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.
And here we are with the last report of Artmania Festival. Keep in mind this is not a festival that presents so many bands like Wacken, Ozzfest or Hellfest, it's a small, rather new one but even so, a very organized one.
In day 1 we had Lacrimas Profundere, Helloween and Tarja Turunen as headliners however on day 2 we had Republica, an alternative rock band that uses electronic sounds (I felt like I went to disco with this one, clearly a very poor choice made by the organizers), Sonata Arctica, a symphonic power metal band from Finland and one of the most anticipated bands, Lacuna Coil, an Italian gothic alternative metal band. Like I said, Republica was a big let-down. The biggest disappointment this concert. Not like they were bad in what they were doing but for a rock/metal festival, their presence was sort of uncommon and not too fitting. Their music is for pubs, clubs and stuff like that or maybe parties, it fits more in the disco genre rather than rock and metal. Nevertheless, they only stood on scene for 40 minutes.
Sonata Arctica came after. Though this band became more and more popular with every album release, I never could come to like them. First of all, in several songs, Tony Kakko's voice is rather annoying or unfitting. His voice can be varied, he can sing very high, he can scream, he can even growl though the main focus is on his clean vocals and afterwards comes scream voice. The song that I enjoyed the most was Paid in Full, the rest were rather similar, monotone and simply, not the kind of music that makes you go all wild, it is good to listen only but not to act. The most anticipated band came after Sonata Arctica. Lacuna Coil is probably the most known metal band from Italy and the most popular in foreign countries as well. Since their 2002 release of Comalies, this band met with an incredible success. Since then they released two more albums that became even more popular than the previous ones. Heaven's a Lie, Our Truth, Closer, Enjoy The Silence, The Edge and Spellbound are just some of their well known hits that could not miss from this concert.
Why I claim that this band was the most anticipated out of all? Clearly, the public reacted the most during their stage performance. Even though I went to all Artmania festivals since 2006, I've never seen such a wild crowd and so many people jumping and screaming like mad. Lacuna Coil might not be as good as Helloween and Tarja when it comes to musical skills (though we talk about slightly different genres) but one thing they have and the other didn't is that they managed to make the crowd react exactly the way the wanted, which in my opinion is a very good thing for a band. I also enjoyed Christina's escapade with the motorcycle on the stage, it was just fucking awesome. Conclusion:
Best Band (1st Day): Helloween Best Band (2nd Day): Lacuna Coil Best Band (Overall): Lacuna Coil Best Singer: Rob Vitacca (Lacrimas Profundere) and Andrea Fero (Lacuna Coil) Best Song: Over The Hills And Far Away (Tarja Turunen, ex-Nightwish)
Artmania Festival is a Rock/Metal event that began as a project in 2005 and held its premiere in 2006. Since their first event, many important names from the metal scenes walked on this stage, names such as My Dying Bride, Opeth, Amorphis, Anathema, Within Temptation, Nightwish, Dark Tranquillity, Serj Tankian, Kamelot, PAIN or Lacrimosa.
This year other names show up in this festival. Lacrimas Profundere held their first concert in Romania at Artmania festival this year. They currently play a more mainstream gothic rock than in the early days when they were an exclusive underground doom/death metal band or in mid career, a gothic metal band. They were the ones that opened the concert. A Peal, Dear Amy, Amber Girl or Ave End were just some of the songs that the german sung in this concert. After their short 40 minute representation, another German legend walked on the scene, this time a band that has its roots in the early-mid 80s and are well known for pioneering power metal, Helloween. This band knows how to make a hell of a concert. Insane guitar riffs, blast drum beats, a voice that can be compared with Marco Hietala's from Nightwish if we talk about height and power and also, the fact that they know how to pull some very nice and tasteful jokes on stage. The public received their songs very well and I think that they might've been the real headliners of this show.
Helloween performed for almost an hour and half on stage. They were followed by another legend, this time, Tarja Turunen. After her departure from Nightwish she has been struggling to find her own musical style distinctive from the one that she used to perform with Nightwish. Though her first albums were clearly trying desperately to detach themselves from Nightwish's style, with her newer albums she managed to find a style of her own. What I like about her is that she remained the same, her voice is as good without the other Nightwish members. Musically speaking, her works are still inferior in contrast with her works from Nighwish but I enjoyed seeing her performing End of all Hope and Over the Hills and Far Away. In conclusion, it was not a bad day. This might've been the best day of the festival and it might remain. The second day presents other 3 bands but the most anticipated out of all are Sonata Arctica and Lacuna Coil. The day will start with Republica and will end with Lacuna Coil.
Well, well. I've seen a lot of top's made by all people with different tastes. Seen top's of heavy metal bands, of death metal bands but I've rarely seen a top of the best black metal bands. Surely, the black metal scene has many names that should not be taken lightly. Black Metal is not an old genre like trash or heavy metal, it barely exists for 30 years if we count the hybrid years as well.
Since we've settled this, let's begin my personal top (keep in mind, most of my choices are just from my preferences but I also took in consideration opinions from different people as well so it's not completely biased):
10. Satyricon
Satyricon is a name taken from a famous poem written by Gaius Petronius in late 1st century AD. This band has been founded in 1990 but the original members retired short after the band started their gigs. Since their departure the band became a two men band featuring Satyr (Sigurd Vongraven) and Frost (Kjetil-Vidar Haraldstad). The first is the vocalist, guitarist, bassist and keyboardist of the band while the second is the drummer of the band, one of the best this genre gave and probably one of the top 5 best drummers from the metal scene. Currently, Satyricon released 7 full length studio albums (the last one in 2008), 3 EPs, 3 compilation albums, 2 demos and also 5 songs feature videos.
Satyricon's music changed with time. It went from a raw, traditional black metal to a more commercial one especially with their 6th studio album, "Now, Diabolical" which was well received by the black metal community but it was also well received by audiences outside of the black metal community as well. Even so, this album is considered Satyricon's best album and also their climax.
9. Emperor
It is a pity that Emperor does not exist anymore. Same like Satyricon, Emperor is a Norwegian black metal band that emerged in the second black metal wave in the early 90s. The band was active until 2001 and it reunited two times in 2006 and 2007 for several gigs. Emperor is well known for being one of the first black metal bands that incorporated symphonic metal influences similar to the kind of music Dimmu Borgir played in their first and second full length albums. Featuring two of the most controversial black metal figures, Ihsahn and Samoth their albums were well received by the black metal community and even today though the band has disbanded they are still very popular. Unlike Satyricon, some members from Emperor involved themselves in the famous church burning incidents in Norway during the early till mid 90s.
Emperor released 4 studio albums, 2 live albums, 3 compilation albums, 7 EPs and also 2 split albums. Most of their works are kinda outdated since they were active in the 90s and not that active in the later years. Their last album was released in 2001, entitled "Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire and Demise".
8. Enthroned
This time we move from the Norwegian black metal scene towards a country that does not have many well known black metal bands but is the home of one of the most extreme black metal band, Enthroned. Belgium is well known for bands that are into mainstream metal or into a soft metal rather than extreme one, however all this ends when you encounter Enthroned. They are extreme in every way, on stage, through their music and as well through their lyrics and messages. Till today, they released 8 studio albums (last one in 2010), 2 EPs and 1 live album.
Enthroned was also a band that could not stay away from scandals. They first attracted the attention of the public after their front man and vocalist Cernunnos commit suicide by hanging himself in 1997.
7. Immortal
We now come back to the Norwegian black metal scene with the band Immortal. Immortal is a special band. It was founded by Abbath Doom Occulta and Demonaz Doom Occulta in 1990 after their previous bands Amputation and Old Funeral could not take off. They began with a classic black metal style specific for that time but with the release of "At the Heart of Winter" (1999) they incorporated some thrash metal elements as well. The band disbanded in 2003 and reunited in 2006. It now features Abbath as the vocalist and guitarist of the band, Horgh as the drummer and Apollyon as bassist. Demonaz retired from playing the guitar after 1997 because of tendinopathy. He was no longer able to play the fast tempo guitar riffs for the band however he continues to write lyrics and also represent them as the manager.
Immortal was a band that remained calm and quiet during the incidents that took place in Norway in the 90s. Though they are a black metal band, they only depicted satanic themes in their 1st full length album "Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism" (1992) afterwards they started to focus on themes such as seasons or nature. They also make references to a fictional land called Blashyrkh which is said to be "demon and battle field". They focus especially on winter landscapes, woods, mountains, fog and glacial valleys. They released 8 studio albums (last one in 2009), 1 EP, 1 split album, 1 demo and 1 DVD album (2010).
6. Carpathian Forest
Yet another black metal band from Norway. Carpathian Forest refers mostly to the Carpathian mountains, most probably a reference to Transilvania, a land that is now part of Romania. It was founded in 1990 by Nattefrost and it was previously known as The Child Molesters and Enthrone. Like most black metal albums, they depict anti-religious themes and also satanic themes but not in all of their songs. They play a raw black metal style with some melodic influences.
Carpathian Forest released until now 6 studio albums (last one in 2006), 4 compilation albums and 2 demos. They last played live in 2009 and they confirmed that they are working on a new album.
5. Behemoth
Now we go to the Polish black metal scene and we will discuss about Behemoth this time. Behemoth was formed in 1991 by vocalist and guitarist Adam Darski also known as Nergal. In the early years the band played a raw and brutal black metal but with the 1999 release of their 4th studio album entitled "Satanica" they changed their style and incorporated death metal influences thus they confirmed their presence on the blackened death metal scene. Until 2004 the band suffered many line-up changes but once Orion and Seth joined the band in 2004, they became a lot more consistent.
Behemoth is also a band that remains in the flash light. Dew to the conceptions that Nergal has and also some controversial declarations the band encountered resistance mainly because Poland is a catholic country and the content of their albums are anti-religious and satanic. Until today, Behemoth released 9 studio albums, 6 EPs, 1 live album, 3 demos, 2 DVDs and 4 compilation albums.
4. Gorgoroth
Probably the most extreme band on the black metal scene. Yet another Norwegian black metal band, Gorgoroth like most bands was formed in the early 90s (1992 more exactly) after Infernus made a pact with the devil. Gorgoroth is well known for their elaborate and controversial gigs where they place sheep or pig heads on stakes and crucified models, a true stage bloodbath. Even though they are showing a very fearful image and the band is focusing mostly on satanic themes, they never actually showed any aggression or violence against churches like other black metal bands in the early 90s did.
Until now, Gorgoroth released 8 studio albums, 4 live albums and 2 demos. Currently they are working on a re-recording of the 1997 album "Under the Sign of Hell" which will be released in August 29th, 2011. They became popular especially after the release of two remarkable black metal albums, "Incipit Satan" and "Twilight of the Idols".
3. Burzum
This is not quite a band so to say. This is a one man project which was given life by Varg Vikernes one of the most important black metal figures and one of the most notorious metal musicians of all times which attracted a lot of attention with his controversial declaration and also with his political preferences and views. Varg Vikernes during the early 90s was involved in several church burnings and he is also the murderer of Euronymous, the founding member and the mastermind behind Mayhem. He is also known as Count Grishnack, nickname taken from Tolkien's famous Lord of the Rings novels. Burzum never had any gigs, the front man mainly focusing on producing albums. Burzum was founded in 1991 and during 1992 and 1993, Varg recorded 4 studio albums. In 1994 he was imprisoned for murdering Euronymous and for the arson of several churches. During his imprisonment he recorded 2 more album using synthesizer's since he was not allowed to use a guitar.
All Burzum albums are recorded in low quality mainly because at the time he recorded those albums, it was a trend that black metal albums should remain in low quality production because of the underground influences. After his prison release in 2009, Varg recorded and released two more albums, "Belus" (2010) and "Fallen" (2011). Burzum is considered one of the most important black metal figures even nowadays and one of the few bands that remained true to their own roots. Until today, Burzum released 9 studio albums, 3 demos, 2 videos, 5 compilation albums and several other contributions including 10 tribute albums. Even though 10 years passed from his last album release while he was in prison, Belus and Fallen maintain the typical burzumish traits.
2. Darkthrone
This time we talk about a band that has its roots from the first black metal wave. Darkthrone, unlike other black metal bands, played some other music styles as well. They started as a death metal band with its first studio album "Soulside Journey" released in 1991. After that they changed style and started playing a raw and brutal black metal featuring Nocturno Culto and Fenriz. After 1993 this band remained a two men band. The band continued to play black metal until 2004 when they released their final black metal album entitled "Sardonic Wrath".
Soon after, the band changed their play style into speed metal with punk influences. Until today, the band released 14 studio albums, 4 compilation albums, 3 EPs and 5 demos.
1. Mayhem
No doubt, the most violent, the most aggressive, the most blasphemous but the best out of all the black metal bands. Mayhem can be considered the band that gave black metal the shape and the sound that we know today. Even though there were more earlier bands that played the same style, it featured a hybrid kind of black metal, incorporating influences from trash and speed metal. Mayhem was the band that managed to cast those influences aside and made black metal a distinctive metal genre. The band was founded by Euronymous, Manheim and Necrobutcher and with this line-up they recorded and released their first EP, Deathcrush in 1987. This album featured Maniac and Messiah as vocalists.
The band started to become notorious after Dead and Hellhammer were hired after Maniac and Manheim left the band. Dead used to cut himself on stage and go to any extent so that he can be satisfied with his stage performances. In 1991 he commits suicide and soon after in 1993, Euronymous is murdered. In 1994, with only Hellhammer left, the band released the long awaited album, "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" and soon after the band ceased to exist.
The band reunited in 1995 with a new line-up featuring Hellhammer, Rune Eriksen (Blasphemer) and with the help of two old members Necrobutcher and Maniac they recorded a new EP entitled "Wolf's Lair Abyss" released in 1997 which featured some technical influences rather than the typical raw black metal in the bands earlier releases. In 2000, the band released "Grand Declaration of War" which featured a totally different style, being influenced by progressive and avant-garde metal styles.
With the 2004 release of "Chimera" the band went back to its original black metal traits. After the release of this album, Maniac left the band and was replaced by Attila Csihar which did the vocal parts on De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas after Dead's suicide. With this line-up change, Mayhem released in 2007 "Ordo ad Chaos" which featured a more rawer sound than Chimera. In 2008, Rune Eriksenleft the band.
Mayhem's popularity among the black metal bands that emerged in the early 90s is also astonishing. Bands like Behemoth, Gorgoroth, Enslaved, Emperor and even death metal bands such as Vader made several covers for songs such as Freezing Moon or Funeral Fog taken from their De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas album.
Mayhem is considered the front runner of the black metal genre. Until today they released 6 studio albums, 4 live albums, 6 demos and 4 compilation albums.
