Returning to Norway, we encounter a band not as widely known as the elite of the second wave, but one that formed before many of them: OBTAINED ENSLAVEMENT. Formed in 1989 in Stord, they started out as a three-piece. The founding members initially went by their legal names before adopting evil stage names: Thomas ("Pest"), Orjan ("Torquemada"), and Ove ("Døden").
They toiled in the underground as a three-piece for a few years before Heks joined as second guitarist and keyboardist in 1992. It was then that they started putting out demos. After their self-titled demo in '92, it was 1993's Out of the Crypts that caught the ear of metalheads worldwide.
In its entirety, here is the Out of the Crypts demo
On their early nineties demos, OE was--like many Norwegian bands at the time--a raw old-school death metal band. Black metal was still in its infancy in Norway, with a mere smattering of second wave albums having been released.
Obtained Enslavement's sound, however, began to evolve. By the time of the release of their self-funded debut album--1994's Centuries of Sorrow--they had begun to take on a more blackened sound. The drum production still sounds pretty death metal to me, but otherwise, it's an aggressive black metal style. Listen below:
From their debut, here is "Dark Holiness"
Despite being basically self-released, Centuries of Sorrow caught the attention of the black metal underground. It didn't sound like the then-typical Norwegian sound. But change was in the air.
The follow-up was the brilliant Witchcraft, which took three years to release because of issues finding a reliable record label. The aggressive style of Centuries was gone in favor of a more traditional Norwegian black metal riffing. At the same time, Heks's synth playing--with the help of folk and classical instruments--added a grander, more epic feel to the songs. It's an incredible album that belongs in heavy rotation for any fan of melodic and symphonic black metal.
"From Times in Kingdoms..." is from Witchcraft
1998's Soulblight continued the sound of Witchcraft. It was a solid release of symphonic black metal that built on its predecessor. Highlighted by ice-cold riffing, Soulblight is a sorely overlooked classic of Norwegian black metal.
Soulblight gives us "The Dark Night of Souls"
These years were busy times for the members of Obtained Enslavement. In addition to releasing incredible black metal albums, their skills were in high demand elsewhere. Pest, for example, was briefly the vocalist for Gorgoroth--but OE was his main focus.
In 2000, OE released The Shepherd and the Hounds of Hell. An underwhelming release, it sounded more like typical black metal, and had a crisper, cleaner production style. It was not a bad album, but it alienated many fans. Around the time of the release of this album, Pest relocated to the USA. Shortly thereafter, the band broke up.
Select Discography:
Obtained Enslavement (demo) (1992)
Out of the Crypts (demo) (1993)
Centuries of Sorrow (full-length) (1994)
Witchcraft (full-length) (1997)
Soulblight (full-length) (1998)
The Shepherd and the Hounds of Hell (full-length) (2000)
There are some places that surprisingly have strong black metal scenes. One such place that we've already visited a couple of times is Singapore. Another surprise is Singaporean black metal band RUDRA. Drawing on themes from Indian Hindu culture, it is a reminder that Singapore was once a British colony and that almost one-tenth of Singapore's population is of Indian background.
Originally going by the name Rudhra and playing old-school death metal when they formed in 1992, the band has cited Slayer, Bathory, Black Sabbath, and early Sepultura as influences, among others. They took their name from one of the incarnations of the Hindu god Shiva--Rudra is a violent and destructive storm god!
Rudra's oldest recorded song, "Armageddon"
Their first released music was the song "Armageddon," which appeared on the third volume of the Made in Singapore compilation series in 1993. As you can hear above, Rudra's early music was vicious, old-school death metal. Some of their aforementioned influences can clearly be heard.
In 1994, Rudra put out their first official demo, The Past. We can hear the band's evolution on this demo as they began to move past old-school death metal into a more melodic style that even verges on black metal in some places. In this early stage, the band didn't really stand out as incredibly unique. It would be their next phase where their sound radically transformed.
"Atman" is from the self-titled album--notice Indian melodies throughout
Band members Shiva (drums) and Kathir (bass/vocals) decided that they needed to go in a new direction: they would incorporate Indian and Eastern melodies, as well as themes and mantras from ancient Sanskrit texts. This resulted in a self-titled demo in 1997 and a self-titled album in 1998 (which contained much of the same material as the demo) that completely changed the face of extreme metal. These days, metal that incorporates non-Western elements is typically called "oriental metal", but Rudra have taken to calling their music "vedic metal" (after the Hindu holy texts, the Vedas).
In addition to drawing on the philosophy of the holy texts of Hinduism, Rudra also hails the ancient Indo-Aryan people in their music. Unlike the myths at the heart of Western racism and Nazism, Rudra recognizes the actual Aryans--a cultural people group who flourished on the Indian subcontinent millenia ago. We see this tribute in many of Rudra's songs, as well as the title of their 2001 album, The Aryan Crusade.
From The Aryan Crusade, this is "Rudrapatni"
"Ravens of Paradise" comes from their 2009 album
Rudra has continued to hone and refine their vedic metal since transitioning away from the more traditional death/black metal stylings of their early years. In the 00's, they put out a trilogy of albums with title Brahmavidya (where each of the three albums had a different subtitle). They then followed it up with what is arguably their most epic release, 2013's Rta.
An example of Rta's epicness, this is "Assault"
And to this day, Rudra still continues to churn out vedic-inspired extreme metal that transcends the black metal genre. There really is no one else quite like them.
Select Discography:
The Past (demo) (1994)
Rudra (demo) (1997)
Metal Legion EP (split) (1998)
Rudra (full-length) (1998)
The Aryan Crusade (full-length) (2001)
Kurukshetra (full-length) (2003)
Brahmavidya: Primordial I (full-length) (2005)
Brahmavidya: Transcendental I (full-length) (2009)
Sweden's black metal scene is almost as fruitful as Norway's, full of great and classic bands. One band that doesn't get enough attention is DAWN. From the city of Linköping, Dawn is a band you need to know.
Dating back to founder Fredrik Söderberg's solo efforts at starting a band in the late 80's, Dawn didn't actually form until 1990. Drawing influence from a wide range of metal bands--including Dio, Mercyful Fate, Celtic Frost, Slayer, and Kreator--Dawn's early sound had more in common with melodic death metal than black metal.
"Incantation of Unholyness" is off of one of Dawn's early demos
During these early years, the Swedish death metal scene figured prominently in Dawn's song writing. By their own admission, they made changes to their own style because of what bands like Eucharist and Entombed were doing. That said, Dawn didn't copy what was going on--for example, they didn't downtune their guitars as low as others did (and this contributed to their unique sound).
By late 1993, Dawn had recorded their debut album, Nær sólen gar niþer for evogher. They had signed a contract with Necropolis Records, who released the album in '94. According to Fredrik Söderberg, this wasn't truly black metal, but a combination of the various genres and styles that influenced the band. This included death metal, thrash metal, classic heavy metal, alternative, and classical. As a result, their sound was one that didn't fit neatly into a category. It bore the hallmarks of melodic Swedish death metal, but it also verged on melodic black metal in terms of style.
"Everflaming" is from Dawn's debut full-length album
A classic album, Dawn's debut established them as a force to be reckoned with in the world of extreme metal. But, all told, they were not 100% satisfied with Nær sólen, so they continued to grow as a band. Their stated goal was to make sure they didn't copy anyone else's sound. According to the band, they upped their rehearsal times, and took to touring more. As a result, the band evolved into a stronger, tighter outfit.
From their 1996 EP, this is "Sorrow Flew on Black Wings"
As a result, you can hear their sound progressing from their debut album, to their 1996 EP (Sorgh på svarte vingar fløgh), to their second full-length album, 1997's Slaughtersun. While their sound on their debut was closer to melodic death metal (think early Dark Tranquillity meets Necrophobic), by Slaughtersun, their sound had a grander feel. Carefully placed synths and epic guitar riffs gave their second album a more black metal feel. To my mind, this is an album that should be in conversation with Dissection's Storm of the Light's Bane.
From Slaughtersun, this is "The Knell and the World"
Since that album, there have been rumors about a third studio album, tentatively titled The Fourfold Furnace. While Fredrik has revealed that he's written guitar riffs for the album, and that an artist has worked on what might become its album cover, the band has not gotten around to recording this album. We'll see what the future holds.
Select Discography:
Demo 1 (1992)
Apparition (demo) (1992)
Promotional Demo (1993)
Nær sólen gar niþer for evogher (full-length) (1994)
Sorgh på svarte vingar fløgh EP (1996)
Slaughtersun (Crown of the Triarchy) (full-length) (1998)
Heading back to Poland, we discover the mighty INFERNUM, a band second in importance only to Graveland and Behemoth in the Polish scene. Their story gets a little tricky because of competing visions of black metal and the existence of more than one band named Infernum...
While Graveland's Rob Darken was a member of Infernum, the band really is the brainchild of Grzegorz "Karcharoth" Jurgielewicz. A prolific musician who contributed mightily to Poland's black metal scene, he also wrestled with severe schizophrenia in his private life.
An early 90s picture of Karcharoth
Infernum was formed in late 1992, and in these early days, Grzegorz went by Anextiomarus. He and drummer Balrog put out their first demo, The Dawn Will Never Come. After meeting and recruiting Darken, they put out a second demo, Damned Majesty, on which Darken played synths. Both of these demos were put out in 1993. Infernum played a raw, yet atmospheric, black metal on those early demos.
"The Dawn Will Never Come" is actually off of the second demo
Shortly after the second demo, Capricornus took over on drums. This was the beginning of Graveland and Infernum sharing the same line-up: Darken, Anextiomarus (who was now going by "Karcharoth"), and Capricornus. This was also around the time that Infernum took the plunge into the political far-right world of National Socialism (Nazism). This involvement in the far-right was clearly an extension of Karcharoth's obsession with extreme evil.
By this time, Infernum had proven themselves on their demos, and so had attracted the interest of record labels. Polish label Astral Wings signed Infernum and agreed to pay for the recording sessions. The resulting album was the now-classic ...Taur-nu-Fuin..., an atmospheric, pagan-infused black metal masterpiece.
From that debut comes "In the Black Clouds of War"
Problems emerged after the release of the album. Karcharoth and Capricornus had written a veritable screed in the album's liner notes, and it was more or less Nazi rantings. This brought the band to the attention of the Polish authorities (as a country that bore the brunt of the Nazis' hate in WW2, it makes sense that the authorities would not take kindly to Nazi writings).
This was also around the same time that Karcharoth's schizophrenia emerged and began to make life difficult for him and his fellow Polish musicians. Karcharoth did continue to contribute to the Polish black metal scene--including playing bass for Graveland, and beginning to write and record the follow-up to ...Taur-nu-Fuin...--but he also became more erratic. This culminated in Karcharoth attempting to travel to Norway to kill Fenriz over some perceived slight.
Between episodes like this and harassment from the authorities, Karcharoth began to isolate himself from his former bandmates. His grip on reality began to get more and more tenuous, until he took his own life in 2004.
A pic of the classic Infernum line-up
In the early 2000s, there were two separate efforts to continue the work of Infernum. Darken and Capricornus took the already-recorded material and finished it, resulting in the 2005 album Farewell. Once that album was finished, they laid the band to rest. At the same time, Karcharoth recruited some musicians to be a totally new Infernum, and they recorded completely new material. This material did not emerge as an album (2006's The Curse) until after Karcharoth's suicide. This second incarnation of the band soldiered on for a few more years before ultimately calling it a day in 2009.
"Black March" is from the 'true' Infernum's final album, 2005's Farewell
Select Discography:
The Dawn Will Never Come (demo) (1993)
Damned Majesty (demo) (1993)
...Taur-Nu-Fuin... (full-length) (1994)
Farewell (full-length) (2005)
When the Light Has Died (demo) (recorded 1996, released 2019)
Formed by Jørn after his time in Old Funeral, Hades was perhaps one of the most important innovators of viking metal (after Enslaved) in the '90s. Hailing from Bergen, Jørn was joined by Remi at the band's formation in late 1991/early 1992.
Picking up Janto and Nagel to round out the band, Hades put out their now-famous demo, Alone Walkyng, in 1993. Focusing on atmosphere over speed, the clear influence of Bathory's viking period can be heard. According to Jørn, they wanted to make music inspired by their ancestors. Alone Walkyng ranks as a classic demo in Norwegian black metal.
Here is the complete demo
The demo made quite a splash in the black metal world because of how different it sounded from the then-typical Norwegian sound. The band was courted by several labels, eventually signing with the just-formed Full Moon Productions. They then entered the studio to record their debut full-length album. The resulting album, ...Again Shall Be, stands out from the pack of 1994's Norwegian black metal because of its glorious mid-paced, epic songs.
"Hecate (Queen of Flames)" is from their debut
Unfortunately, Jørn's non-musical activities began to impact the band. He had been involved with Varg Vikernes in church burnings, and the authorities caught up to him in late '93. He was convicted and sent to prison in early 1995. This obviously had an impact on the band's ability to continue their music-making activities.
Luckily, he and Hades were still able to collaborate in the writing of the next album. The album was recorded in 1996, and in 1997, Dawn of a Dying Sun was released. This album was in the vein of their debut, but the song writing was stronger. ...Again Shall Be was a fantastic album of second-wave Norwegian viking metal, but Dawn was a masterpiece.
"Awakening of Kings" comes from Hades's 1997 album
A mix of ripping black metal riffs and Hammerheart-inspired song structures, Dawn of a Dying Sun belongs in the collection of any black metal fan, right next to Enslaved's 90s work and Bathory's viking metal trilogy. Listen to "Awakening of Kings", above, to hear how the album deftly combines black metal that easily holds its own with the Norwegian classics and epic viking metal passages. Truly brilliant.
Around this time, the American thrash band Hades became aware of the existence of Norway's Hades. For copyright reasons, they demanded a name change. The result was that Jørn and company became Hades Almighty. At the same time, they also began exploring new ways to expand their black metal sound. The resulting album, 1999's Millenium Nocturne, is a great progressive approach to black metal for the 21st century.
"Warcry" is an awesome song from 1999's Millenium Nocturne
Since that change, the band has not been extremely prolific-- one full-length album (2001's Pulse of Decay) and an EP (2015's Pyre Era, Black!). So, we hold our breath awaiting a new release from these viking metal pioneers.
While Mütiilation may be the most well-known of the Black Legions bands, there are so many more worth noting. VLAD TEPES, from France's Brittany region, is perhaps the most noteworthy of the remaining Black Legions bands.
Formed some time around 1992, Vlad Tepes was composed of Vorlok Drakksteim and Wlad Drakksteim (no relation to each other). Taking their band name from the historic person that inspired Dracula, we can see the vampiric obsession of Les Légions Noires (LLM) continuing. Wlad was the primary song writer for Vlad Tepes, as Vorlok focused his song writing energies on side project Black Murder (see bottom of this entry). As far as inspiration goes, they've specifically mentioned Venom, Bathory's first four albums, and the early black metal of Burzum and Darkthrone. And those two Norwegian bands are a good reference point for Vlad Tepes's sound: imagine Transilvanian Hunger and Filosofem in a blender, and you're pretty close.
This is the title track from their War Funeral March demo
Their first couple of demos were self-released, but the now-famous War Funeral March demo was issued by Full Moon Productions. A review of this release in a zine by FMP proprietor Thorns led to death threats from members of LLN! Most of the rest of Vlad Tepes's output was self-released demos that were never meant to see the light of day.
"Wladimir's March/Massacre Song from the Devastated Lands" is from the split with Belkètre
The major exception were two split CDs: one with Torgeist and one with Belkétre. These were actually put out by real record labels and are some of the only officially sanctioned releases by LLN members. March to the Black Holocaust--the split with Belkètre--is lauded as some of the best work by LLN.
From the split with Torgeist, here is "Warmoon Lord"
Like many of the LLN bands, Vlad Tepes kind of burnt out around 1996-7. Their drive to create black metal music had fizzled out, so they disbanded. In the 2010s, much of Vlad Tepes's discography was re-released in box set, the most complete of which is 2018's A Catharsis of Human Illness on Drakkar Productions.
Select Discography:
Rehearsal Winter '93 (demo) (1993)
War Funeral March (demo) (1994)
Return of the Unweeping (demo) (1994)
Celtic Poetry (demo) (1994)
Brouillons I (demo) (1995)
Brouillons II (demo) (1995)
Dans notre chute... (demo) (1995)
Massacre Song from the Devastated Lands (demo) (1995)
March to the Black Holocaust (split with Belkètre) (1995)
As well-known as Mütiilation and Vlad Tepes might be, BELKÈTRE might actually lay claim to being the spiritual heart of the LLN. Hailing from Dordogne in southwest France, they are perhaps the oldest band in LLN.
Arising from the ashes of earlier French black metal band ZELDA (who themselves seem to be a continuation of an even earlier band, CHAPEL OF GHOULS), Belkètre was the result of the collaboration between two major figures in LLN, Lord Aäkon Këëtrëh and Vordb Dréagvor Uèzréèvb (notice the names spelled in their invented language, Gloatre).
Like most of the bands in LLN, Belkètre released the majority of their music in limited fashion. Their demos allegedly only were intended for a small devoted circle, yet were able to make their way to the wide world in the form of unauthorized bootlegs.
While their split with Vlad Tepes may be their best-known work, it is the album-length demo Ambre Zuèrkl Vuorhdrévarvtre which is their true masterpiece. Unlike their earlier work--which is nasty, cold, and vicious--much of Ambre'snew material has an atmospheric feel that almost sounds like a rawer Strid, or an angry Xasthur.
As with most other LLN bands, Belkètre ceased putting out material when the circle dissolved. Rumors circulated that the band members had killed themselves, and perhaps the band's bleak nihilism lent itself to that rumor. After all, Vordb did once say that "my works have no future in this world" because "creation...is purely human" and "[o]nly destruction is Satanic and eternal."
In its entirety, here are the Belkètre songs from their split with Vlad Tepes
Interestingly enough, Vordb has resurfaced in recent years with his own label (Kaleidarkness). New Bèlketre material has emerged, and old material has been re-issued.
Select Discography:
Studio Tracks (demo) (1993)
The Dark Promise (demo) (1994)
Twilight of the Black Holocaust (demo) (1994)
March to the Black Holocaust (split with Vlad Tepes) (1995)
One of the lesser bands from LLN that I think is worth listening to is TORGEIST. A product of the collaboration of multiple members from other projects (Lord Aäkon Këëtrëh, Vordb Dréagvor Uèzréèvb, Lord Beleth'rim, among others in its rotating line-up), it is debated by some whether or not Torgeist was actually an LLN project. It seems to meet all the criteria: made by LLN members, only active during the years LLN was active, only releasing obscure demos except for a split CD with an LLN band, and so on.
This is the title track from their first titled demo
Torgeist's sound is fairly typical of LLN black metal: raw, nasty, unpolished. That said, I'd say that the drum sound sets them apart, and the vocals seem angrier than most other LLN bands. All in all, I think of Torgeist as one of the better executed LLN projects, and probably more accessible to the casual black metal fan.
"Flame of Hate" comes from their second titled demo
Select Discography:
Rehearsal '94 (demo) (1994)
Devoted to Satan (demo) (1994)
Time of Sabbath (demo) (1996)
Black Legions Metal (split with Vlad Tepes) (1996)
LLN had many other bands, not all of them black metal. Several dark ambient and dungeon synth projects counted themselves as members. In terms of black metal bands worth listening to that I haven't already mentioned, I recommend BRENORITVREZORKRE (a prolific side project of Vordb Dréagvor Uèzréèvb),BLACK MURDER (a project whose music was written when Vorlok Drakksteim "wanted to kill"), and SEVISS.
Select Discography:
Black Murder, Promo '94 (demo) (1994)
---, Those Black Desires That Torment My Soul (demo) (1995)
In the Czech black metal scene, the names of A-list bands like Master's Hammer, Root, and Maniac Butcher ring out. But just below them are bands like AVENGER. Hailing from the South Bohemian Region, they formed in 1992 as Astaroth before changing their name in 1993.
Announcing themselves to the world with demos like 1994's Minister of Madness, they began life as an old-school death metal band. Their sound was unremarkable in this regard, but the best was yet to come.
Here is Minister of Madness in its entirety
They struggled getting off the ground because of their early line-up instability, but after some label interest, were able to put out their debut full-length album, 1997's Shadows of the Damned. Their sound was still fundamentally an old-school death metal style, but with some black metal elements mixed in (I maintain that some of the riffing in some of the songs would sound more like black metal with slightly different drumming laid underneath).
"Kořeny zla" comes from Shadows of the Damned
Their follow-up album was 1999's Fall of Devotion, Wrath and Blasphemy. The band was initially not happy with the album's sound, so they re-recorded it in 2001 at Hellsound, a studio owned and operated by band co-founder and primary song writer Honza Kapák. Whichever version you listen to, the change in sound from their first album is apparent. It's still a (mostly) death metal foundation, but with some black metal riffs and drumming. Sound-wise, it's as if old-school Swedish death and black metal collaborated.
From their second full-length album, this is "V Okovech"
As the years passed, Avenger's sound began to incorporate more and more black metal elements. They've become known in metal circles for their blackened death metal style, but they call themselves "Bohemian dark metal" (even going so far as to release an album with that title in 2012). After the release of a sixth album in 2017, they disbanded--only to reform as a new band, Bohemyst.
From 2003's Godless, here is "Execution of the Soul"
Bohemian Dark Metal gives us "Fales a apatie"
Select Discography:
Pandemonium (demo) (1993)
Eternal Voices of Hell (demo) (1993)
Minister of Madness (demo) (1994)
The Black Zone (demo) (1995)
Shadows of the Damned (full-length) (1997)
Fall of Devotion, Wrath and Blasphemy (full-length) (1999/2001)
Godless (...Assuming the Throne of Immortality...) (full-length) (2003)
Feast of Anger, Joy of Despair (full-length) (2009)
Bohemian Dark Metal (full-length) (2012)
Next time: FRANCE'S LES LÉGIONS NOIRES - VLAD TEPES
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