Since I've been doing a lot of black metal reviews around here I figured I should post my personal top black metal albums and a few samples here and there with some of the best black metal songs.
Band: Bathory Years Active: 1983 - 2004 (21 years) Genre: Black Metal (early), Retro-Trash (mid), Viking Metal (mid, later) Origin: Norway Label: Black Mark, Noise Records Last Line-Up: Quorthon (all instruments + vocals) What is with these Bathory reviews? someone asked me a while ago. Truthfully, Bathory is a band that nowadays is mostly known by some experience and more older fans of metal, or maybe by some fans that appreciate some particular metal genres. Bathory, in my opinion, deserves a place together with bands that written history in both rock and metal, bands such as, Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Guns n Roses, Iron Maiden or Judas Priest.
Bathory influenced bands in 2 of the most appreciated metal genres nowadays, and maybe, two of the most extreme metal genres of all time, viking metal and black metal. I do not want to get into their black metal early days and since I recently finished reviewing Hammerheart (1990), it is only normal to continue with its follower, and much more amazing, Twilight of the Gods (1991). Hammerheart was a great experience. Quorthon hinted in his 1988 release of his 4th album Blood Fire Death that he is going to change his playing style and switch to something a little bit more atmospheric and at a slower pace. Hammerheart was well received, well enough to have a follower that followed it pretty fast (just 1 year difference between albums, it is really a performance).
Twilight of the Gods continues the saga, so to say. Like in Hammerheart, the major themes in this album are nature, vikings, legends, myths and also the anti-christian theme was not abandoned in this one either. A person that has been listening throughout his albums might figure it out that in almost all of them, he always persecuted christianity when he had the chance.
This album begins with such a persecution. The self titled track, "Twilight of the Gods" is the most longest track of this album reaching almost 13 minutes length. It is composed of a prologue that lasts for around 1 minute, the song itself, and an epilogue, which lasts again for around 1 minute. Thematically speaking, this song is the work of a genius. Going to rant a little bit about hip-hop artists: You guys should listen or at least read the lyrics of this song, this is how you can portray a realistic view of the world and in a more amazingly way. We can also feel some doom metal influences in this song.
The 2nd and 3rd track of this album, "Through Blood By Thunder" and "Blood and Iron" follow the same patter that we were used to after listening the 1st track. To be honest, they sound a little bit monotonous. The first one represents Quorthon's view upon the world claiming that the ones that watch over us are the gods in the never ending sky and the one that chooses and writes his own destiny are not the gods, but man himself. "He with one-eye" represents a viking god, in my opinion, Oden most likely. Blood and Iron changes the theme into a battle one, it is more like a military song rather than an atmospheric song like the previous ones.
"Under the Runes" and "To Enter Your Mountain" follows a similar pattern with Blood and Iron, continuing the saga with more details. A bad thing regarding these songs is that they do not come up with new style, they sound monotonous.
"Bond of Blood" the 6th track of the album ends the saga while the last song, the 7th track, Hammerheart (weird though, this song is not part of the first album which is self titled, rather it is part of the second one) is the resolution and also the conclusion of this album, ending it like it began, in an atmospheric way.
Blood Fire Death was the signal for a change of play, Hammerheart was the first experimental album in this new field but Twilight of the Gods in my opinion, serves as the best viking metal album ever made, a place that could not be taken even nowadays but other bands. In my opinion, true viking metal died together with Quorthon, simply because the other bands could not reach even a quarter of the sound and style that Quorthon adopted in his works.
Band: Bathory Years Active: 1982 - 2004 (22 years) Genre: Black Metal (early), Viking Metal (mid, later), Retro-Trash (mid) Origin: Norway Label: Noise Records, Black Mark (reissue) Last Line-Up: Quorthon - guitars, vocals, music and lyrics (1983–2004) all instruments (1988–2004)
A true legend of the underground metal. In a few words, this is how I could define Bathory, originally a band, but later it became the solo project of a prodigy, Quorthon. Quorthon proved his musical skills from a young age, at only 17 years he started Bathory with 2 additional band members. By placing two of his songs in a compilation, his songs attracted a lot of attention. Hammerheart marked a change in his musical career. This was the first album he recorded alone. From now on, Bathory will be his solo project with him handling all the instruments, including recording, producing and vocals as well. Hammerheart marked a change in his style, changing from the typical hybrid metal black metal that he played until Blood Fire Death (1988) and pioneering a genre that later will be called as viking metal.
Quorthon and his band Bathory are claimed to be the true creators of this genre. However, while listening through all of his albums, you can also feel black metal elements in it. The thing is, he changed his playing style. Instead of continuing with the typical fast tempo guitar riffs and blast drum beats, he choose a more atmospheric path, reducing the rawness that was featured in his more earlier works. He even gave up doing shrieked voice, which later will define all the black metal bands.
Hammerheart has a more slower rhythm, you can feel the atmosphere so to say. Quorthon's voice is purely awesome. Through this album, you can feel that he does not have the true qualities that the vocals nowadays have, at least on studio albums, but I think, this is what makes his voice rather fantastic. You can say that he has character through his voice, which is pretty much imperfect.
Another change is that you can also hear choirs in the background of his songs. His songs also feature new themes. Mythological themes, historical themes mostly related to the vikings, nature themes as well but also the anti-christian theme was not abandoned either. The only thing that he abandoned was the occult and the satanic themes featured on his early albums.
By far, the best song of this album is actually kept as the last track. "One Rode to Asa Bay" describes a historical moment when christian missionaries walked on the Norse lands to convert the native villagers to their own religion and for starters they requested the building of a church in a land called Asa Bay. This song is more or less, like a story, depicting the reaction the native villagers had and also the way the christians reacted once the native villagers refused to build the church for them.
This song is truly the work of a genius. Religious people might find it a blasphemy, but for me, knowing how cruel and how barbaric religion has been with people that had other beliefs, its the truth in its pure state. The ending of the song with the lyrics "Still he heard from somewhere in the woods / Old crow of wisdom say / ...people of Asa Bay, it's only just begun...". The song was dedicated to a writer named Dean Andersson a person that has been writing books about the viking culture and also the moment when they faced the christian conversion.
The album actually begins with the song "Shores in Flame" featuring acoustic guitars. The 2nd track "Valhalla" is a lot more heavier than the previous one featuring fast tempo guitar riffs and amazing guitar solos. "Baptised in Fire and Ice" is in my opinion the poorest song from this album, it feels a little repetitive at times. it is followed up by "Father to Son" which is a lot more atmospheric than the other songs which makes it one of the best songs from this album. "Song to Hail up High" serves as a well deserved pause before the last 3 tracks featuring melodic elements (actually 2, in the 2003 reissue). "Home of Once Brave" is another track which competes for the best track from this album, featuring atmospheric guitar riffs and impressive vocals from Quorthon.
"One Rode to Asa Bay" already mentioned above is the last track of this album. Though the voice might disturb a little bit since it does not quite fit the rhythm, the guitar solos, which are few so to say, and the instrumentals are absolutely amazing. "Outro" servers as an end for this epic album, being the shortest song.
In conclusion, Bathory's 1990 release is one of the most noticeable and one of the most important works which defined a genre and inspired many other bands. However, in my opinion, true viking metal died together with Quorthon and Bathory but his music will last forever as a point of reference in the metal scene and also for the fans.
Band: Lacrimas Profundere Years Active: 1993 - present (18 years) Genre: Gothic Metal (early), Death/Doom (early), Gothic Rock (mid and later career) Origin; Germany Label: Napalm Records Current Line-Up: Oliver Nikolas Schmid (guitars), Rob Vitacca (vocals), Tony Berger (guitars), Korl Fuhrmann (drums)
You guys might think, based on a first impression, that this band is actually a H.I.M. or The 69 Eyes or Sentenced rip-off. I do agree a little bit but only when it comes to looks and some specific musically traits. Lacrimas Profundere, same like the bands I mentioned above plays a gothic rock style which unlike other genres, it does not bring much differences. The style is sort of monotone, the bands even though they emerged early or later, you can feel that they are the same but at the same time you cannot call them rip-offs. If musically they feel the same, story wise, it does not.
Lacrimas Profundere in their early years were playing a more underground metal style. Gothic metal and Death/Doom metal were the genres that they played during their early albums, changing later to a genre that brought them fame, gothic rock.
I don't want to make comparisons between H.I.M. and LP but, if I were to, I would say that I dun like H.I.M. as much as I enjoyed LP. LP has that little something that H.I.M. does not have, they manage to convey their feelings through the story portrayed in the songs. They name their genre "rock 'n sad" mainly because the main themes they use for their songs are sorrow, love, sadness, melancholy, ups and downs of couple life, betrayal, everything that enters within the meaning of the word sad, characterizes the style of LP. By far, the masterminds behind this extraordinary band are the Schmid brother, Oliver and Christopher. However, after the release of their 8th studio album "Filthy Notes for Frozen Hearts", Christopher left the band dew to stage-induced stress however he continued to be the lyricist for the band. Between 2005 and 2007, Oliver replaced all of the former band members coming up with a completely new line-up, having Rob Vitacca as the front man.
Rob Vitacca's style of singing is slightly different but not by far from what Christopher had. "Songs for the Last View" reminds us of the old Sisters of Mercy albums when they were at the peak of their glory. With melancholic sounds and atmospheric influences, this album proved to be worth listening at least and quite enjoyable. The album begins with the pulse of a heartbeat and ends the same way. The concept of this album is based on the life of a rockstar. To be more specific, it resembles the moment when all your life become like a movie, when you are giving your last breath. We all know from other people that when you are having your last moments of being alive, all the things you've done in your life will come to your mind. I described it as a fast movie. However, if you want to know the end of it, don't worry, the protagonist will be revived during the last track of the album "While".
It's kind of unusual for me to start a review with the last song of the album, but I think I had to. It begins with an intro called "The Last View" which sets the stage for the next song called "A Pearl" which also features a video. We rarely hear female voices in LP's songs but fortunately, this album features a female voice in the 3rd track "The Shadow I once Kissed".
All of their songs represent a passage or a chapter of the story. The 4th track, "Veins" features an amazing guitar solo while the 5th song "We Shouldn't Be Here" has a more electronic influence which can be heard at the beginning of the song. But only at the beginning because after that it is shattered with explosive guitar and drum solos which in my opinion, makes it one of the best songs this album has.
The 6th track "And God's Ocean" is in my opinion, the best track from this album and maybe, the best track that they could come up in all of their works. Unlike the other songs, this one is a ballad and it also features a video. This song is superbly creating a melancholic atmosphere combined with the anger which can be felt throughout the lyrics.
"Suicide Sun" the 7th track of the album talks about compromises and sacrifices that a couple can encounter in life while "Dear Amy" the 8th track is like a cruel respond to the one that could not comprehend the efforts and feelings conveyed through the 7th track of the album.
"A Dead Man", the 9th track of this album depicts the condition of a man that had his love denied. This is the second ballad from this album and it features mainly vocals and keyboards.
"Sacrificial Lamb" and "Lullaby for a Weeping Girl" follows the same pattern that the other songs depicted while being a lot more heavier in style. "While", the last track represents the synthesis of this album combining distorted guitar riffs with melancholic piano solos and Wurm's drum beats and also Rob's clean vocals.
In conclusion, "Songs For the Last View" like any other album has pluses and minuses. Even though the death/doom or gothic metal style that they played a long time ago is long gone, I am satisfied the way LP is right now. I dislike the fact that growls are missing in this album which makes the clean vocals feel monotone from time to time. Some songs are way too similar with each other but it is compensated with splendid works such as A Pearl, We Shouldn't Be Here, And God's Ocean or Sacrificial Lamb.
It is not a masterpiece of this genre without a doubt, but rather an album that appeals to ears and hearts of all sorts. It is not an extreme bands nor an extreme genre so it's unlikely that this album will not make it outside of its own borders. What I like about it is that the spirit of Lacrimas Profundere is present throughout this album, despite the fact that they changed style and members many times. One thing I hate about is the kind of guys that complain about the current state of the band and compare it with their earlier works. An album in my opinion should not be compared with others but should be judged by its current state otherwise, minuses or pluses can be found easily while forgetting that in essence this is the same LP that we have known. Lets not forget, music is an art, not a game of tastes or a duel between past and present.
Note: This album features 4 Bonus Limited Edition Digipack Tracks.
And here I am, discussing, reviewing and pointing out one of the most important black metal bands that existed during the 80s. The name "Bathory" comes from the infamous Hungarian countess, Elizabeth Bathory who has been a big influence for many black metal bands and also for other metal artists as well. (wiki her if you want to know why)
For most of the time, Bathory was a 1 man band. The mastermind behind this band is a man nicknamed Quorthon (the man in the image above). Quorthon started this band as a project in the early 80s when he convinced his father to place his two recorded songs on a compilation. Surprisingly though, his songs attracted a lot of attention and in 1984, he released his first studio album, self-titled "Bathory". Even though Venom's 1982 album "Black Metal" is considered as the first hybrid black metal album, Bathory's albums, featured Satanic themes and lyrics, low production quality and an inhuman voice style (shrieked voice is the term used to describe the vocals in most early and later black metal bands) stuff that later will define most black metal albums and stand as an inspiration for the second wave of black metal bands in the 90s.
Although Bathory is Norwegian black metal band, many fans speculated the fact that Quorthon was inspired by Venom's earlier black metal album release for his works. However, he stated that he only started listening to Venom after he released his first full length album. He claimed that he was inspired by bands such as Black Sabbath or Motorhead.
After his self-titled album released in 1984, he released two more albums that remained true to the hybrid black metal style that he pioneered during his early carrier. In 1985, Quorthon recorded and released his 2nd studio album, "The Return...(Of Darkness and Evil)" which used a poem as an inspiration. "When the sacred oath is broken and the lie is spoken out loud
when the angel is POSSESSED
and the virgin is stolen her pride
When the flame of love and pureness
have turned to BESTIAL LUST
when the walls of gold in heaven
close in and turn to dust
When THE WIND OF MAYHEM whispers
through the vale of tears and death
when the golden river is empty
and the SADIST tear the angels' flesh
When the SON OF THE DAMNED strides the earth
and THE RITE OF DARKNESS is done
when the REVELATION OF DOOM comes closer
and the battle just begun
When the beauty is BORN FOR BURNING
and the TOTAL DESTRUCTION draws near
when the disciples under the sign of the black mark gathers
and the REAP OF EVIL is here
Then the clouds of death shall gather
then the night shall always burn
then the ancient prediction comes true
and the bells of fate chime
THE RETURN ......"
It was followed by the 1987 release of his 3rd studio album "Under the Sign of the Black Mark" which was considered as his last pure black metal album. With the release "Blood Fire Death" in 1988, it was noticed that the pace was slowed down which is said to be the initiation of another metal genre, known later as Viking Metal. However, even though some changes could be hinted in this album, the well known black metal traits are still present in it.Viking themes were also used in this album as well.
With the release of "Hammerheart" in 1990, Quorthon completely switched to the style that he himself created, Viking Metal. This album featured less aggressive lyrics, a more atmospheric sound. The lyrics deal with viking and Norse mythology but it did not abandon the anti-christian theme as well. These albums does not really show aggression or disgust towards Christianity but it depicts it as a perpetrator. This album especially depicts the christian influence when they set foot in the Norse lands which were pagan. The song "One Rode to Asa Bay" depicts the attitude of christians when they were starting to convert the Northern lands to their own religion and the reaction the locals had. "Twilight of the Gods" released one year later in 1991 follows the same pattern that Hammerheart had with the same viking and Norse mythology and anti-christian themes. Quorthon once again changed style with the release of "Requiem" in 1994 and "Octagon". These albums abandoned the viking metal style that he played in the 5th and 6th album and embraced a retro-trash metal style. The 1996 of "Blood on Ice" featured a return to his viking metal style but was more like a transition which still featured retro-trash elements.
His 2001 album, "Destroyer of Worlds" same like Blood on Ice still featured transitional elements. His full return to the viking metal style was marked with the release of "Nordland I" in 2002 and "Nordland II" in 2003 which was supposed to be a 4 album saga projects but unfortunately, Quorthon did not live long enough to finish it.
In 2004, Quorthon was found dead in his apartment. He suffered heart failure. In 2006, Black Mark Records released a tribute album to Quorthon. It feature re-recordings of some of his best tracks from all his albums. It featured 3 CDs, 1 DVD with his first and last video for the song One Rode To Asa Bay and also some exclusive interviews, promo footage and a poster as well. Bathory is viewed as one of the most important band on both the early black metal scene and also the band that created and pioneered the extreme genre known as viking metal. Many bands from the early 90s and the later years used Bathory's works as an influence for their own musical style.
