbath to Manilla Road and Cirith Ungol, taking cues from both sides of the dividing line. Continuing in the tradition of “Angel of Death” from their previous album, Conqueror opens on a high note with a burst of energy in the form of “Trapped in the Web,” a fantasy tale of an encounter with a menacing spider from your darkest nightmares. Indeed, this album overall follows an upbeat trajectory in comparison with Suffer No Guilt, which was subject to long intervals of side tracking and jamming, complete with three songs exceeding 12 minutes, in which can be found some of the slowest traditional doom metal this side of Warning and Reverend Bizarre.

This is not completely absent from Conqueror, but it is much more constrained and controlled, as exemplified by the eponymous song. “Dark Valley Suite” is a 16 minute ode to the legendary Robert E. Howard, a writer that has quite obviously come to greatly influence The Gates of Slumber. It is divided into four segments, during one of which Karl Simon gives his best attempt at an emotive reading of a truly haunting poem written by Howard, in which he reflects on his own imminent death. Whether or not the desired effect is achieved here is up for the band to decide, but it will certainly not be appreciated by all. Others, such as myself, will find in it a certain charm that comes from the heart, which is why we listen to this style of metal to begin with. Technical prowess is secondary to heart, and what the band may lack vocally or elsewhere is made up tremendously in the conviction and honesty found in the music.

There is, however, overall a shift toward the more controlled and faster, a minor departure from the past album, and this is not necessarily an entirely good thing. I personally found the seemingly improvised jams in some of the earlier songs to be extremely effective and to epitomize what the band was all about, losing themselves in the music that they love to play. Conqueror, while excellent, is not the band’s shining achievement in my eyes. There is perhaps too much streamlining to be found within, an effort, conscious or unconscious, of making the songs more easily digestible to the average listener. A song such as “Riders of Doom” would feel a bit out of place on this album. They have done better, though that is not to diminish the quality found here.

Karl Simon’s guitar playing on this album is excellent, as it was on the albums prior. The solos especially just explode with energy and passion, much like Jerry Fogle or Mark Shelton. These are notes struck from the heart, not from the mind, and that is the playing style that works best for this form of metal, which relies so heavily on the emotive aspect of the music for its power. The driving force in such songs as “Children of Satan” and “The Machine” are undeniably powerful. The bass work of Jason McCash, as always, is excellent, never overplaying, but not merely echoing the guitar either. He is also a real presence on stage, the intensity of his play being as much a part of the song as the notes struck. He, as the rest of the band, is a true joy to experience in a live setting, animating the music on disc more than is possible in the studio. It is a boon to witness these songs come to life in a live setting, which greatly assists in appreciating the material in a more personal way, which is important for a form of music as personal as doom metal tends to be.

Personality is one of the primary elements that make The Gates of Slumber one of the best bands around today. This is not merely the personas of the musicians, but rather tangible characteristics of the music itself. The guitar playing chiefly, but also the vocals, which come off as lacking eloquence, to put it nicely; and yet the vocals are perfect for the music, and should not be any other way. Even the times in which they vary the way that the vocals are delivered, such as in the aforementioned passage in “Dark Valley Suite” and in the underrated “To Kill and be King,” it just feels appropriate. This is real music played by real people with real passion and a damn good sense of what they want to do, and that counts for more than anything else.

Jex Thoth - Jex Thoth

The music of Jex Thoth is a gateway between the past and the present, taking the sounds of the 60s and 70s into the contemporary music world, and managing to not come across as utterly derivative. Reciting tales of paganism and the occult, Jex Thoth is an immersive experience, absorbing the listener into its embrace with its invitingly warm production and aesthetically inoffensive tones. It is an album that nullifies the significance of genre boundaries, having arguably only one foot in the realm of heavy metal as envisioned by the likes of Black Sabbath and Pentagram, the other falling somewhere in the midst of the various subgenres of rock that were largely contemporary with the aforementioned. It is the progressive and acid folk oriented rock inspirations that separate this band from the vast traditional doom metal explosion currently on hand, stylistically speaking, and that ultimately make this a rewarding listen, even aesthetically, with the hazy and thin production battling against the crushing guitar tone and the rich sound of the organ. It is a refreshingly unrefined work that nonetheless reveals a power and depth no longer reached in this style of music today.

This is music that is constructed upon its impact on the emotions, and on sentimentality, generated by the sweeping shifts in mood, awakening the senses through its various expressive channels. It ranges from the dismal to the sublime, the one being instrumental to the construction of the other. It is both melancholic and energetic; all at once sifting between airy psychedelic passages, revolving around swirling melodies amidst a cornucopia of buoyant instruments: the flute and the synthesizer, the piano and the organ, and even bongos. At other instances, it is bursting with prototypically Sabbathian power chords, utilized sparingly, yet effectively. Especially in the Equinox Suite is found the dreamily quixotic aura that is the strength and grace of Jex Thoth’s music.  Blissfully ignorant of the troubles of the outside world and entirely indulgent within its own sphere of musical therapy, Jex Thoth is an idyllic utopia nonetheless filled with horrors and dangers, yet never at the sacrifice of the sensation of utter tranquility.

The most distinctive element of the band is, of course, the vocals of Jex Thoth, not unsurprising given the name of the band. She takes on an iconic role, becoming larger than the music itself, almost as the living embodiment of the spirit of the band. She is Jex Thoth, the person and the ideal, the music pulsing with the divine energies of the concepts by which the music is driven. The various images of her in occult garb, replete with dark, deep-set and glaring eyes, or as the “Warrior Woman,” perpetuate the enigmatic and mystical quality about her, as does the band’s evident wish to leave their lyrics unpublished, citing the cause as the lyrics being too personal in nature. Not to overstate the obvious symbolic gesture of the band’s frontwoman, Jex Thoth is also a highly invigorating and soulful singer, bleeding every ounce of passion into her vocal performance with a genuine sense of sincerity that resonates with every note. She is to Jex Thoth what Tania Duarte is to Reino Ermitaño, perhaps even more so. It is a struggle not to fall into typical clichés when referring to energetic and passionate frontwomen, referring to them as perhaps sirens or other similarly enchanting mythical depictions of women, and indeed this is often encouraged by the bands themselves through visual and other means. After all, a band statement regarding their change of name from Totem to Jex Thoth cited that they were “dropping all Totemic facades in favor of our greater goal...to animate the divine through our muse and avatar as she exists here and now::::: JEX THOTH!” Nonetheless, what can be said purely in plain speech is that she provides a captivating and utterly convincing demonstration that works in sync with the rest of the band flawlessly.

There is, after all, a ‘rest of the band,’ and one that deserves to be acclaimed. Grim Jim, evidently the brother of Jex Thoth (better known to their families as James and Jessica Toth), is the main protagonist behind the scenes, and shares guitar duties with newer recruit Silas Paine in addition to recording the bass and synthesizer. Paine in addition plays the flute and bouzouki, “a member of the 'long neck lute' family”, while Johnny Dee plays the various percussive instruments, leaving Zodiac to orchestrate the arrangements for keyboard and organ. In addition to simply being very solid musically, the band as a whole does a remarkable job of incorporating the aforementioned ‘non-standard’ instruments in an unobtrusive fashion, much to the benefit of what is surely their primary target audience, namely traditional doom metal fans who most likely don’t have a great measure of exposure to the outside influences that the band injects into their sound.

All that need be said of these outside influences is the project Wooden Wand, featuring the Toths and Zodiac, a band admittedly a bit out of my element, but exhibiting the primary traits of the aforementioned progressive, psychedelic, and acid folk rock genres that bleed their way into Jex Thoth’s sound, made most obvious of course by the Bobb Trimble cover of “When the Raven Calls,” a song that hardly feels out of place on the rest of the album. A special mention should also be given to the striking album cover drawn by Albert Witchfinder, formerly of Reverend Bizarre, now fronting Spiritus Mortis. It is a vivid image of the utopian and carefree atmosphere that belies the sinister undercurrent that pervades the entirety of the work. There is much more to be said for the symbology of artwork alone, but it can be left at the evident fact that it is an immaculate visual representation of the band’s music: dreamy, fanciful, mystical, spirited, innocent, and naïve, yet cognizant, dangerous, deceptive, elusive, and powerful.

Lord Vicar - Fear No Pain

Endless pain hurts my soul

But no cry can be heard

Just some whispers escape my teeth

As I curse this land

I am a man who has nothing

Without your love I can't go on

When I laid down your frozen hand

I let go life

Now the dream is almost over

Sands of Time are running lower

Through broken glass

One could argue that Lord Vicar largely continues on from where Reverend Bizarre left off and not be wrong at all. There are plenty of moments throughout Fear No Pain that feel like Reverend Bizarre if Chritus was their vocalist. The guitar tone remains uncompromisingly heavy, with the ever-present driving bass lines to accompany the main riff. Chritus’s vocals sound utterly strained and beyond hope, as a man hanging on to his sanity by a hair’s breadth. The best asset that the band has, however, is the ability to make long songs not seem as long as they are. Other bands seem to have the opposite issue; their songs are shorter, but they drag on more. This is a problem that Lord Vicar luckily does not face. Even the 14 minute closing track, “The Funeral Pyre”, seems relatively short, especially in comparison to the excessively long tracks on Reverend Bizarre’s final outing, So Long Suckers. “The Funeral Pyre” is actually shorter than the time it takes for the track “Sorrow” on the previously mentioned album to even get going, for comparison’s sake.

Lord Vicar can be summed up, albeit unfairly, as a distillation of the more rocking spirit found in the uptempo moments of Reverend Bizarre’s discography; looking at the song credits should reveal this fact to be not terribly surprising, as Peter Vicar’s name tends to have been tied to these tracks more often than not. There really is no way humanly possible to not be moved by the main riff in “A Man Called Horse”, barring deafness. Likewise, “Pillars Under Water” and “The Last of the Templars” provide similarly addictive grooves, escape from which is not an option, let alone a desirable one. In addition to the colossal riffing, however, there are a few very effective acoustic passages, accompanied by some powerful and evocative vocal performances by Chritus, especially the one that closes “The Spartan,” which recounts the emotional final moments of a fallen warrior. There are also sparsely used keyed instruments, which were occasionally featured in Reverend Bizarre as well.

Some of these songs, or at least parts of these songs, were originally written for the now panned fourth and fifth Reverend Bizarre albums that were planned to be recorded before they decided to fold. Lord Vicar brings forth one last glimpse of what could have been, had things gone differently between the dysfunctional personalities that once defined Reverend Bizarre. I’m sure this project has come as a great consolation to the many who mourned the loss of Peter Inverted’s former band, and they do an admirable job of appeasing the older fans who have carried over as well as being their own band. I suspect that future recordings may continue to differentiate the two bands, though it would be impossible (and unwanted) to bury Peter’s distinctive riffing style simply because it is coming under a new heading. For now, however, comparisons between the two projects are not only fair, and not only warranted, but inevitable.

As much as many of the musical passages throughout the album reflect the musical history of the songwriter, this band’s lyrics also bear resemblance to their predecessors in their penchant for favoring historical and legendary tales of doom, betrayal, and despair. Where Reverend Bizarre had “Cromwell”, “Cirith Ungol”, “The Wandering Jew”, and “Caesar Forever”, Lord Vicar has “Down the Nails”, “Pillars Under Water”, and “The Spartan”. Unsurprisingly, “The Spartan” recounts the fate of the legendary three hundred Spartan warriors who fought against insurmountable odds, knowing that there was no chance that they would survive, simply because it was their honor and their way of life. “Pillars Under Water” follows more along the lines of “Cirith Ungol” in its inspiration from fictional literature, the latter coming from Tolkien and the former coming from Lovecraft. In this song, the protagonist finds himself at the mercy of the Children of Dagon, coming face to face with the ancient, unspeakable horrors that one hopes lurk only in our faintest nightmares. “Down the Nails” speaks of the apostle Peter, who denies Jesus three times, his ultimate fate coming in the form of inverted crucifixion. Curious that Peter Vicar would choose to call himself Peter Inverted for this project then. The relation between the two is hardly impossible or even unlikely.

This is an album for doom metal fans; indeed, it’s not likely that many people unfamiliar with Reverend Bizarre or Count Raven or doom metal more broadly speaking would ever even stumble upon this album, let alone have the historical framework to fully appreciate it. For the initiated, however, Fear No Pain has a lot to offer. Perhaps it’s all not terribly original, but there is enough here to hold the interests of any true fan of this form of music, whether it’s the continuation of Peter Vicar’s addictively rocking rhythms or the glorious return to form of Chritus, the legendary vocalist of Finnish legends Count Raven and on Saint Vitus’s highly underrated C.O.D. album. The band has already earned their deserved accolades from many of the key figures in today’s international doom metal scene for the quality and honesty of their musical output. Hopefully this is just the beginning for Lord Vicar, picking up where Reverend Bizarre left off and running with it well beyond the boundaries of the latter.

Cultes des Ghoules - Häxan (2008)

Conjuration begins
The Head speaks, black candles
Blood of a child and its bones
Necklace and black robes
Sacrifice for the Devil
Corruption and Depravity
This soul is sold… He has won…

Taking the form of ritual set to music, Cultes des Ghoules’ Häxan takes musical inspiration from myriad occult acts from the late 80s and early 90s, crossing the fiery path between the Czech, Greek, Italian, and Polish legends of witchcraft and sorcery and the Satanic cult of Mayhem and the more recent derivations thereof. This is an album that rests comfortably in the traditions set forth by bands such as Samael, Mayhem, Mortuary Drape, Necromantia, Barathrum, Countess, Rotting Christ, Root, Xantotol, Taranis, and Necros Christos, though they mimic nobody, forging a sound of their own which is an extension of what has already come to pass through the dedicated work of the aforementioned.

Having been enlightened by such bands as have already been cited, it is little surprise to find aesthetic similarities between them, in particular the thunderous driving bass of Necromantia and Barathrum and the dark, murky production of their countrymates in the ancient Polish cults such as Taranis. The music of Cultes des Ghoules seeks to envelop the listener into the motions of the ritual, trance inducing passages giving way to the bottom heavy and, dare it be said, catchy grooving riffs which played such a role in the works of so many of the aforementioned acts. There is a loose energy at times here that reminds of A Blaze in the Northern Sky, while at other times Häxan reminds of All the Witches Dance if stripped of its 80s heavy metal sentimentality and its Romantic sense of mysticism and replaced with the truly dark and malevolent. The drumming takes on greater vigour and intensity as it works to flesh out the ideas hinted at by the guitars, relishing in its own power of evoking energy and dictating the direction of each passage, while at the same time respecting its subservient role as the instrument most suited to constructing the certain rhythmic patterns that would be of service to some dark master. It is a ritualized style of drumming capable of ceremoniously conjuring the ancient demons and evil spirits awaiting their turn to serve their lord.

The sights and sounds of mediaeval witchcraft and sacrifice fill the album, engrossing the listener into the aesthetic experience. The album is marked by images of sacrificial daggers and various human remains, primarily skulls, arranged in preparation for a ritual to begin. The intent is for the listener to be prepared to give himself over to the mystique and resonant aestheticism of the recording as the protagonist too gives himself over to witchcraft and the occult. It’s not entirely clear whether the lyrics follow a cohesive narrative or merely touch on similar themes throughout, though the latter seems to be the case. Nevertheless, Häxan is the name of a female witch in a 1920s film of the same name, from which this album is at least partly inspired, though certain hints suggest the lyrics are not necessarily derived from the movie. In “Baptised by Barron,” the protagonist laments that “My blood is getting old / But the spirit still desires the blasphemy.” He is baptized by “The Witch” in a ritual act of infanticide, their blood providing “vigour and communion.” The cries of an infant are heard amidst the ritualized beating of the drums, out of which emerges, broodingly, the realization of the desire in the protagonist to be a part of the witchery as the ceremony for his conversion begins by the “blade of Braquemard / The tool of His glory.”

It is for this purpose that these rituals are performed and to which Häxan is committed, in the praise and worship of Satan. It is the aural dedication of worship to the devil and a commitment to work toward his return, as in “The Covenant and the Sacrifice:”

Bell rings the witching hour
The blood was shed
The child was slain
Through those deeds He rises...

Scholomance, the Devil’s school of black magic, is praised in the song of the same name. It is the place “only born to darkness…when the Devil in Flesh / claims new scholars.” Those who emerge from this hidden school deep within “the heart of mist-covered mountains / by a small lake immeasurably deep” are among the greatest disciples of the Devil and most loyal practitioners of his work. What Cultes des Ghoules has produced here is a manifestation of these occult lessons for which only the select are fit to digest, the initiated already familiar with the work of those practitioners who came before.

It is “The Impure Wedding” that is at the heart of the band’s ambitions, the culmination of the ritual for which the preceding chapters are preparation. This is the ultimate sacrifice, the ritual of transcendence, bestowing upon the victim the capability to see “beyond the veil / The world without end.” The vocal iterations take on a new manifestation, one of impatience and earnest as the knowledge of the end drawing near looms overhead. The music too reflects this anxiety as the tension between trance and energy reaches its climax. The passage beginning about six minutes into the song is particularly striking, perhaps the most poignant moment on the entire album, hearkening toward the legacies of bands such as Necromantia and Barathrum, reveling in a spellbinding melody that freezes the listener in his footsteps. The song continues to go on, trading off musical and lyrical references acting in unison, the music portraying the tone of the lyrical matter as the message corresponds to the energy of the chords being struck.

The sounds of sacrifice overcome, and the last few minutes of the album are dominated by the screams of a dying woman unwillingly contributing to the services of the Devil. The ritual is complete, and the message is uttered until exhaustion as this chapter in the ancient book of Cultes des Ghoules comes to a close. Engrossing is the ceremony contained herein, leaving the dedicated listener drained, yet invigorated by the experience. It is a tonic for the soul attuned to the darker side of life, a cleansing ritual, removing the poisons of the modern world with a sobering lesson into the extremes of the occult. Foolish as Satanism may be, it continues to serve as a lasting metaphor for the recognition of the toxins in our society and a reminder to nourish the self in a world hellbent on ‘spiritual’ starvation of the soul, that thing that makes us who we are.

Christian Mistress - Agony and Opium (20 Buck Spin, 2010)

Remember when you could go to a party and put on a specific album to find that all the guests coalesce into one small lake of like minded enjoyment? I genuinely feel the band Christian Mistress has this in spades, as their album Agony and Opium (2010, 20 Buck Spin Records) demonstrates a rather focused and streamlined approach to old metal. This however doesn't serve to downplay the musical talent of the group, as the guitarists go through thoughtful leads and solos that bring to mind a combination of Smith/Murray and Friedman/Mustaine. Rallying the fray are the impassioned and serpentine wails of Christine Davis, sounding not too far off from Belgian cult favorites Acid. The question on the mind of most progressive minded metallers is "why care? it's already been done."

A real subject of debate considering the sheer number of retrospective acts emerging in the past 5 years, the question of originality represents the main deal breaker for most listeners. I postulate that many define originality too rigidly. To say Christian Mistress is unoriginal because they base their sound on old metal templates is to say that LHOOQ is unoriginal because it literally started with a copy of the Mona Lisa. The idea of neoclassicism and appropriation has manifested itself in this small (it ain't that big, folks) sector of Rock and Roll music, and bands have thus created works of varying integrity. In this writer's opinion, the cheapest and lowest of the lot, your White Wizzards or Cauldrons attempt to go for a sort of cute and pomp-ridden nostalgia, undermining the work of more thoughtful artists such as Slough Feg, Blackholicus, the newly celebrated Quicksand Dream and the subject of this article. When you stack these releases next to each other, it becomes quite easy to differentiate the cabaret show pretenders and the truly passionate and reverent artists.

I could go into a song by song rundown, but I'll skip all that and say "buy the album." Agony and Opium represents a spectrum of desperate and hungry human emotion, a post industrial defeatist opera of speed and melody. And what music to better represent the wasteland of post industrial society than Heavy Metal? It started with the clanging of the doomed factories on foundation laying vinyl such as Rocka Rolla, and the sad wings still fly, however beaten and bruised. Lyrical mastery in all aspects, each song sings with a palpable regard for punk traveler poetry and some melancholy nights with wine, weed and Leonard Cohen records. The greatest aspect remains that almost everyone in this era of Imperial decline can relate to the experience articulated through each song. The positive aspects of universal appeal have been diluted by the turgid and unimaginative squalor of mainstream media. Christian Mistress totally brings back the vibe of an album you can put on anywhere and most anybody will enjoy it while the recording still oozes musical integrity. I can't remember a single thing like it in the last 10 years.

Against the Grain: John Haughm of Agalloch

This interview was conducted in late 2009 and published in April 2010 in the first issue of The Heretic's Torch magazine. Due to the issue's limitation, I have decided to share the interview for the perusal of all through this blog. The information is, of course, outdated, in that it is over a year old. Since this interview, Agalloch has released their fourth full-length album, Marrow of the Spirit, through Profound Lore Records. Please keep this in mind while reading and enjoy for what it is.

Agalloch's first output was 1997's From Which of This Oak demo tape. The sound on this cassette is fairly significantly removed from what would be heard two years later on the Pale Folklore album in certain aspects. It is certainly more primitively composed, and more conventional as well. To what can this shifting in sound be attributed? Of course the obvious line between the two recordings can be drawn, but it's also not impossible to mistake them for being recorded by two different bands.

Well while writing the demo stuff, we were primarily influenced by the mid-nineties Black/Death Metal, stuff like Bathory, of course Ulver, and various Darkwave/Doom artists. I think the demo actually has more in common with bands like old Bethlehem and Katatonia, both in production and concept. Once we started putting together Pale Folklore, the aesthetics moved more towards a focus on the folk/gothic influences...bands like Fields of the Nephilim, Death in June, etc. You can really hear this on “Of Stone, Wind, and Pillor" and "Hallways of Enchanted Ebony" which were songs written during this transitional period. From the start, we never wanted to be pigeon-holed into a single style or aesthetic. The only rule was that the music was dark, sincere, and visual. Every album we make is still based on that foundation.

So would you say then that you don't necessarily identify Agalloch as a metal band insofar as that means that you're not bound by genre constrictions? Recordings like The White EP obviously fall outside the realms of metal, but the full-length outputs generally are grounded principally in metal, and I would assume that there are no plans to change that.

That's right and I think we have made this quite clear over the years. At its core, Agalloch is a Dark Metal band. The full lengths will always stem from the Dark Metal foundation and will utilize some of the experimentation we focus on with the minor releases. Being restricted by a single genre is not interesting to us and so we will always continue to experiment and create material that does not fall within such confines, such as what we did with our recent EPs. I guess to put it bluntly, we will do whatever the fuck we want. Isn't that what art is about?

You certainly have not stuck to one genre over the years, let alone one subgenre. It is quite obvious that your compositions are enlightened by various forms of music, such as neofolk and ambient, genres that really seem to add a further layer of depth to the style of metal that Agalloch is known for. Aside from the aforementioned Death in June and Fields of the Nephilim, and the obvious Sol Invictus, what other artists, and genres, have come to shape Agalloch's sound, and in what ways?

I guess it depends on what period. Our last album had shades of Sigur Rós, My Bloody Valentine, Mogwai, Antarctica, Ennio Morricone, Landberk, Anekdoten, and so on...all of which we were heavily into between 2003 - 2005. I am still a fan of all of these artists and others like them. In fact, the Nordic Prog band THULE changed my life in a similar way that Bergtatt did 15 years ago! I was also watching a lot of depressive Russian films during that period...Tarkovsky, Paradjanov, Sokurov, etc. These influences added to the "colors", mood, and textures of our last album. Our next record will consciously have less musical influences and a more natural, impulsive approach. In some cases I've literally told Don; "look at this painting" or "watch this film" and tell him to write riffs naturally based on his reaction to them. I have been doing the same. The results have been incredible!

Would it be accurate to suggest that taking influences from the artworld outside of music, particularly film, produces unique results within the structure of your music which perhaps would not have otherwise been found? When listening to your music, for example, I sometimes am struck by a somewhat 'cinematic' quality to the way that certain ideas are arranged.

Absolutely. I always try to create a visual soundtrack with the albums. When we record, I speak directly in colors, textures, images, and plots rather than in keys or modes or whatever. I guess it sounds stupid to say to an engineer; "can you make this sound more blue" or "I need a guitar sound that is like broken stones in icy water". I've always approached music this way both in composing it or when listening to other artists.

Although you say that you always approach music in ways perhaps related to something outside of the music, somewhat visually based, you also said that the next record will have "less musical influences." Have you worked enough on the next release to really determine how this will shape the new material? Will it deviate from past works in any substantial way? When do you expect that the next Agalloch album will see the light of day?

The songs are 75-80% complete and I have a very good idea how the next album will flow, feel, and come together as a package. We have been experimenting with some vintage amps, analog synths, and exotic instruments in hopes to find some unique tones as well. Once we are at a phase where the songs are completely written, we are going to take a lot of time in the preproduction phase....demoing, re-demoing, and several rehearsals. I hope we will at least record the drums by the end of this year but the album is going to be a long process. We plan to use three separate studios and a couple engineers which is already a different approach from our other albums.

At the end of the day Agalloch is a glorified hobby. We work on it when we have the inspiration to do so. Time doesn't really matter to us as long as the final result happens naturally and with a focus on quality. So if it takes four years to make a solid record that we can be proud of then so be it. With this album we also don't have a fucking label breathing down our backs constantly wanting updates and other shit so that is an added bonus. Maybe this recording session won't be as much of a nightmare as last time.

What kind of nightmares have you had to deal with throughout the various recording sessions for Agalloch? I suppose this means that The End Records is out of the picture for the next album. Do you have any idea who you would like to work with in the future? Perhaps Profound Lore?

Every possible nightmare scenario you can imagine happened. I think I wanted to quit the band four times during that session. There was even a three day period where we thought we would have to re-record the entire album! I was a stressball for, like, 3 fucking months straight. After it was finally mixed and mastered and over with, the first thing Andreas told me upon listening was that it didn't sound as loud as the Dissection album (Reinkaos)! What the fuck?? He wanted it remastered, which of course we refused to do. Then when the album was released, the booklet was messed up which of course TER blamed me for. Had they opened the PDF file of my proof sheet they would've been able to cross reference with the printing place to make sure everything was right. But they didn't and there was a fuck up which resulted in the pages being assembled out of order. I think the first 2000 copies were faulty. This and the fact that they had become very, very pushy about us touring and "taking the next step" to be more commercial. Look at that label nowadays...a total hipster mess. We want nothing to do with them other than the royalty checks which at least they are still very good about paying us.

For the future...we have talked to a few mid-size indie labels including Profound Lore but nothing is signed as of yet. It is not really a big priority for us at the moment. We plan to fund the next album (and every album thereafter) ourselves and then we will seriously talk to a couple of labels about licensing it. It is very important that we own our work and do things our way at our pace. I think the result will be a much better, stronger band. The pressures from TER nearly caused Agalloch to split up in 2007 so we do not wish to experience that again. We have basically told several big labels to fuck off because their supposed "deal we couldn't refuse" was worse than our deal with TER! Very typical. These big labels don't seem to understand the fact that they are not as important as they were years/decades ago. They are in fact a dying breed.

It certainly seems increasingly more and more well-advised for bands that can afford to do so to fund their own recordings these days; for example, Celtic Frost's funding of their several years in the making return with the Monotheist album. Would you say that the band's music itself has been negatively impacted in any way by label relations? Also, given your past experiences with labels and the pressures that they put on bands to produce, are you considering simply working on case-by-case one album deals with labels in the future? I would imagine that that would eliminate most of the pressure, which I think is especially important for a band such as yours that takes a longer period of time to craft an album than some random retro thrash metal band. Another option would be to release it yourself, but that obviously comes with its own host of issues.

I don't think our music has been negatively affected by TER other than maybe by the association with their latest hipster image. I always thought the label lacked any sort of artistic identity or character that I appreciated with labels like Eibon, Prophecy, Misanthropy, etc. TER to me was a lot of poorly designed generic advertisements, low quality printing (in the early days) and dumb gimmicks. I was never 100% comfortable with the label but, to be fair, they did help put us on the map and opened some interesting doors for us...which I think we also did the same for them as we gained popularity. It was a give and take relationship for sure. Maybe our productions were compromised a bit by their very low budgets which we always went way over anyway. I probably sound more bitter than I am about TER...it was a learning experience and I guess I should value that if nothing else.

I think for the future we are going to take things one album at a time. If the experience with the label is a rewarding one, we will likely continue the relationship. We just refuse to sign, for example, a ridiculous 5+ album contract or anything stupid like that. I can't believe bands still fall for that rubbish!

I would now like you to speak to the following topic; how do you approach songwriting for Agalloch? Is it a labor of meticulous crafting and molding and building up every detail, or is it more of a matter of various elements falling into place? Do you find it necessary to know exactly what you are going to record and how it is going to be recorded in advance of the beginning of recording sessions for an album, or do you at times rely on the actual recording experience to dictate last-minute revisions?

You know, it's interesting how we approached things in such a backwards way in the past. For the first 3 albums, we demoed stuff on a 4 track and used these really terrible demos and references to write the songs. The result always was a mess in the studio but we somehow made it work out through our desire to create something really special. In some ways it was cool to be able to see these crappy demo versions turn into something amazing...but it wasted so much time in the studio. Now, and onward, we are writing and demoing on computers and plan to make the most complete demos possible before going into the studio to record the real thing. For a band in our situation (members living all over the place) it is the best way to communicate and get on the same page with each other's ideas. Last minute revisions will always be there of course but I will never waste time in the studio completely rewriting songs like we did in the past.

As for the songwriting process, it is more or less what you said...there's a lot of meticulous crafting but also a lot of spontaneity as well. A lot of the time I'll go camping or something and sit in the woods with an acoustic guitar and just write tons of riffs. Then I'll come home and transpose the majority of the riffs on the electric guitar, work them into a structure, and then send this structure of riffs to Don for him to work on. On and on, bit by bit. I am someone who really needs to get away from normal life distractions in order to write music. Often times I'll go weeks without even touching a guitar simply due to other shit going on and lack of time and inspiration. I am always thinking about the project, however. Always. I often will be at work and will stop to write down an idea for a layout or a lyric or a title or whatever. I'm always thinking about it even if I'm not physically working behind a guitar or computer screen...it's always on my mind.

It's always interesting to me to read about how and where bands acquire their inspiration for writing, and, quite frankly, the more remote or fantastical the source of inspiration, the more interesting it is. It's not very interesting, for example, to learn that one of your favorite songs was inspired by the bassist seeing a gigantic ant in his basement or something similarly banal. It is of course unsurprising that the woods plays an important part in the formation of your music, and I'm sure that you've spoken about it throughout countless interviews at this point. Have you always had a certain fascination, an admiration with forests and nature? Tell us, if you will, a bit about your relationship with the natural and how it resulted in Agalloch.

Growing up, I had always lived in small mountain towns and such. In fact I didn't actually live in a major metropolis (Seattle) until I was 18. So I have always been around a lot of forested, rather isolated environments and so it is just a seed that was planted early in life, you know? I think as a result I am attracted to "old world" styles...things made out of wood, stone, the earth...with a certain honesty and character...and I wanted to bring those elements alive with Agalloch. Of course we have many more influences than just forests and nature, as I've said already.

You have played live seemingly only sporadically over the years with Agalloch, without ever going on any particularly extended tours that I'm aware of. Is this logistically not an option, or is it more an unwillingness to do so? Would you like to go on an extended tour if granted the opportunity?

The most extensive tour we've done was this year in Europe with Dornenreich. 10 dates in a row. I think that will continue to be the most we'll be able to leave for considering the busy lives of each of Agalloch's members. We would like to do more but I'm not sure if it will ever be possible. It is also much more realistic for us to do two or three 10 date tours in a year than one 30 date tour and I think it is more enjoyable that way anyway. Less chance of burn-out on the road. We have turned down several...SEVERAL offers to go on extensive tours, mind you. If it were possible, we would have traveled the entire world a couple times by now. We do enjoy only picking the very best options out of the several offers we get. That tour with Dornenreich was an absolutely incredible experience for us.

You were, up until recent years, the man behind the drums for Agalloch's recordings. Why did you decide to enlist the services of a drummer at that time?

I needed less responsibilities in the band! Up until Ashes Against the Grain, I played guitars, drums, vocals, 90% of the songwriting, all of the lyrics, the layouts, the photography, the press stuff....!!! It came to a point where I no longer had time for all of these responsibilities so I spread them out. We got a drummer. We met and enlisted a brilliant photographer. The songwriting is now more spread out within the band...so now I can just concentrate on my guitar parts, my vocals and lyrics, and the design/art direction of our releases. It's much better this way because I think more people can bring ideas and visions to the table that I simply wouldn't have on my own, especially with so much else on my mind.

You first brought in Chris Greene to play drums, who performed on Ashes Against the Grain. Now the drummer is Aesop Dekker, notably from Ludicra. Why did things not work out with Chris? How did Dekker come into the picture, and how is he working out in the band? Do you feel that his drumming style at all influences how you choose to write the new material?

When we decided to play live back in 2002, we didn't know anyone who played drums and could get along with a band like Agalloch. We have always been outsiders in the local scene, especially back then when most people didn't even know we were a local band! The music scene here consisted of mainly crusty punk bands, brutal death/gore metal, war metal, and indie rock. Agalloch was the only atmospheric dark metal band in the Portland area at the time. So every band we knew had a constant revolving door of musicians who were too flakey or too uptight to deal with. Long story short, we found Chris who worked well for awhile. His style suited the more midpaced material, which we focused on for live shows at the time. He also worked out pretty well for the Ashes Against the Grain album and its more stripped down approach. But as time went on, we felt that we were developing more and more as a live band but he wasn't as a drummer. It came to a head on that terrible European tour we did in 2006 and shortly afterwards we parted ways with him. He frankly wasn't surprised by our decision.

Aesop from Ludicra had been a friend of ours since 2003 and was quite interested in the vacant drummer position. So we organized a rehearsal with him and it was brilliant. He played most of my drum parts (I recorded on the first two albums) perfectly and he also added a personal touch to them as well. It was an easy choice.

A new Agalloch live DVD was released back in October called The Silence of Forgotten Landscapes. From what I've read, this was a rather last minute thing that was sprung onto the band by the gig promoter and the record label. Can you talk about the circumstances surrounding the filming of this DVD?

Yeah it was a really hectic situation for many reasons, some of which we did not foresee. Firstly, I got sick on the flight to Europe. I had left a week early to see some friends in Germany and to borrow some equipment for the shows. During that week my illness got worse and worse. I dealt with it ok at the Ragnarök fest, which was another show riddled with issues. But between Germany and Belgium I had developed "walking pneumonia". So I had to play a show, a pro-filmed one, while in a state that felt like a bad hangover complete with hallucinations and sing with a throat that felt like it was on fire. We thought about canceling but instead I decided to take it like a man and do it. It's kind of funny looking at the footage because I was totally trying to give the impression that nothing was wrong. Between singing lines I would hide my coughing and agony behind my hair, heh. Then on top of that, we had technical issues with one of the amps and the sound on stage was really, really messy. It is really unfortunate that this was the DVD show because now it just reminds me of those conditions.

I will say that after a few days in Belgium, I went back to Germany and visited the Externsteine. My friends and I stayed there late into the night and built a fire with traveling flutists and percussionists who we met that day. The energy in the stones of the Externsteine is said to have healing properties so I laid down in the sepulchre, in total darkness, while the sounds of flutes and drums resonated through the stones and into my body. I spent about 30 minutes in the sepulchre...it was one of the most amazing spiritual experiences I have ever had. The following day, my horrible illness was gone.

Ultimately, would you say that you're content with this as an Agalloch product, even given the behind the scenes issues surrounding it?

I think we took a bad situation and made something worthwhile out of it. I think the monochrome, "1930's silent film" aesthetic worked really well. Pretty much every problem you can imagine occurred even after the show. The color footage was completely unusable, the transfers were given to us in a format that wouldn't work with our editor's program, resulting in massive syncing problems - some of which you can see on the DVD. Of course there were a couple small performance mistakes that had to be fixed and some horrible bleed-through on the vocal mic that had to be corrected. Despite all of this, however, we aimed to maintain as much of an untouched live recording that we could. I don't believe in going into the studio and re-recording everything like some bands do. What you hear on the DVD is 95% true to the performance that night. We even re-amped the guitars with the same channel sounds from our floor effects units. We wanted the recording to sound good - but still be a real live recording. That was very important to us.

I think if we ever do something like this again, we will organize everything ourselves. We'll hire a crew that we know and trust and film it either at a local venue or in a city within driving distance so we can use our own backline gear and all of our stage stuff that we couldn't easily bring on a plane to Europe (large tree stumps, deer skulls, etc). We didn't even get the fog machines that we requested for the Belgium show. Ridiculous!

Do you have any interest in the idea of "the metal scene," so to speak? I know that you say that Agalloch is largely an outsider in the local scene, but internationally, I like to evaluate the state of metal as an artform based on the quality of the output of visionary artists and of innovation and creativity in advancing the musical landscape of the metal genre. Do you take any particular interest in the broader spectrum of what metal bands of today have to offer and its respective health? If so, would you care to share any observations you may have on the matter? I am mostly interested in whether or not you find yourself being influenced by any contemporary artists in your songwriting.

Hmmm...well yeah I can certainly say that the "scene" needs an injection of artistic minded groups for sure. It seems to go through a period of stagnation until a few really visionary artists pop into the fray and turn it around for a few years. This happened with the second wave of black metal, and first wave of suicidal dark metal in the 90s. Then again with the uprising of these so-called post metal and horrible jolly folk metal trends that happened in this decade. We try to follow our own path no matter what is going on in the scene. Sometimes our path unintentionally crosses with others and we will get sucked in with "post metal" or "folk metal" or whatever which can be annoying for us.

There are a few bands in the current waves that interest me like Fauna, Velnias, Gris, Lifelover, Alcest, Peste Noire, Aluk Todolo, Kroda, Fen, Altar Of Plagues, Vindensång, Paysage d'Hiver, Wedard, Cold World, Krallice...to name a few. The local "Cascadian" scene already has the potential to be really great. I really enjoy bands with a certain special charisma that appeals to me. This is why I am such a huge fan of Master's Hammer, (early) Bethlehem, Vlad Tepes, In The Woods, Bathory, and Ulver....bands that brought something more interesting to the table with their sound, image, and attitude. As for being influenced by contemporaries...yes I suppose there is a small degree of influence that is unavoidable, however, the biggest mistake an artist can make is to be led by their contemporaries. We must continue our own path no matter what is going on around us.

How do you know when to call it a day, musically speaking, or do you have any idea? Or is there really any need to foresee an end? You say that you view Agalloch as essentially a glorified hobby, so is this project something that you intend to have with you with an idea of no end in sight, or do you have some idea that you will eventually like to simply move on to something else, whether it is musically or not? And on that note, have you ever considered expanding your artistic portfolio beyond the musical and the other artforms that directly tie in to your musical work? For example, have you ever considered publishing a book of photography, or a writing of some kind?

The time to call it a day is when you have nothing more left to offer. Honestly, after we released The White EP I had serious doubts that the band would exist for much longer. I was exhausted of ideas and quite content with our accomplishments. That is a terminal mixture. But as always, new ideas started to take root and so we will continue for another album or two at least. Now that we are independent from a label's expectations, the band is a lot more enjoyable and the inspiration continues to flow (albeit at a snail's pace).

In the end, I think I will always do something with music, whether playing in a band and releasing albums or just making music for myself. I cannot foresee a total nadir of that expression for me personally. I would really like to try my hand at film making and perhaps some other more "old world" crafts like woodworking, etching, cobb architecture, and continuing my wine craft.

Is there anything that has not been addressed in this interview that you would like to discuss? Perhaps something interesting or noteworthy surrounding the band or yourself that doesn't get brought up in interviews?

Eh...I can't think of anything. You would be surprised by the wide array of oddities we have been asked in interviews. I will say that I am EXTREMELY excited about the new Master's Hammer album. I am equally NOT excited about almost every other band reformations/reunions out there. That seems to be the latest trend...crappy thrash bands from 20 years ago coming back to life to record another piece of unnecessary drivel for stupid teenagers who didn't get to experience the drivel the first time. Yay...way to push the boundaries of metal. At least in the case of Master's Hammer, they were already a very interesting band when they split so I have no doubt that those eccentric Czechs will create something unique and special once again.

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Phlegethon - "Drifting in the Crypt" (Fin)

As I’ve probably mentioned on here before, the Finnish death metal scene from the early 90s is one of my favorite areas in metal. Some of the bands that came from that era are unparalleled in quality and heaviness. Since a lot of the bands from that scene were relatively obscure and short-lived, often releasing only a few demos or a 7”, it’s nice to have labels like Xtreem around who make some of the rarer recordings available again. The quality of some of their earlier CDs reissues were a bit shoddy, but that’s a small complaint in the face of such monstrous music. In the past, the label has done some great Finnish reissues for the bigger bands like Demigod, Disgrace, Demilich, and Funebre, and 2010 sees the addition of Phlegethon’s discography to their resume.

Phlegethon were a bit of an oddball band within the Finnish scene. The Finnish sound is fairly unique and easy to recognize; slow, brooding, downtuned death metal. Phlegethon, on the other hand, started out with a more thrash derived sound that in comparison to their peers, was a lot less aesthetically heavy. Their sound on the first two demos was characterized by oddly strung together thrash sounding riffs with longer phrasing, to the point where they almost feel like the musical equivalent of a run-on sentence. In a way, they remind me of Treblinka and their relationship with the rest of the Swedish scene.

This two CD compilation contains the band’s entire recorded output: two demos (“Visio Dei Beatifica”, 1989, “Neutral Forest”, 1990), the “Fresco Lungs” EP (1991), bonus tracks from the “Fresco Lungs” CD reissue (1992), a 1995 promo, and three demos from recent years (2006, 2007 and 2008). The band varies stylistically from recording to recording, and for some reason, the CD does not present the tracks in chronological order. This is a minor annoyance, as logically the “Fresco Lungs” CD would be on the first CD along with the demos, but instead is the leadoff recording on the second disc. Another complaint I have is the overuse of the Papyrus font, which is something that almost always looks stupid. At least the text in the booklet is readable, which contains some good interviews and write-ups of the band.

The first two demos are rather similar stylistically; they are in the aforementioned strange thrashy run-on death metal style. The guitar tone is a bit thin on these demos, but works well to the band’s sound and the vocals are raspier and higher pitched than what was standard in the Finnish scene. This is probably the most interesting material on this compilation and the most “cult” sounding. From the first demo, the band approached death metal from a far less primitive angle than many of their contemporaries, and a good number of these tracks run around seven or eight minutes long. While some of the riffs are non-conventional, the band has a good sense of flow, and the longer songs are not filled with sections that feel out of place or forced.

In contrast with the thinner sound on the demos, “Fresco Lungs” sounds a lot more “Finnish”. The guitars are a lot heavier and the vocals are much deeper and growled. Two of the tracks on here, "Encapsulation of the Ark of the Covenant", "Ornaments", are re-recordings of material from the first two demos. The band has an excellent sound here, and while they sound a lot more produced and tighter, the added heaviness is a nice touch. It would have been interesting to hear more material from the demos played in this fashion. Keys are used sparingly in certain places, and never feel overpowering. The 1992 tracks from the “Fresco Lungs” CD reissue are sort of in the same vein, but with mixed results. “Stone Me” sounds fairly similar to “Fresco Lung”’s four tracks, but “Without Tea Waters” shows the band flirting with hard techno, which sounds really goofy and falls flat on its face. The liner notes make mention that the recording of “Fresco Lungs” was a difficult process for the band, and the band ended up splitting around this time.

In 1995, the band’s drummer, Lasse Pyykkö, put together a couple death and roll tracks with a different lineup. Very few copies of this recording were made, and it bears little resemblance to the previous Phlegethon material. I find death and roll to be a very tedious and cheesy genre, and these tracks are no different. While these may appeal to people who somehow enjoy Carcass’ “Swansong” or Entombed’s “Wolverine Blues”, I find the temptation to skip over them too great to resist.

After almost a decade break, the band reformed in the mid 2000s with another lineup and a different sound. This new incarnation of the band released the "Totems Within" demo in 2006. The sound on here is more akin to the type of thrash that some of the older German bands were playing at the time. The melodies and especially the vocals remind me a bit of Kreator’s “Violent Revolution” if it were a bit less produced. Personally, I didn’t care for that record, and I think that this demo was a bit of a misstep for the band. The vocals are especially weak and the songs never really get going in the way that they should. Four tracks averaging at four minutes a piece takes up a little too much space on the CD, and I tend to skip over these as well.

Fortunately, the band’s quality increases a great deal with their next two demos. These recordings are doomier in tone than the first two demos, less experimental than the “Fresco Lungs” EP, and show the band making a return to playing real death metal again. The guitar tone here is a lot heavier than earlier material, and sounds quite modern without feeling overproduced and dry. Stylistically the band plays in an intricate doom-death vein, which bears more similarities to what Lasse Pyykkö is doing with Hooded Menace than anything Phlegethon has done prior.

There is certainly a lot of great material to be found here, and for the price that most retailers have this for ($15 or so), it’s definitely a steal. My gripes with Xtreem’s treatment of this music are minor, and aside from a couple of clunky tracks, the music is mostly very solid. While I wouldn’t rank the band as high as Demigod or Demilich, Phlegethon had a unique sound and at their best, they played some great music. Unlike many of the early 90s Finnish death metal bands, Phlegethon has proven they are still capable of playing interesting death metal, and I’m looking forward to their future releases. Anyone interested in classic Finnish death metal will find this reissue to be mandatory, and more casual death metal listeners should find quite a bit to enjoy here as well.

Burzum - "Belus" (Nor)

For better or worse, the early 90s Norwegian black metal scene came to be the defining force in the second wave of black metal. A lot of arguments can be made for either. Falling into the "better" category is the vast amount of quality produced by the country from 1989 to 1994. Boasting an incredibly high signal to noise ratio that remains unparalleled to the day, the Norwegian scene was operating between a lower bound of "very good" and an upper bound of "genre defining masterpiece". The music produced during this time was instrumental in pushing the genre away from a more traditional rockish riff-based approach and more towards an atmospheric, ambient construction. In contrast, falling into the "worse" camp, the scene shortly fizzed out, became a parody of itself and inspired countless lesser talented bands who would flood the market with lukewarm rehashes. In direct contrast to Norway's response against “trendy” death metal (a bit silly to state, considering most of the Norwegian bands started out as death metal and all conviniently jumped ship at the same time, nevermind all the killer death metal that was being produced in Sweden or Finland, and the surprising lack of killer death metal being produced in Norway), the Norsk black metal sound soon became a trend itself. While bands like Darkthrone developed a sense of humor and grew the ability to laugh at themselves though a series of good and highly enjoyable later albums, Emperor just turned into a joke. The legion of awful synth black metal bands that followed “In the Nightside Eclipse” is amongst the worst music recorded by anyone at any given time, and its truly astounding how much of it there is. Its always unfair to harshly judge a scene based on the merits of the low quality imitators rather than the original classics, but given the gap in quality between the original bands and the clones, its a big turnoff for me to hear a Norse-inspired sound in a present day band.

Burzum is one of the most oft imitated bands to emerge from Norway's black metal scene, and listening to the music, its incredibly easy to see why. Burzum's sound was extremely new and unique, and while initially inspired by the Thorns demos, quickly progressed to a sound on "Hvis Lyset Tar Oss" and "Filosofem" that embodied the Norwegian shift away from the more traditional heavy metal based sound of black metal's first wave. More closely resembling ambient music in structure than heavy metal, Burzum's music is dark, dischordant, tense and brooding. As with ambient music, the songwriting focus is placed almost entirely on the atmosphere; there is barely any energy in the songs, and the song structures are extremely repetitive and long. Working within this kind of framework requires a great deal of talent, and Varg's imitators often possess a fraction of his compositional skills. Most of the Burzum inspired bands I've heard have been tedious and boring, which is something that Burzum was never guilty of ("Daudi Baldrs" doesn't count as that is more in the 'unintentionally hilarious' category). I find this to be a shame, as I consider "Hvis Lyset Tar Oss" and "Filosofem" to be pinnacle of black metal as a whole; very dark and textured music that does not have an equal, past or present.

"Belus" is Varg's first metal album in almost 15 years. "Filosofem" was probably the last of the truly great Norwegian black metal albums to emerge from the 90s explosion, and Varg's incarceration coincided with the time when the scene imploded upon itself. "Daudi Baldrs" was an embarassment, and while I liked "Hlidskjalf" a great deal, it had nothing to do with what was going on in the black metal scene at the time. Given the lapse of time between that (1999) and 2010, combined with the high opinion I have of Burzum's early work, I was a bit skeptical when I heard that he was returning to writing metal music. A lot of the older greats are never able to recapture the magic of their earlier albums in the later stages of their careers, but upon actually hearing the album in its entirety, I couldn't be more pleased at how much it exceeded my expectations.

Stylistically the album very much plays out as the logical successor to "Filosofem". The layered approach to the guitar playing, its tone and the droning role in the music bear a great deal of resemblance to that album; the vocals are also delivered in a distorted rasp similar in “Filosofem”'s tone. A far cry away from the manic shrieks on the first three albums, these vocals are less harsh but work extremely well within the context of this music. The bass is quite prominent in the mix, and works extremely well in contrast to fill out the trebly guitars. Largely used for rhythmic punctuation, the bass was never fully utilized on earlier Burzum records, and its presence here adds a lot to the music.

Synths are used extremely tastefully and subtlely on this album. At no point are they overbearing or appear at inopportune places within the music, nor do they go off in their own direction for half of the album's running length. For the most part, the music is more dominated and driven by the guitars, which guide the listener through one of the best black metal albums from the last 10 years.

I don't know if I like "Belus" more than "Filosofem" or not, as "Filosofem" has the advantage of having 14 years to sink in. "Filosofem" was one of the first 'real' black metal albums I bought, and I've listened to it countless times since. However, after listening to "Belus" almost non-stop for a few weeks after its release, I can't identify a single weak point on the album. Aside from the brief 30 second intro of a hammer majestically hitting an anvil (which sounds so weak that I thought it was footsteps until Dodens Grav told me otherwise), the album is extremely strong throughout its duration. "Sverddans" is a ripping throwback to the first Burzum album that seems to come out of nowhere, and the rest of the album surrounding this track is made up of extremely well constructed songs which rank amongst Burzum's finest. The intro is totally inconsequential, and while it would have been best to have been left off entirely, it doesn't take much effort to move the needle a few millimeters to the right.

Probably the most poignant thing about this album's release is how much it illustrates the gap between Burzum's songwriting and the songwriting of Burzum influenced bands. Before Varg went to prison, the wave of totally generic, Norse inspired black metal was just in its infacy stages. Its fairly safe to say that the black metal scene has been largely stagnant since the Norwegian scene fell apart, and aside from the Canadian war metal scene and random acts here and there, I haven't been impressed by too many of the genre's recent entries. By 2010, thousands of generic Burzum influenced albums have come out, and “Belus” still manages to sound fresh and new in a style that has been largely stale for about a decade. "Belus" is everything that I had thought impossible - a logical followup to "Filosofem" that manages to progress musically without sacrificing quality. When receiving the album I was hoping for simply "just good", and I'm glad I got something that sits amongst the best. While I'm not confident the rest of the old Norwegian black metal scene will follow suit and release excellent albums, it wouldn't be realistic to expect anything anywhere near that. As long as Burzum can continue producing music half this good, I won't really mind too much.

NME - "Unholy Death" (USA)

A big allure for me towards the first wave of death and black metal bands is their tendency to produce raw and simplistic music. Few things can make a death metal record more tedious than overproduction and forced technicality. Venom’s formula of punk-inspired savagery is what opened the flood gates for death and black metal, and their primitive sound is largely what defined the genre. In the years following the release of “Welcome to Hell”, I would be hard pressed to find a band that popped up in the wave of bands that popped up in Venom’s wake that I didn’t like. Naturally some bands such as Bathory and Hellhammer received worldwide attention, but it’s interesting to note that arguably the most Venom-inspired band of them all, NME, have little more than a cult following.

“Unholy Death” is one of the few records that are able to surpass its mentor. I absolutely love Venom; “Welcome to Hell” and “Black Metal” are two of the most praised albums in the genre for a reason. They are absolute monsters in every sense of the word and total classics from start to finish. However, NME crush them in almost every single way.

Nearly completely derived from Venom, “Unholy Death” is an extremely simplistic, straightforward, and brutal recording. Rarely exceeding two or three riffs per song, NME play an incredibly simple and ugly bastardization of early Venom. No attempt is made at any sort of guitar acrobatics, and most of the song structures are as basic as they come. However, NME doesn’t need to expand their musical boundaries any further than this, as they have all the right ingredients needed to make a great album - a filthy guitar tone, disgusting vocals, excellent driving riffs and an incredibly evil atmosphere.

In spite of their simplicity, all of the riffs are incredibly crushing. Much like Slaughter, the band takes an extremely punkish approach to their music, and they deliver the goods without any extraneous fluff. This punkish approach also carries over to the collage-style artwork on the record's front and back covers. The vocals are very sloppily delivered, a hoarse sort of howl that sounds almost drunken in its phrasing, and the bass provides a massive steamroller noise floor. Extremely fuzzed out and thick, the bass complements the guitar, often playing the same riff, and gives the band a massive wall of sound. A majority of the band’s material is played at a grinding mid-tempo pace. When the band tries to play faster, they nearly fall apart, but are able to maintain an overwhelming energy which holds the songs together, and when the band tries to play slow, particularly on “Warrior” (dedicated to Mel Gibson), they create an intensively destructive, dark and evil sound.

I’ve seen this band written off as clones before, and I wouldn’t really say that is an accurate tag to apply. NME are certainly very heavily Venom inspired, but cut out their own sound within “Unholy Death”’s grooves. Besides, I can certainly think of far worse tags to apply to a band than Venom clones. I’m not sure if this accusation is why the band doesn’t really seem to have the following they should, or if it was due to their relatively isolated location for extreme metal. The Pacific Northwest doesn’t really seem to be a hotspot for activity in the death metal scenes by 1986, and NME’s ugly brand of death metal was far more raw and primitive than most.

The bizarre non-musical events surrounding the band are almost as interesting as their music. Guitarist Kurt Struebing went to prison for stabbing his mother to death while on DXM after trying to examine her to see if she was a robot. He later killed himself in 2005 by trying to drive his car over a raised drawbridge and it is unsure if this was an intentional suicide or if he was just being impatient in traffic. These events indicate that the band has always been a little ‘off’, and this sort of outsider quality permeates into the music. “Unholy Death” is an extremely vicious recording, and despite its structural similarities to Venom, and stands out on its own as far as its brooding atmosphere and tone, surpassing many of their contemporaries.

Obtaining a copy of this album can be difficult and confusing, particularly the "right" copy. Reissued in 1995 on CD by Moribund Records, the mix on here is vastly inferior to the original LP. A lot of the massive bass tone is reduced, and the CD version sounds much cleaner than the LP. However, the “Machine of War” demo is included as bonus tracks, and is worth picking up for this reason alone. The band also re-recorded several of the tracks on the “Machine of War” CD, and released a second full length in 2002. The original LP version of “Unholy Death” remains their masterpiece, and often ranges in price for $40 - $75, which is well worth it. One of death metal’s first masterpieces of raw primitivism, “Unholy Death” is an absolute essential and shouldn’t be missed by anyone craving a fierce slab of evil metal.

Captain Beyond - "Captain Beyond" (US/UK)

Grey areas in music can often make it a nightmare for classification purposes. Being a librarian, I like things that fall neatly into one category. However, being a metal fan, this often doesn’t happen. In the 1980s, metal often flirted with hard rock, AOR, and hardcore, producing a wealth of albums that fall under the umbrella of more than one genre. Perhaps the grey area that causes the most confusion and frustration for me is the one which surrounds the genre’s beginning. Records from the early 70s that would now be clearly labeled as “hard rock” (essentially anything heavier than Grand Funk or so) were often labeled as heavy metal by contemporary journalists. After all, the first printed usage of the phrase “heavy metal” was in a Sir Lord Baltimore review. When dealing with more mainstream albums such as Rush or Blue Cheer, it can be easy to chalk up said descriptions as a sign of the times. After all, Black Sabbath’s debut is by far the heaviest thing from that era, and looking back, it would be unfair to expect any band to perform at that level of quality or heaviness. However, when dealing with contemporary journalism, the late 60s and early 70s is when a lot of bands started to play heavier, but not necessarily “metal”. While it’s understandable that a lot of early 70s hard rock was labeled as “metal” (after all, it seems implausible now to think that a band as popular as Black Sabbath could be in a genre with themselves for a couple of years), it can also be very frustrating as a listener. When trying to delve into the more obscure bands, these incorrect genre descriptors are often applied to certain records by more enthusiastic fans who over over-exaggerate the heaviness or quality of a record simply because of its obscurity.

Captain Beyond was one of the first records with which I experienced this phenomenon. First described to me as a precursor to Judas Priest and Mercyful Fate, the picture in my mind I had of this album was a raw, fuzzed out masterpiece which would be a rival to Black Sabbath at their heaviest. Needless to say, when I first heard the album I was slightly disappointed within the first couple of seconds. Fortunately the band’s songs are instantly likeable and approachable, so this disappointment wore off as quickly s it came.

Formed as a sort of supergroup between Deep Purple’s original singer and two of Iron Butterfly’s members, Captain Beyond’s debut is one of the best records from the era. In addition to surpassing both Iron Butterfly and Deep Purple (both Mark I and Mark II) in heaviness, Captain Beyond also surpasses both bands in the songwriting department. Iron Butterfly were a good band, and while I think that Mark I Deep Purple is absolutely fantastic, especially “Book of the Taliesyn” and the self titled, but Captain Beyond have expanded and improved on the best points of both bands. Rod Evans’ vocals are extremely strong here; very forceful and powerful without sacrificing melody, and the riffing and soloing is extremely concise without any of the meandering which brought down Iron Butterfly’s output.

It’s easy to see why this record would have been considered heavy metal upon its release, but I have a hard time applying that label to it in 2010. Aside from the bridge riff in “Dancing Madly Backwards” and the main riff/licks in “Raging River of Fear”, there isn’t much of the dark and sinister feeling present in Black Sabbath’s formative albums on here. On the whole the album has a fairly bright tone, and while the guitar tone is quite heavy for 1972, the riffs themselves are largely hard rock in nature. Surely a grey area, and might be considered splitting hairs, but in my view, the presence of “evil” in the music is what differentiates a metal recording from a non-metal recording, and I find making this distinction to be useful when describing formative and influential acts at the genre’s beginning.

What this release lacks in “metalness”, it certainly makes up for in quality songwriting. The vocals are fantastic, certainly Evans’ best performance, and the riffs are impossibly catchy. The band effortlessly segues between heavier passages and lighter, cleaner sections, which on the whole provide nice dynamics on the album. Aside from a couple dated hippie-ish parts (I have hard time believing that the declaration of “Listen: jump on a moonbeam and ride” could have been taken as anything other than silly even upon its release), the band is extremely adept at creating intricate and varied music which doesn’t lose sight of itself. Many of the songs are delivered in suites, which are really annoying when ported to CD, as the CD has 13 tracks instead of the logical 5 tracks the album should have. Three of these suites approach ten minutes in length, but the album never feels like it is dragging or meandering. The band has a great command of their craft and not only know when to change up the music, but also are able to successfully work in variations of previous musical themes in a way that doesn’t seem excessive or wanky.

For the genre, heavy 70s, downer rock, proto-metal, whatever you want to call it, I’d be hard pressed to name a better album than this one. It doesn’t sound like Black Sabbath, nor is it anywhere near as heavy, but don’t let that cause you to pass this one up. The songwriting is absolutely top notch, and even in the few passages that don’t work as well, the band delivers with a lot more force, power and heaviness than most of their contemporaries; this is certainly not an airy prog album that gets constantly misclassified. It feels a lot more sincere than modern artists trying to recreate this sound retroactively, as this kind of spirit seems almost impossible to accurately replicate. Tracking this one down shouldn’t be too much trouble and even the original 3-D cover doesn’t particularly go for very much money. The band’s later works aren’t nearly as impressive in my opinion, but there is no doubt that they struck gold with this one. While this record might not sit in the “metal” section of my record shelf, but there is no doubt in my mind that it is more than capable of competing with the best that do.