Examples of the possibilities of modernizing and evolving Black Metal



Hellsaw -"Trist": Wild's Reprisal - "Cascadia Rising": Ahnengrab - "Omen"

Hellsaw, Wild's Reprisal & Ahnengrab are most certainly my favourites from the list posted below, and as for Ahnengrab i've had it on repeat since Saturday gone and it just gets better with every listen, its definitely an original and powerful record, pagan/power metal for sure but the vocals are Black Metal in style and flavour and delivery which seem out of place at first but with each listen less so. Now i will admit that i took a chance on Wild's Reprisal, but as soon as i heard the howling wolves and the solid rolling intro of beating drums on the opening track "A Fierce Green Fire Dying In Her Eyes" i was hooked, to me this is how modern/new black metal should sound, atmospheric and slightly meanacing, even a touch venemous. This is again perfectly accomplished on the track "Tragedy Of The Commons". The sound is also not a million miles from either Wolves In The Throne Room, Chasma, or Ordo Obsidium for it certainly seems something has be said of the Black Metal scene from the United States, (especially the the northern regions) as it is definitely in a good state of affairs and this certainly is a debut of the highest order. While, finally, Hellsaw simply play proper storming Black Metal that is intense and powerful, with the vocal rasps, riffing and blasting that any fan of Black Metal music would appreciate.

London gig [Part II]

Have just purchased a ticket for Agalloch, Velinas and Fen again for The Camden Underworld on Wednesday 11th of April, and i must admit i'm really excited, plus i've been told to check out a pub called The Black Heart which is located on one of the streets behind or near the venue, i usually go to The Crowbar in Soho before any gigs i attend when in London but since that stays open till 4 a.m. i'll go afterwards, long as i'm still capable of course.

Absu and Impeity also play the Underworld the following night and i am still tempted to buy a ticket for that also, I would like to hear both bands, they play a Blackened type of Death Metal which does appeal to me.

Black Metal Bands and "So Hideous, My Love..."

My first post on this blog listed all the Black Metal bands that i enjoyed listening to and had music by, so now i've decided to list all the bands that i have discovered since and whose music i've either purchased or downloaded, they are as follows:

Acherontas, Amesoeurs, An Autumn For Crippled Children, Angantyr, Aosoth, Archgoat, Austere, Battle Dagorath, Beherit, Brunanburh, Burning Church Forest, Celeste, Cult Of Erinyes, Deafheaven, Demonaz, Dornenreich, Enslaved, Falloch, Falls Of Rauros, Faustcoven, Forteresse, Gorath, Hrizg, Hyperborean, Kyla, Lapageria Rosea, Licht Erlischt…, Make A Change...Kill Yourself, Mgla, Midnight Odyssey, Myrkr, Nadiwrath, Negative Plane, Neige Et Noirceur, Neige Morte, Niflheim, Nine Covens, NunFuckRitual, Nyktalgia, Old Silver Key, Old Wainds, Owlscry, Paragon Belial, Pest (Sweden), Pest (Germany), So Hideous My Love…, Stutthof, Syn Ze Sase Tri, The Crevices Below, Thrall, Thy Light, Trollskogen, Wisdom Through Agony Into Illumination And Lunacy (W. A. I. L.), Weakling, When Mine Eyes Blacken, Wold, Worship, Zinumm.

Some of the bands listed above might not be classed strictly as Black Metal bands, such as Brunanburh, Enslaved and W. A. I. L. as they might have other elements such as Death, Doom, Folk and even Shoegaze within their music but still retain a strong Black Metal influence or sound. And all but one of the above list have an entry at Encyclopaedia Metallum (http://www.metal-archives.com) and which one is it they think is not "Metal" enough.........

http://store.playtheassassin.com/album/pta004-so-hideous-my-love

......personally i can't believe they don't think the band is "Metal" enough, check links below.

http://www.welovemetal.com/newsite/wordpress/2011/07/29/so-hideous-my-love-to-clasp-a-fallen-wish-with-broken-fingers/
http://www.metalsucks.net/2011/06/28/so-hideous-my-love-not-so-hideous/
http://exclaim.ca/Reviews/Metal/so_hideous_my_love8230-to_clasp_fallen_wish_with_broken_fingers
http://www.heavyblogisheavy.com/2011/06/23/so-hideous-my-love-are-actually-quite-glorious/
http://blog.timesunion.com/marshall/a-little-ambient-hardcore-never-hurt-nobody/5466/
http://occultblackmetalzine.blogspot.com/2011/06/so-hideous-my-loveto-clasp-fellen-wish.html

http://www.decibelmagazine.com/featured/streaming-so-hideous-my-love-to-clasp-a-fallen-wish-with-broken-fingers/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DecibelMagazine+%28Decibel+Magazine%29

New Releases

Alcest "Les Voyages De L'ame" released 6th January 2012 on Prophecy Productions

Yesterday i downloaded my first two albums of 2012, Alcest's new release, "Les Voyages De L'âme" and the debut offering by Ordo Obsidium "Orbis Tertius" which was released a couple of months back, but which was still collecting favourable reviews, both online and in print so i believed it was definetly worth a listen, now don't get me wrong i do like what Alcest do, in fact i like it a lot, but i did kind of expect what the album would sound like, beautifully crafted songs, yet somewhat sad and mournful, that unmistakeable guitar sound, those dreamy but melancholy vocals, punctuated by the occasional raw shriek, building up into that wall of atmospheric noise that only Alcest can do, especially evident on the final track "Summer's Glory" but i much prefer the sound created by Ordo Obsidium and to be fair, its certainly also an atmospheric record, mixing sorrowful black metal with a depressive funeral doom feel which is by no means a bad thing and its certainly one of the most outstanding opening statements i've heard in a long time by any band (the only other debut album i can think of which had the same impact on me would be W. A. I. L.'s "Wisdom Through Agony Into Illumination And Lunacy", which musically is also in a similar vein), the opening and closing tracks are epic soundscapes, definitely a soundtrack for the cold dark dreary winter evenings and nights.

Ordo Obsidium "Orbis Tertius" released 10th October 2011 on Eisenwald Tonschmiede

Also Recommend:

So Hideous, My Love... - "To Clasp A Fallen Wish With Broken Fingers" released 12th April 2011 on Play The Assassin Records

Heretoir - "Heretoir" released Feb 25th 2011 on Northern Silence Productions

Deafheaven - "Roads To Judah" released 26th April 2011 on Deathwish Inc.

Weakling - "Dead As Dreams" released 2000 on tUMULt