In terms of black metal, Switzerland gave the world the brilliant Hellhammer/Celtic Frost and Samael. But not too far below those bands is ALASTIS, from the canton of Valais. Not exactly a household name, Alastis toiled in the black metal underground in one form or another since the late 1980s. Starting off as more of a death/thrash band in 1987 under the name Fourth Reich, these Swiss metal maniacs released a demo entitled Fatidical Date (in 1989). Like many extreme metal bands, Fourth Reich did not actually harbor Nazi sympathies--they just used the name for effect.
Not too long after the release of the Fatidical Date demo, the band morphed into Alastis (they took their name from the demon Alastor). They also changed from a death/thrash sound to a more black metal style with melodic elements. One can even hear the influence of early Celtic Frost on some of their demo material. In their first two years of existence as Alastis they put out the Black Wedding demo (1990) and an untitled 1991 promo.
From the Black Wedding demo, this is "My Suicide"
Before the release of their first studio album--1992's The Just Law--some of their members joined Samael. In fact, Alastis has had many lineup changes over the years. The only constant until their break-up was founder War D.
The title track from 1992's The Just Law
The Just Law was a continuation of Alastis' earlier sound: one can hear the slower, more methodical, Celtic Frost-inspired riffing laid over top an eerie and melodic atmosphere. Over the next few releases they honed this sound, incorporating keyboards for mood, and at times verging on an almost gothic style.
This is "By Thy Name," from 1995's ...And Death Smiled
Notice the more creative use of synths. "In Darkness" is off of 1997's The Other Side
Toward the end of their existence, Alastis did come to resemble mid-period Samael more and more (think Ceremony of Opposites and, to a lesser degree, Passage). They continued the more noticeably rhythmic guitar patterns, melodic atmosphere, and gothic-styled keyboards. They mellowed out even more with their last two releases, 1998's Revenge and 2001's Unity. In my opinion, those last two albums come across as somewhat derivative and uninspired. Shortly after beginning work on what would have been their sixth studio album, Alastis broke up in 2004.
The American black metal scene has always played second fiddle to the scenes of other countries (especially the Scandinavian nations). And while the truly legendary bands from the US were few and far between, there were still a lot of noteworthy bands toiling in the underground who had an impact on the direction of the genre. One such band was Pennsylvania's BATHYM. Formed in 1989 by members of underground band SATHANAS, Bathym had a black/death sound that not too many in the American underground were creating at the time.
Sathanas gave rise to Bathym. This is from their 1988 demo Ripping Evil
After releasing rehearsal demos in 1989 and 1990, Bathym released the Into Darkness demo in 1990 and the Demonic Force single in 1991. For a few years there, Bathym was becoming known in the underground as purveyors of American black/death. But due to some of the band members losing interest, Bathym called it a day in 1991. Main man Paul Tucker then devoted his energy to Sathanas again.
This is the title track off of the Demonic Force single
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California's NEKROHOLOCAUST originally started out as Necrophagia in 1984. Stylistically, Necrophagia was a fast, raw speed/thrash that--while extreme--wasn't exactly black metal in the strict sense of the word. They released a crucial demo--1987's It Began With a Twisted Dream.
The story as to the name change is a little murky, depending on who you ask. One version is that the band didn't actually change its name. They recorded material in 1988 and 1989 as Necrophagia, but it never saw the light of day until years later as part of a compilation (2005's In Memories of Fire). Allegedly, the record label (Mercenary Musik) demanded the name change. Another version is that the death metal band from Ohio (fronted by gore aficionado Killjoy) was rising in popularity, so the name change became necessary. Either way, Nekroholocaust is how we now know this band.
Their sound was definitely more blackened and evil than the earlier Necrophagia material. Raw, vicious, loud, and fast, it even holds its own compared to later material. And it belongs in any discussion of American underground extreme metal of the 1980s.
Here is the In Memories of Fire compilation in its totality
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Hailing from Michigan, LUCIFER'S HAMMER were a fairly prolific black/death band that formed in 1986. They initialy started in a straight-forward thrash metal style before transitioning to an intense and raw black/death style. The only recording from their thrash metal days was a 1988 demo entitled Tales of the Midnight Hour, and it was destroyed in a house fire.
Lucifer's Hammer put out several key demos as a black/death quartet, beginning with the 1989 demo Descent Into Beyond. This was followed up by 1992's The Burning Church.
This is The Burning Church in its entirety
In 1995, they released the Hymns to the Moon demo. On this demo, they began to veer away from black metal, and offered up a more death metal-influence style. This demo was eventually followed by the 1997 full-length, The Mists of Time. With this album, they completed the transition to death metal.
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There were many other noteworthy (some for their sound, others for sheer historical curiosity) bands to emerge out of the US in the late 1980s, and I could devote an entire blog just to those. However, I chose to just highlight a couple of key bands above. That being said, a few other old-school black/death/thrash bands that helped shape American black metal include INFERNAL DEATH, OCCULT, SAVAGE DEATH, and EXORCIST.
Texas' Infernal Death formed in 1988 and was active for about a decade, with a handful of obscure demos under their belt. Their sound can best be described as an extremely fast black/thrash that owed a debt to Sodom and Venom.
"Satan's Metal" is off of their 1989 demo, Incantations at the Gates
Occult, from New York, only ever released one demo: a very raw and intense slice of noisy black metal. 1985's Bloodthirsty demo has been labeled noisecore by some, and there is some merit to that label. But underneath all of the chaos, there is a black metal template.
This is the entire Bloodthirsty demo
Also from the New York/New Jersey area, Savage Death was a band with stronger death metal credentials than black metal credentials. Formed in 1985, their sound was one that blurred the lines between genres (in a time when this was still standard practice). Resembling a lot of the black/thrash bands of the day, many members of Savage Death later went on to bands like Incantation, Morpheus Descends, and Ripping Corpse.
From 1985's Mass Genocide, this is "Evil Dead"
Exorcist is a bit of an odd band, but their sound was somewhat important in the underground. They were actually a "fake" band with members from other bands that simply recorded under the Exorcist moniker (members included musicians from power/heavy metal band Virgin Steele). However, their sound clearly belongs in any discussion of 1980s black metal. Occult-obsessed speed/thrash might be a better description than black metal, but for 1986 it merits mention in the same breath as, say, Necrodeath or Sabbat.
Off of the 1986 full-length Nightmare Theatre, this is "Lucifer's Lament"
American black metal didn't really come into its own until the 1990s, and with the exception of NME, Goatlord, Von, and Profanatica, none of the bands mentioned thus far can really be considered truly essential black metal. But that doesn't mean the above-mentioned bands are entirely unimportant--they all made an impact on the scene in one way or another.
Singapore's IMPIETY play a particularly vicious brand of black/death metal. Claiming Venom, Sarcofago, Hellhammer, and Possessed as influences, they initially formed in 1988 as Sexfago. Starting out playing covers of some of their favorite bands, they only lasted two years in this incarnation before changing their name to Impiety. The only known ouput Sexfago ever released was a (very raw) rehearsal demo from 1989. Check out the excerpt below:
From Sexfago's 1989 rehearsal demo
In 1990, Impiety consisted of Shyaithan and Necro-Angelfornicator, but the lineup has changed many times since then--with Shyaithan being the only constant. The first Impiety release was a 1991 four-song cassette that, to this day, is extraordinarily rare and hard to find. It was with their 1992 demo, Ceremonial Necrochrist Redesecration, that they really put themselves on the international metal map. Metalheads far and wide began taking note of this brutal black/death coming from southeast Asia.
Off of the 1992 demo, this is "Pentagramathron"
Based on the strength of this release, Impiety signed to Dutch label Shivadarshana Records, and went to work on more material. The result was the 1994 7" Salve the Goat. Announcing their arrival to the world in true extreme metal fashion, Impiety declared in the liner notes of this release that they would "piss all over" the "Norwegian black-metal clowns". They also released their first full-length album on Shivadarshana Records: 1996's epic Asateerul Awaleen.
"Bismishyaithan" is from Asateerul Awaleen
A transition in their sound could be hear on Asateerul Awaleen.While the earlier brutality was present, and truly fit the mold of the style associated with the far-east (think Abhorer's Rumpus of the Undead demo), Impiety upped the ante on their first full-length. The raw speed of black metal was present in a way not before heard from these maniacs!
Impiety's journey since the release of Asateerul has been a storied one. They have relocated more than once--to places like Mexico and Italy, for example--and suffered from numerous lineup changes, all while trying to find the perfect record label home for them. It was in 1999 that fate was kind to the band: their album from that year, Skullfucking Armageddon practically made them a household name. It featured more of their now-trademark lightning-fast black/death metal, but the production was the best it had ever been.
"Skullfucked, the Speed Metal Hell" is my favorite song off of Skullfucking Armageddon
Since the dawn of the new millenium, Impiety has kept churning out quality releases that are about furthering their blasphemous agenda. They have toured all over the world, and not let up yet. Here are some samples of their continuing sonic sorcery:
This is "Bloodred Angelshed", off of 2002's Kaos Kommand 696
2007's Formidonis Nex Cultus produced this gem: "Terror, Death, Worship!"
Their 2011 album, Ravage & Conquer, features a more death metal orientation
Impiety has definitely made their mark on the scene. More than any other band from southeast Asia, they have shown the world that there is no limit to black/death brutality.
