A Gruesome Find: The Fire That Burns In Hell

Hailing from the US, A Gruesome Find play a brand of melodic black metal in vain of Emperor or Rotting Christ, but also include touches of death metal into their sound as well. “The Fire the Burns in Hell” is my only experience with the band and although, I’ve heard mixed reviews about their other work, I must say I was rather impressed with what this album had to offer.

The music on “The Fire the Burns in Hell” is built on the foundation of melodic hooks that peak the listener’s interest which are followed by a bevy of thick and heavy riffs that command your attention. The riffs are generally a mixture between tremolo picking and melodic death metal similar to those in the Gothenburg scene. This combination makes for some catchy and powerful leads that remain in the spotlight for the majority of each song. The structures of the songs are generally comprised of one main riff, which then has a short, but melodic passage, then transition into another, distinct riff, which essentially serves as the main rhythm of the guitars. A good example would be “...as the Wind Blows in Darkness”, where the songs opens with a short, but strong hook, which then descends quickly into a exchange of heavy riffs throughout the song.

The drums are tight sounding and offer plenty of blast beats, snares and cymbal crashes to create an atmosphere of dissonance and destruction. Although the vocals punch quite a bunch and are aggressively in the forefront of the music, they are, what one might say, run of the mill in originality. That, by no means, belittles their overall sound, nor do they sound bad in any manner. They’re just, a sound that you’ve heard many times over before. The bass is noticeably absent for the most part, but the band does flirt with the aesthetic a little by add some pianos as can be heard on “Summoning of the Nocturnal Spirit”.

There is a double edged aspect to the album that must also be pointed out. Each song is a minimum of five minutes and upwards to nine plus. On one hand this allows for some of the songs’ riff exchanging to take it effect and create an enjoyable listening experience as you immerse yourself in the melodic death tinged black metal sounds. On the other, a few songs suffer from over staying their welcome just a little too long. At some points, instead of a riffs sounding like they’re changing hands, they sound more like, simply recycling the same notes over and over.

“The Fire that Burns in Hell” may not be on the level as anything released by the likes of Rotting Christ, Cradle of Filth or Dimmu Borgir, but their deathy, USBM sound was a welcome addition to the many symphonic black metal acts at the time. Instrumental blemishes and length issues aside, “The Fire That Burns in Hell” would be a welcome addition to any black metal fans collection.

Highlights: “...As the Wind Blows In Darkness” “Bring Forth” “The Fire That Burns In Hell”

Rating: 3.5

A Forest of Stars: Beware the Sword you Cannot See

A forest of stars is what would be effectively know as avant-garde, but play to my ear what is a blend of progressive black metal with elements of folk peeking through from time to time. The music on Beware the Sword You Cannot See is an amalgamation of sounds and emotions which is accomplished through a variety of instruments including; flute, violin, keyboards and piano, as well as harsh and clean vocals, spoken word and female vocals. To incorporate such a vast amount of elements into a cohesive sound is no easy task and as such, would require complex song structures and adept songwriting to be successful.

Such complexity (and success I might add) can be heard right out of the gate on the opener “Drawing Down the Rain.” This nine-and-a-half-minute mammoth, should be viewed more so as a listening experience rather than simply a song, in that the various passages and changes throughout the song inspire a number of moods and emotions.

We begin with a soft and melodic opening, creating an inviting atmosphere to lull the listener into a sense of calmness. Then, the violin kicks in and adds a bit of upbeat folky nature to the sound before suddenly, tremolo picking and blast beating drums erupt sending the listener spiraling into another world. After the initial assault, the mood shifts into an Edge of Sanity style echoing passage that installs a hope in the listener that the violence has finally subsided. Shortly after, we hear the introduction of the female vocals which have an almost siren effect to ease the tension, which then transitions into a long, winding path of dissonance as the song shifts to an almost Gothic sounding overtone. The lonely section carries on until finally, a sorrowful violin caps off the song, marking the end of your trudging experience.

Dramatic? You bet, but in order for an avant-garde act to successfully convey their thoughts and ideals onto the listener, they have to be able to install such an effect. Complex structures and layered instrumentation cannot simply be viewed as a singular entity, but rather as Aristotle once said “The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts”. Once you sit down and hear all the finer details that is put into this type of music, the appreciation of such a diverse and intricate sound can be attained. Songs such as “A Blaze of Hammers” and “Hive Mindless” are no less diverse than the opener in that they are, in and of themselves separate listening experiences, but each are unique in their own right.

Now, that being said, just because you simply jam a bunch of instruments, tempos, passages and musical genres into an album, doesn’t’ necessarily mean result in a successful outcome. The juggling of some many layered sounds and effects requires a level of competence that can only be attained through concise songwriting and a dedication to the finer details of one’s vision. This is an area where A Forest of Stars excels as, each of the songs is equally complex, but at no point becomes redundant nor do either of the songs sound too much like one another. Even the monstrous Pawn on the Universal Chessboard, which albeit is broken into six parts, is essentially one long story being told that, maintains its core sound across all six songs, yet each part carries its own identity.

It is very difficult to put into words the listening experience of what Beware the Sword You Cannot See offers, as I believe, every person will experience it differently. This is a complicated album in which one needs to keep an open mind while listening, but I will say that one or two listens simply will not be enough. Once you hear the album on its fourth and fifth time, you’ll continually discover new sounds that will only enhance your experience.

Highlights: “A Blaze of Hammers” “Draw Down the Rain” “Pawn on the Universal Chessboard”

Rating: 3.5

Battlelust: Of Battle and Ancient Warcraft

I bought this on Half.com back in the day for 2 bucks if I recall correctly. At the time, it was labeled just as heavy metal and with a pretty cool looking cover art, I figured at worst, this would be low budget power metal. Instead, this wound up being low budget black metal. Surprise aside, the first thing that came to my mind when listening to "OF Battle and Ancient Warcraft", was just how vanilla everything sounded. Standard guitar riffs with endless drum kicks and black metal 101 vocals. I will say though; the predictability of the songs was not the most disappointing aspect of this record. I mean, I've listened to numerous death metal, power metal and metalcore albums that I felt I had already heard before even giving them a spin. The difference here however, is even if it is predictable, the quality of the sound is simply not good. The guitars are way too distorted; almost as if they were going for a classic basement sounding production, but failed to capture that type of atmosphere. The low quality sound, predictable nature and simplistic style plays through most of the album, but the band does add some keyboards into the mix on a few songs, which is strange. The keys seem almost as if they realized they could have incorporated them into their sound, but had already recorded the majority of the album and it was too late to go back.

 If I were looking at this with a positive narrative, I would say that there are a few songs that although bland, are decent. "Armageddon Arrives" and "Of Battle and Ancient Warcraft" have a pretty decent base sound, but that's about the height of their praise. I think, had the band added more layers to their sound via keyboards and variation of riffs and drumming, some of these songs could have been pretty good, but at the end of the day, this feels rushed and very amateurish. I could only recommend this to rabid black metal fans.

Highlights: "Of Battle and Ancient Warcraft" "Armageddon Arrives" "The Dawn of Black Hearts"

Rating: 1.5

Bathory: Under the Sign of the Black Mark

Black metal has a very murky history. Beginning with demonic inspired thrash and evolving into actual demonic worship, the history and culture surrounding the genre make for an interesting read to say the least. Now, when I’m asked to recommend a few albums of “quintessential” black metal,  I always point to a handful of albums. Among those albums, “Under the Sign of the Black Mark” is always near the top (as is “Bathory”). Why? Well, for starters, aside from this being an incredible listen, which we’ll get into shortly, this album, in my opinion, would be Bathory’s purest attempt at black metal ever. As it began, “Bathory” was an excellent display of blackened thrash metal with evil riffs and dark ideals. “The Return…” saw a little more thrash exude from their sound, but was no less evil in nature. “Under the Sign of the Black Mark” however, shifts to the black metal sound that most will associate with the genre. But, there’s a twist. What makes “Under the Sign of the Black Mark” so special (and the band in general for that matter) is that, even though the music on display here is indeed black metal, it has such many layers to its sound that makes it so much more than just black metal by definition.

The sound on “Under the Sign of the Black Mark” can only be described as intently above and beyond. I don’t just mean in your face, blasting noise that will burst your ear drums and leave your neck broken from too much headbanging (which is still possible), rather a complex mixture of sounds, styles and emotions. Quorthon unleashes his creativity like never before on this album, which as stated before, would help develop the truest sound of black metal. A sound that bands to this day still incorporate into their own (every time I listen to the band Countess, I think of “Call from the Grave”). However, what makes this album a true masterpiece is just how varied the sounds are layered throughout the album. This isn’t just a tremolo pick fest that morphs into one long winded song. This is black metal with catchy riffs, seamless rhythms and well executed solos. That alone, especially at the time, made this an anomaly of sorts, but it doesn’t stop there. The addition of Viking chanting displayed on “13 Candles” or the doomy (Viking I suppose) lead on “Enter the Eternal Fire” or the short, but spastic thrash riffs shown on “Chariots of Fire” show just how much creativity went into the song writing for this album.

I thought the production on “The Return…” saw great improvement, but on this album, it is even better. Somehow, all the instruments and sounds are able to stand out on their own, but, to my ear the drums seem to have been brought to the forefront of the sound. This offers a unique experience, as they don’t take away from the rest of the sound, but they demand your attention as they establish their importance to the flow of the music itself. You could argue that the drums on “Under the Sign of the Black Mark” are easily the driving force to the overall sound, a force that in and of themselves add their own layer to the music, but in the end help bring everything together.

“Under the Sign of the Black Mark’s” legacy will forever be set in stone as, not only one of the forefathers of true black metal, but it would also serve as the beginning of Quorthon’s journey into discovering another sound that he would go on to pioneer and mold: Viking Metal (more of a description rather than a gene, but we’ll get into that on a later date). I recommend this album every time I’m asked about black metal, as it should, but it will almost always be mentioned in the “top x” metal albums of all time as well and rightfully so. Enough’s enough. Go listen to this album if you haven’t already instead of reading about it.

Highlights: “13 Candles” “Enter the Eternal Fire” “Call from the Grave”

Rating: 5

Bathory: The Return...

“The Return…” is sandwiched between the landmark “Bathory” and the black metal classic “Under the Black”. As such, I always found that “The Return…” seemed to be overlooked when it came to discussing the classics of the era. It’s a shame really, as “The Return…” may not be as iconic as wither of those albums, it is still a very good release nonetheless. Now, first and foremost, although I enjoyed this album, it no way in shape or form was better than its predecessor. Nor its successor either, but that’s another review. However, by no means, am I insinuating that “The Return…” should be overlooked. Far from it.

The music on “The Return…” is another slab of blackened thrash centered around the themes of darkness and evil. The overall sound is a bit more thrash oriented than “Bathory” but there’s still plenty of black metal influence lurking within the music. The song structures, intense riffs and sporadic solos show off the band’s ability to create a layered sound without trying to become too overly complex. The bass on this album is a huge upgrade as its presence is quickly noticed by way of your speaker vibrating though the album. The production should also get a tip of the cap, as the overall sound is less of a garage style recording, allowing the instruments to come together a little more homogeneously instead of centering on one particular sound.

At the end of the day, “The Return…” should not be overlooked when it comes to classic black metal or even thrash metal. I can’t say that it is as memorable as Bathory’s other albums, but it’s still a solid addition to their catalog. Fans of primal black and thrash will enjoy the album for what it is, but I would suspect most will always point to other Bathory albums when asked which to choose. All in all, still worth a listen.

Highlights: “The Wind of Mayhem” “Sadist (Tormentor)” “The Return of Darkness and Evil”

Rating: 3.5

Aeba: Im Schattenreich

As I often do, I tend to scour people’s lists of “must hear” or “Top X” metal albums, but the ones I really enjoy are the lists dealing with the obscure and overlooked. From its earliest days, heavy metal has seen hundreds of obscure gems that have gone by the way side or tragically, simply never got their chance to shine. One day, I happened to be searching a list of black metal albums that had “gone under the radar” and the band Aeba popped up. I had heard of the band in the past, but had never heard any of their work, but the album in particular that landed on that list was “Im Schattenreich...”. I’ll admit, the cover was what sold me, as it had a mid-90’s darkness about it, one that I love in a good black metal gem, so I took a chance.

Now, “Im Schattenreich...” is listed as a demo, but much like Nokturnal Mortum’s “Lunar Poetry”, this is as close to a full length as you’re going to get. At seven songs clocking in over 41 minutes, this, much like many other “full length” demos, offers far more than just a few sample songs.

Hailing from Germany, Aeba play black metal that pays homage to the classic, raw sound that black metal build upon, while adding some technical approaches to their music. The riffs on this album are not just your standard tremolo picking that many vanilla black metal bands rest their laurels upon. Instead, they are layered with the other instruments which help create a somber mood throughout the album, but all the while maintaining their ferocity in their own right. The riffs are clearly the driving force on this album, as they take hold of the listener right away, but they do so in a way as to not simply hog the spotlight.

Aeba also add in keyboards throughout their songs, allowing the bridging of sections and the transition in moods. But, don’t let the keys frighten you away. This is by no means your standard symphonic black metal album, which is drenched in keyboards. The keys offer a nice wall of sound, but they do so more in the background, essentially playing wingman to the guitars as take control of each song.

  

The bass really enhances the power of the guitar. Their loud, crunchy presence is nice to hear on a black metal album, which technically a demo at that. The drums pound away throughout the album, but they are by no means simply just along for the ride. The drums offer a crucial element to the sound, changing their tempo quite often which enables the band to creating a melodic sound using both the guitars and keyboards.  

One thing a like about these songs are the length.  The songs on, "Im Schattenreich" average roughly 7 minutes and although a couple would probably have benefited from shaving off a minute or two, none of the tracks are crammed with filler just for the sake of having long songs. As I final note, I will mention the production on “Im Schattenreich...” as even though this is a demo, it sounds very crisp. Yes, the classic raw like sound exists, but it is not basement, mobile cassette recorder sounding by any means. All of the instruments, save the drums at times, can be heard and appreciated throughout.

“Im Schattenreich...” is the reason why I love scouring lists of hidden or obscure albums. So many times in the past, I’ve passed on albums, simply because they didn’t have any ratings or reviews, but as I’ve learned over time, sometimes, those albums can be pure gold. This is one such case of a pleasant surprise after taking a blind chance.  

Highlights: "Gottesmord" "Dragonstorm" "Revenge - The Strength Beyond the Light"

Rating: 3.5

Mayhem: De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

"De mysteriis dom Sathanas" is without a doubt, the most recognized black metal album ever. One glance at its somber looking cover at you just think, true black metal. That being said, this album is not my "quintessential must listen to" black metal album on a personal level. That would go to either Immortals "Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism" or Darkthrone's "Under a Funeral Moon". That being said, history and legend aside, this album is still a very good black metal album. It has everything you'd want from black metal at the time; tremolo picking, demonic vocals and a not overly produced sound. The drums continuously assault the listener as they blast away allowing the guitars to shred you to pieces. I, and I would imagine most, would point to this album as a must listen for black metal. Yes, the history of the band and the black metal movement is a big reason, but the other reason is that this is a damn good album. It's dark, it's evil, it's crushing in sound and well, what else could you ask for in a classic black metal album. It's by no means perfect and there are a few songs on here to which don't find their way on to my highlights reel, but you shouldn't have any problem listening to this from start to finish.

Highlights: "Buried By Time And Dust" "Funeral Fog" "Freezing Moon"

Rating: 4

Darkthrone: Under a Funeral Moon

When it comes to "must listen to" history of black metal albums, it's always tough for me to choose. On one hand, I always suggest Mayhem's "De mysteriis dom Sathanas " for the historical value and Venom's "Black Metal" for the same reason. On the other, Bathory and Burzum always get nods as well, but for me there are a couple releases I tend gravitate towards. "Under a Funeral Moon" happens to be one of those choices. Now, I believe that Darkthrone's golden era would begin with "A Blaze in the Northern Sky" and continue up to and including "Panzerfaust". Personally, I don't think you can go wrong with any of those releases in terms of classic black metal. For me, "Under a Funeral Moon, gets a slight edge. Maybe it's because it was my first experience with Darkthrone, but in any case, this album is what I would say is Quintessential black metal listening (1 of 2).

This album is the definition of black metal. Distorted madness, tremolo picking, suicidal lyrics, screams of agony and the raw sound that black metal has always had an affinity toward. The riffs on this album display the talent of these Norwegians, showing that they are not just one trick ponies and while the drums are muffled a bit, I think they intended it to be that way. This isn't a death metal album, so the drums didn't need to be the driving force of the sound. Despite their muffled sound, they fit just fine, as they don't leave any holes in the music at all. To my ears, this is truly what I came to expect black metal to be, or what all other black metal after this releases aspired to achieve. A must have for black metal fans or those wondering where to start with black metal.

Highlights: "Summer of the Diabolical Holocaust" "Unholy Black Metal" "Under a Funeral Moon"

Rating: 5

Immortal: Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism

As I stated before, "De mysteriis dom Sathanas" is often cited as the granddaddy of black metal. Although the album is not undeserving of such title, for my there are two others that hold that title. The first being Darkthrone's "Under a Funeral Moon" and of course, Immortal's "Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism". Now, I'll be the first to admit, that this not Immortal's best release, but it is a very underrated black metal album. Their following release such as, "At the Heart of Winter" or "Pure Holocaust" would set some high standards of what future black metal bands would try to achieve, but their debut should not be overlooked. I've always felt that this album was pure rawness in the grandest terms of black metal. Sure it's not as fast and ferocious as their other releases, but what it lacks in tenacity it more than makes up with its atmospheric capabilities. Elements of doom seep into the songs as well as the use of acoustic guitars and a touch of keyboards, which adds to the layered complexity of these tracks.

With that, I must say that, I certainly have a biased view toward this album. This was the first black metal album that I owned. I picked it up at the second hand music shop in high school and digested it over and over before I even realized other albums such as "Under a Funeral Moon" or "De mysteriis dom Sathanas" existed. My opinion about this album being one of the must haves may be a little skewed, but regardless, I still think it is a fine piece of black metal nonetheless.

Highlights:   “Call of the Wintermoon”  “Unholy Forces of Evil” “Cryptic Winterstorms” “Blacker than Darkness”

Rating: 4.5

Bathory: Bathory

One of the two albums that birthed everything we know and love as Black Metal. Venom's "Black Metal" is another topic altogether, but Bathory's debut would be the beginning of what would become a legend in the making.

"Bathory" is, at its core, blackened thrash with the intent to destroy all those you dare listen. The speed and riffs right from the opening track "Hades" (this is true for the original pressing. My reissue has Storm of Damnation, an intro for the first track), tell the listener exactly what they are in for and they don't let up until the end. "Reaper" is my favorite Bathory song hands down and I can remember blasting this my first year in the dorms at college, despite my neighbors being terrified of what kind of psycho would listen to such evil. The drums blast away relentlessly to match the ferocity of the guitars, while Quorthon belts out some of his best vocals. There is plenty of technique on display with well executed solos and catchy melodies to please any metal fan.

Now, this may blur the lines of what the standard sound of what modern day black metal would evoke into, but Bathory's influence would be felt in black metal circles to this day. This album is like a fine wine; an intoxicating first experience that only gets better with age. Even today, I play this record and still feel like a stupid 19 year old kid, banging my head and putting on an air guitar display for Satan himself.

Highlights: (From original pressing) All tracks, but "Hades" "Necromansy" "Reaper" "Armageddon" are exceptional.

Rating: 5