Abigail

 

Heading back to the far east, let us talk about the Japanese black metal scene. In the tradition of great black/thrash like Sabbat, we have the ever-irreverent ABIGAIL. Taking their name from a King Diamond album and song, Tokyo's Abigail is primarily the brainchild of metal maniac Yasuyuki (who also goes by the name Barbatos).

Formed around 1991-92, Abigail originally played covers of bands like Venom, Mötorhead, and Slayer. Other than those bands, they cite as their influences older bands like Bathory, Sodom, Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, NME, and Bulldozer. Even on their early demos (a 1992 untitled demo and 1993's Blasphemy Night), their raw black/thrash bore the mark of those influences. Heck, two of the tracks on Blasphemy Night are covers (Sodom and Bathory).

Here is 1993's Blasphemy Night

In 1993 Abigail entered the studio to record their first official release. The result was 1994's Descending From a Blackend Sky, on Heretic Supremacist Records. A 7-inch, this EP showcases that raw, in-your-face black/thrash of their early years. Stylistically, it's got thrash metal structure, but with lo-fi second-wave black metal intensity. Check it out, below: 

And here's where things began to get interesting. In 1996, Abigail churned out their first full-length album, Intercourse & Lust, on Modern Invasion records. This began Abigail's obsession with sex. To them, part of the appeal of black metal was its transgression of so many social norms: its Satanism, its evil, its non-conformity, its lustiness. In fact, Yasuyuki has said in multiple interviews that he sometimes uses porn as inspiration. One interviewer has gone so far as to call them "the sluttiest band in black metal".

"Confound Eternal" comes from that first album

Since that first album, Abigail has been very prolific. EPs, 7-inches, live albums....Abigail has released it all. One reason for so many smaller releases and live albums is that, even by Yasuyuki's own admission, the band says yes to pretty much every offer from record labels.

2003's Forever Street Metal Bitch gives us this track, "Black Metal Thunder"

To this day, they are known for their raw, vicious black/thrash (even though they call their own music "street metal"). Fast, intense, and unapologetic, fans of well-executed black/thrash owe it to themselves to check out Abigail.

"Satanik Metal Fucking Hell" is off of 2005's Ultimate Unholy Death

2016's The Final Damnation gives us "Open the Gates of Hell"

(Very) Select Discography:

Demo (1992)

Blasphemy Night (demo) (1993)

Descending from a Blackend Sky EP (1994)

Abigail (split EP with Funeral Winds) (1995)

Intercourse & Lust (full-length)  (1996)

Confound Eternal 7" (1996)

Welcome All Hell Fuckers EP (2001)

Sexual Metal Holocaust 12" (split with Barbatos) (2002)

Forever Street Metal Bitch (full-length)  (2003)

Fucking Louder Than Hell (full-length)  (2004)

Ultimate Unholy Death (full-length) (2005)

Next time: GORGOROTH

Sigh

An early photo of Sigh

SIGH, hailing from the capital city of Tokyo, is probably Japan's most famous extreme metal export. Upon their initial formation in 1989, they were primarily a band that covered old-school thrash and speed metal (and Venom, too).  They eventually decided to try to write some original material after months of performing covers, and the result was 1990's Desolation demo.  Desolation can best be described as an old-school black metal style, but with jarring guitar patterns and highly atmospheric keyboard playing.  It was a bit odd, and that oddness would become Sigh's signature over the years.

Here is Sigh's Desolation demo in its entirety

After another 1990 demo (Tragedies), Sigh's unique sound caught the attention of record labels the world over, and they signed with Wild Rags Records and released the Requiem For Fools 7" in 1992.  This, in turn, caught the attention of Mayhem's Euronymous.  He signed Sigh to his Deathlike Silence Productions, and the phenomenal full-length Scorn Defeat was released in 1993.  Scorn Defeat is a unique release, with the dark and evil atmosphere one expects from black metal, but more of their angular and unusual guitar riffing--as well as the aforementioned keyboard playing--made this album stand apart from the then blossoming Scandinavian black metal scene.

Off of Scorn Defeat, this is "Ready for the Final War"

With Scorn Defeat, Sigh had arrived on the world black metal stage.  Unfortunately, the events surrounding Norway's Inner Circle led to the demise of Deathlike Silence Productions, and this left Sigh without a record label. They then signed with Cacophonous Records and released a slew of albums, including a split EP with Greek black metallers Kawir, an EP of Venom covers and their 1995 and 1997 albums, Infidel Art and Hail Horror Hail. While Infidel Art can be seen as a continuation of their 1993 debut, Hail Horror Hail is where Sigh's oddness and slightly avant-garde tendencies began to dominate their sound.

"Desolation" is off of 1995's Infidel Art

Title track from 1997's Hail Horror Hail

Hail Horror Hail marked a definite turning point in their sound.  While the music rested upon an extreme metal foundation, the members of Sigh were not afraid to experiment with epic synth passages that resembled horror movie soundtracks, as well as unconventional instruments. Jazz, funk, even reggae--all of this was fair game. I think it's fair to say that Sigh's appeal to the average black metal fan diminishes more and more with each release.  For the adventurous, however, their more recent output is worth checking out.

An example of their increasing experimentation,

this is "Scarlet Dream" from 2001's Imaginary Sonicscape

Select Discography:

Desolation (demo) (1990)
Tragedies (demo) (1990)
Requiem for Fools EP (1992)
Scorn Defeat (full-length) (1993)
Infidel Art (full-length) (1995)
Hail Horror Hail (full-length) (1997)
Scenario IV: Dread Dreams (full-length) (1999)
Imaginary Sonicscape (full-length) (2001)

Next time: SHUB NIGGURATH

Sabbat

We now venture from Europe and America to east Asia and the Land of the Rising Sun.  Japan is home to a few well-known black metal bands, earliest among them the black/thrash group SABBAT.  They formed in 1983 as Evil before changing their name to Sabbat in 1984.

"Black Fire" is originally off of their 1985 self-titled EP

Sabbat has been an extraordinarily prolific band since their inception.  In their early years, they didn't exactly release alot of full-length studio albums, but instead opted for a slew of EP's.  Their first EP was the self-titled one released in 1985, followed by 1987's Born By Evil Blood, 1988's Desecration, 1989's The Devil's Sperm is Cold, and 1990's The Seven Deadly Sins.  It wasn't until 1991 when they put out a full-length studio album (Envenom).

"Curdle the Blood," off of 1987's Born by Evil Blood

Their sound is a pretty consistent black thrash.   If you've heard old Sodom, or the old-school extreme thrash of the era, or even Necrodeath (more on them at another time), you get a general idea of their style.  But I think the best description might be the immediate successors to the throne more or less vacated by Venom after 1984's At War With Satan.  I think that you can hear the debt owed to bands like Sabbat in the sound of groups like Aura Noir, Bewitched, Witchmaster, and even that other famous Japanese black/thrash band, Abigail.

"Hellfire" is from the 1989 EP The Devil's Sperm is Cold

Sabbat is still around to this day, and not only are they extraordinarily prolific, but they perform a shitload of live shows (many of which go on to get released as live albums).  While they aren't as raw or primitive as many other black metal bands out there, they need credit for pretty much kick-starting the entire Japanese black metal scene.

Select Discography:

Sabbat 7" (1985)

Born by Evil Blood 7" (1987)

Desecration 7" (1988)
The Devil's Sperm is Cold 7" (1989)
Sabbatical Demon (demo) (1990)
Seven Deadly Sins 7" (1990)
Bloody Countess (demo) (1991)
Envenom (full-length)  (1991)
Evoke (full-length) (1992)
Disembody (full-length) (1993)
Fetishism (full-length) (1994)

Next: BULLDOZER