Infernum

 

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)

Next time: DAWN

Graveland

These days, there is some truly quality black metal coming out of Poland. Mgła, Cultes des Ghoules, Kriegsmaschine, Furia, Massemord, Medico Peste, and a slew of other bands push forward the boundaries of black metal, all while staying true to the genre's roots. Before all of these bands, however, the mighty GRAVELAND, from the city of Wroclaw, was one of the chief standard-bearers of Polish black metal.

As a band, Graveland has mostly been about achieving the musical vision of founder and main songwriter Rob Darken. Darken is an extremely controversial figure in black metal history, on par with Varg Vikernes for sheer notoriety. He arose from the far-right wing of the Polish black metal scene, with views that could be characterized as National Socialist (Nazi). In a series of highly incendiary interviews throughout the early and mid-1990s, Darken espoused his views to anyone who would listen. Needless to say, time has tempered his views. Some say this is because Darken has recognized that Graveland's fanbase comes from all over the globe--and includes many non-Polish, non-European, non-white fans. Some say that he has merely mellowed with age. And some say he believes the same things, but is not vocal about it for fear of commercial backlash (this seems the least likely to me, as black metal doesn't usually take commerical interests into consideration). What can be said for certain is that Darken does currently hold pagan-inspired ethno-nationalist beliefs. He may or may not still be a National Socialist, but he still trucks with the extreme far-right. All of this being said, Graveland's music has always reflected Darken's obsession with his European pagan heritage and love of an idealized past.

Darken initially formed Graveland as a solo project in 1991, heavily inspired by Bathory and the emerging Norwegian scene. Demos such as Necromanteion and Drunemeton (both released in 1992) showcase a raw, unpolished style that Graveland was known for in their early years. The early Graveland sound is an odd, eerie death/black metal with an old-school vibe, replete with an almost industrial feel to it because of the production values and the incorporation of keyboards and evil sound samples.

"The Celts Ride Over Graveland" is a well-known demo song from 1992's Necromanteion

After these early demos in 1992, Darken recruited others to help him realize his musical vision. Karcharoth (of Infernum fame) and Capricornus were key musicians in the shaping of Graveland's sound after the band transitioned away from their initial raw sound. Some of the stronger demos from these years--like 1993's In the Glare of the Burning Churches and 1994's Celtic Winter--are absolute classics of early 1990s Polish black metal, and have influenced countless bands from all over the world. In terms of style, I think 1993's Glare is a demo that easily holds its own with many full-length albums of the early second wave.

From In the Glare of the Burning Churches, this is "Night of the Fullmoon"

With a full roster, Graveland set about recording what would be their first album, Carpathian Wolves. This album was a continuation of the sound of the Glare and Winter demos. On this album, we also see Graveland began to craft long, epic, almost progressively-structured black metal songs---something that would become their trademark on future albums. Another aspect of Graveland's sound that was present on this album was the use of thematically-relevant samples that helped to create the eerie, occultic black metal atmosphere. Note the intro sample of wolves howling below as it segues into the song "In the Northern Carpathians":

Carpathian Wolves really caught the attention of the black metal world as a whole. Graveland were then able to sign with Austrian label Lethal Records for the release of their second album, A Thousand Swords. This album was a strong release in the vein of 1994's Wolves, yet at the same time represented a move away from pure black metal into a more folk/pagan-styled sound. Unfortunately for the band, Darken's statements on his political and racial beliefs in some interviews in this time period caused Lethal Records to drop the band.

The next phase of Graveland's existence saw them shift even further away from a pure, old-school black metal to a more folk-influenced sound. With a core of Darken and Capricornus (Karcharoth left in 1995), the band began to focus on a sound that reflected Darken's obsession with his pagan beliefs. This sound has more or less persisted to this day (in varying forms). It can rightly be characterized as a viking/folk/pagan black metal more than anything else. Graveland songs began increasing in length, with epic symphonic passages that are designed to evoke ancient battlefields from Europe's pre-Christian past. Even the album titles reflect this aesthetic change and interest in heritage and the past: Following the Voice of Blood, Immortal Pride, Memory and Destiny, etc.

"Sacrifice for Honour" is from 1998's Immortal Pride--note how long it is!

Graveland's sound has been fairly consistent since their transition to a more viking-esque style. They continue to release albums to this day focusing on pagan eras goneby, painting sweeping soundscapes that fans of any pagan or viking black metal owes it to themselves to check out.

Select Discography: 

Necromanteion (demo) (1992)

Drunemeton (demo)  (1993)

In the Glare of the Burning Churches (demo) (1993)

Celtic Winter (demo) (1994)

Carpathian Wolves (full-length)  (1994)

Thousand Swords (full-length) (1995)

Following the Voice of Blood (full-length) (1997)

Immortal Pride (full-length) (1998)

Creed of Iron (full-length) (2000)

Next time: FRANCE'S LES LEGIONS NOIRES - MÜTIILATION