And now for the most famous black metal band during its most famous period. In 1988, vocalist Dead (Per Ygnve Ohlin) joined, having previously been in the Swedish black/death band Morbid. In the same time frame, drummer Hellhammer joined. With this, Mayhem's 'classic' line-up was born: Euronymous on guitar, Necrobutcher on bass, Helhammer on drums, and Dead on vocals. They were coming off of the new-found underground notoriety that 1987's Deathcrush album had brought them.
A 1988 rehearsal of "Necrolust" with Dead...
In the years 1988-1990, Mayhem was truly an underground phenomenon. They released no albums, no officially sanctioned demos, no live albums. Nevertheless, the bootlegs that circulated in the underground during this time period cemented their reputation as one of black metal's elite. Live shows all over Europe also helped create the Mayhem mythos.
In 1990, two new studio tracks surfaced: 'Carnage" (one of their older classics, but with Dead on vocals) and "Freezing Moon". These tracks have seen the light of day as not only a demo cassette entitled Studio Tracks, but also as a seven-inch entitled Freezing Moon.
The legendary "Freezing Moon", from the 1990 rehearsal
Much as Mayhem's early years peaked with the Deathcrush EP in 1987, the Dead years peaked with the Live in Leipzig album. This was recorded in late 1990 at a performance in Leipzig, but was not released on CD until 1993. The material released both officially and unofficially in these years can be considered some of the best that old-school Norwegian black metal has to offer.
From the Live in Leipzig album, this is my favorite track from this era, "Funeral Fog"
In my opinion, Dead was the best vocalist Mayhem ever had: more talented than Messiah, more consistent than Attila, less annoying than Maniac. He, as is well known, killed himself in 1991. With his suicide, Mayhem's second (and some would argue, best) phase came to an end. The next phase will be explored at a later date....
Select Discography:
Ha-Elm Zalag (bootleg rehearsal) (1988) War and Sodomy (Live in Zeitz) (live bootleg) (1990) Studio Tracks (demo) (1990) Out From the Dark (bootleg demo) (1991) Last Breath (Last Recordings with Dead) (bootleg rehearsal) (1991) Live in Leipzig (live album) (recorded 1990, released 1993) Dawn of the Black Hearts (Live in Sarpsborg, 1990) (released 1995)
As Mayhem is to Norway and Blasphemy is to Canada, BEHERIT is to Finland. Along with a few other luminaries of the Finnish scene (such as Goatvulva and Vadertopsy), Beherit was one of the earliest black metal bands from Finland, and arguably the most important. They come from the northern city of Rovaniemi (just below the Arctic Circle), and formed in 1989 as Pseudochrist. By 1990 they had changed their name to Beherit and released such demos as Seventh Blasphemy and Demonomancy.
"Grave Desecration" is from Demonomancy
The years 1990-1991 saw Beherit make a further name for themselves with the Dawn of Satan's Millenium EP and the split with Chilean band Death Yell. They signed with German label Turbo Records to release their first album, but in exchange for the money Turbo advanced them to produce a new album, Beherit decided simply to party with that money. As a result, Turbo Records released a compilation of Beherit's demo material as the 1991 album The Oath of Black Blood.
"Paradise, Of Thy Demonic Host" is an unreleased 1990 track
After 1991's The Oath of Black Blood, Beherit crafted some new material and released the 1993 album Drawing Down the Moon. This marked a slight stylistic change for the Finnish dark lords. Where the earlier material clearly showed the influence of the 1980s black/thrash scene, the material from the years 1992-1993 had a more subdued, almost occult production style to it. The vocals, however, were still of that subterranean, inhuman, demonic variety.
"Saloman's Gate" is the perfect example of Beherit's sound from the 1993 album
Following Drawing Down the Moon, Beherit put out a split with fellow countrymen Archgoat (more on them later) entitled Messe des Morts. This was a continuation of their raw black metal style from the Drawing Down the Moon album. In the following year, Beherit shifted gears entirely and became a dark ambient band, releasing two albums under that style. They then broke up in 1996.
After years of silence and a compilation album that was put out in 1999 (Beast of Beherit), Beherit got back together in the new millenium and began recording new music. The fruits of their labor was the 2009 album Engram. In my opinion, this was a very uninspired album. Satanic and evil, yes, but pales in comparison to the raw brilliance of releases like the early demos and 1993's Drawing Down the Moon.
Here are the goat-worshipping demons of Beherit!
Select Discography:
Seventh Blasphemy (demo) (1990) Morbid Rehearsals (demo) (1990) Demonomancy (demo) (1990) Dawn of Satan's Millenium EP (1991) The Oath of Black Blood (compilation) (1991) Werewolf, Semen, and Blood 7" (split with Death Yell) (1991) Drawing Down the Moon (1993) Messe des Morts 7" (1993) Beast of Beherit (compilation) (1999)
THORNS is one of those bands that played a huge role in the development of 1990s Norwegian black metal but never gained the mainstream notoriety or success of bands like Darkthrone, Mayhem, Emperor, or Burzum. Formed in 1989 as Stigma Diabolicum by Snorre Ruch and Marius Vold, the band released some crucial demos and rehearsals, such as 1989's Luna de Nocturnus and 1990's Lacus de Luna. On these releases, one can hear the development of the famous Norwegian riffing style that heavily influenced the entire 1990s scene.
Here is Stigma Diabolicum's 1989 demo, Luna de Nocturnus
After roughly two years as Stigma Diabolicum, the band changed their name to Thorns. As Thorns, they became more widely known throughout the Norwegian (and international) black metal scene. The demos Grymryk (1991), Trøndertun (1992), and The Thule Tape (1992) all became famous for their fairly unique guitar sound that has since become practically a trademark of the Norwegian scene.
"You That Mingle May" is one of Thorns most famous songs
From the Trøndertun demo, this is "Aerie Descent"
After the production of these crucial demos, Snorre Ruch became a part-time member of Mayhem, and contributed to the legendary Mayhem album, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. After the events surrounding Euronymous' murder, Ruch was sentenced to jail time for his role as an accomplice. It was not until after his release from prison that Thorns renewed activity. In 1999, the Thorns vs. Emperor album was put out with Thorns covering Emperor songs, and vice versa.
Back to back, here are the 1999 Thorns and Emperor versions of "Aerie Descent"
Following the Thorns vs. Emperor CD, Thorns finally managed to put out a full-length album in 2001. This self-titled album featured the guitar sound for which Thorns had become known, but also electronic and industrial elements. With such Norwegian black metal luminaries as Hellhammer, Satyr, and Aldrahn all contributing, this album was both an apex of sorts for black metal as well as a very forward-looking album.
What Thorns' self-titled album sounded like
Since that self-titled album, Thorns hasn't really done much. The old material has been released in 2007 on CD as Stigma Diabolicum. While their output hasn't been enormous, their impact on the black metal of Norway (and beyond) certainly has.
Select Discography: as Stigma Diabolicum:
Luna de Nocturnus (demo) (1989) Lacus de Luna (demo) (1990)
as Thorns: Grymyrk (demo) (1991) Trøndertun (demo) (1992) The Thule Tape (demo) (1992) Thorns vs. Emperor (split with Emperor) (1999) Thorns (full-length album) (2001)
Abruptum is one weird band. In their prime (early to mid-1990s), they were a mixture of black metal, dark ambient, and doom-death. They were a Swedish band that pre-dates the black metal explosion of the 1990s, but doesn't have a typical Swedish black metal sound by any means. They were formed in Stockholm in 1989 by the mysterious gentlemen known as ALL, IT, and EXT. Their initial sound bears the influence of doom and death metal as well as old-school black metal.
From the 1990 demo The Satanist Tunes
With the release of demos like 1990's Abruptum and The Satanist Tunes, Abruptum unleashed their unholy sound upon the world. The demonic growls over top of the slow dirge-like metal were unlike most of what was going on in the black metal world. It really did resemble a more experimental doom/death at times. With the 1991 7-inch Evil, Abruptum's sound began to morph into something blacker. The vocals varied between the low-end rumbling growls and the a more tortured screech, and the guitar playing--while still a slower pace--began to resemble black metal. Also, through the use of distortion and sound effects, the music as a whole took on a more experimental feel.
The weirdness that is Abruptum, from the Evil 7"
By this time, they had kicked out band members Ext and All, and replaced them with EVIL (aka Morgan from Marduk). The resulting shift in sound was apparent on the 1993 full-length Obscuritatem Advoco Amplectere Me. This album contained the sound for which Abruptum is famous: slow, doom-y, noisy, blackened dark ambient. The weird sound effects and distortion that were present on the Evil 7-inch were even more prominent now.
Just fucking weird....
Abruptum released several more albums in this style, such as 1994's In Umbra Malitiae Ambulabo, In Aeternum In Triumph Tenebrarum. For the most part, they continued in this style for years before eventually shifting to an almost entirely dark ambient sound, with no hint of black metal. By the turn of the millenium, Evil was continuing Abruptum as a solo project. He has put out albums mostly on Marduk's solo label (Blooddawn Productions), including the recently released Potestates Apocalypsis (2011).
Select Discography:
Abruptum (demo) (1990) The Satanist Tunes (demo) (1990) Evil 7" (1991) Obscuritatem Advoco Amplectere Me (1993) In Umbra Malitiae Ambulabo, In Aeternum In Triumph Tenebrarum(1994) Vi Sonus Veris Nigrae Malitiaes (1996)
In the late 1980s, as death metal rose to prominence and black metal thrived in the underground, there were a few bands that managed to combine elements of both to such a degree that they are considered part of both traditions. American band ORDER FROM CHAOS is one such group. From Kansas City, Missouri, they played a style of extreme metal that owes a lot to the old-school black metal scene, but clearly bears the imprint of the emerging death metal style.
They formed in 1987, and put out some rather famous demos in the later 1980s. 1988's Inhumanities is a demo that had song structures reminiscent of Possessed and Death, but at the same time had an occultic feel to it that reminded one of early Mayhem and other first-wave black metal. With 1989's Crushed Infamy demo and 1990's Will to Power EP, the band focused more on the death metal aspects of their music.
"Golgotha (Second Death)" is a pretty good example of Order From Chaos' old sound
Notice the more death metal approach off of 1990's Will to Power
By the time of the release of their first full-length album--1993's Stillbirth Machine--their sound was more or less death metal with black metal influences to it. This is the sound that they are primarily know for down to this today. This sound continued on albums such as 1995's Dawn Bringer and 1998's An Ending in Fire. Their sound greatly resembles that of legendary death/black metal band Angelcorpse, and this makes perfect sense, being that Pete Helmkamp was a member of both bands.
"Forsake Me This Mortal Coil" highlights their mature sound
Order From Chaos broke up in 1998. But by this time, their mark had been made. They helped set the standard for future black/death bands, and influenced the formation and style of Angelcorpse. They recently re-united and playing some gigs in 2010...
From 2010's Nuclear War Now Fest, this is Order From Chaos live
Select Discography:
Inhumanities (demo) (1988) Crushed Infamy (demo) (1989) Will to Power 7" (1990) Stillbirth Machine (full-length) (1992) Dawnbringer (full-length) (1995) An Ending in Fire (full-length) (1998)
Isengard is known primarily as the one-man black/folk metal band by Fenriz from Darkthrone. Thing is, Isengard was black metal before Darkthrone was. In 1989, when Isengard's first demo came out (Spectres Over Gorgoroth), Darkthrone was still a death metal band. Fenriz has admitted in interviews that he created Isengard as an outlet for music that was decidedly different from Darkthrone. Unlike old Darkthrone, Isengard clearly had strong black metal elements, such as the vocals and a more blackened guitar tone. There are still death metal elements, but compared to what Darkthrone was doing in this time period, it was much more black metal.
"Dark Lord of Gorgoroth" is from the first demo, 1989's Spectres Over Gorgoroth
With the 1991 demo Horizons, the sound veered away from death metal and more toward black metal than the previous demo. Folk elements began to make their way into the music as well. This folk/black metal mix is more or less what Isengard is known for these days. The 1993 demo Vandreren was a continuation in this blackened folk style.
The song "Vinterskugge" is off of the '93 demo Vandreren
In 1994, the demo material was collected as the album Vinterskugge. This was followed by a new album the next year, Høstmørke. On this album, the folk element was even more prominent. This led to an album that had a schizophrenic feel to it. Some songs were folk rock with black metal influence, some were black metal songs with folk elements to it.
An example of the blackened folk of the Høstmørke album
Fenriz discontinued Isengard after Høstmørke. The twoalbums were re-released a few years ago (2007, I think) with Fenriz's own commentary on them. For any obsessive fan of black metal, that might be a worthwhile purchase.
Greek black metal is usually talked about in terms of the "big three": Rotting Christ, Necromantia, and VARATHRON. All of them formed in the years 1987-1989, went on to have productive and influential musical careers, and are still around to this day. Varathron formed in 1989 and came from the Greek city of Ioannina. Their early demos The Procreation of Unaltered Evil (1989) and Genesis of Apocryphal Desire (1991), as well as the EP One Step Beyond Dreams (1991), all showcased a style that was more about the varied rhythms and evil atmosphere now associated with the hellenic black metal scene.
"Dawn of Sordid Decay" is from the 1989 demo Procreation of Unaltered Evil
Their first full-length--1993's His Majesty at the Swamp--is one of the gems of 1990s black metal, and one of the true highlights of Greek black metal. Like Rotting Christ's material from the same era, Varathron's sound contains all of the occultic and atmospheric elements of black metal without falling into the Norwegian template. Unafraid to craft black metal that has the components of the old school as well as some newer elements, Varathron is rightfully considered one of Greece's best.
"Unholy Funeral" is an excellent example of Varathron's classic sound
Varathron is still active today, having released numerous albums subsequent to Majesty. Their most recent album, Stygian Forces of Scorn, came out in 2009.
Select Discography
Procreation of the Unaltered Evil (demo) (1989)
Genesis of Apocryphal Desire (demo) (1990)
The Everlasting Sins EP (split with Necromantia) (1992)
Hailing from the capital city of Athens, the black/death band VOMIT was only around long enough to put out two infamous demos, 1988's Mechanic Abomination and 1989's Sickness is Not an Experiment. Vomit also became well-known in the Greek metal underground because of the 'zine they published. Their sound was a heavily thrash-influenced sound, with elements of old-school black and death metal.
"Blower Head" is from the 1989 demo Sickness is not an Experiment
ASFYX, also hailing from Athens, formed from the ashes of the more doom-oriented band Nightmare and managed to put out the Spirit of the Dead demo in 1989. One can definitely hear the methodical, plodding rhythmic elements of doom metal in their black metal, yet at the same time, the more occult-oriented atmosphere of black metal is present as well.
Athens' scene was positively bursting at the seams with extreme metal bands. Being Greece's largest city that should come as no shock. One such old-school black/death band was SADISTIC NOISE. With various members hailing from Greece's punk scene, the speed and rawness of Sadistic Noise shouldn't surprise anyone. Sadistic Noise was a pretty long-running band in the Greek underground, putting out numerous demos (including 1988's Black and Chaos and 1990's The End) and a studio album (1999's Decade in the Grave). In the beginning of their career, Sadistic Noise was clearly in the vein of old-school black metal, but they gradually shifted their sound to a more death metal style by the latter half of their career. An interesting side note: Sadistic Noise was the first band to open for Napalm Death in Greece.
"Brothers of Gore" is from the 1988 demo Black and Chaos
Yet another band from Athens, MORTIFY began in 1987. Despite forming that early, they didn't put out any demos until 1990's Dizziness of the Occult. Like fellow countrymen Vomit, they had a raw version of the distinctly Greek sound. Unlike Vomit, their sound was more steeped in the gritty, old-school production values of the 1980s. Mortify went on to release ...And Darkness Was Upon (demo, 1993) and two unnamed demos in 1995 and 1996 before breaking up.
"The Occult", off of the 1990 demo Dizziness of the Occult
Forming as ERESHKIGAL in 1988, then changing to FLEGETHON the following year before changing back to Ereshkigal in 1994 comes this next Athenian band. No demo material as that initial incarnation of Ereshkigal exists, near as I can tell. As Flegethon, however, a 1990 demo (Repugnant Blasphemy) and a 1993 EP (Doomed in Eternal Suffering) were recorded. After breaking up as Flegethon in 1994, band member Rotten Flesh re-formed Ereshkigal, but it was several years of toiling in the underground before a studio album was released (2005's The Raping of the Divine).
ROTTING CHRIST is probably the best-known of all the Greek black metal bands. That being the case, if they formed in 1987 (the same year as Necromantia), why did I choose to do an entry on Necromantia first? The answer is: Rotting Christ was not a black metal band when they first formed. They were more of an old-school death metal meets grindcore sound. With the early demos Decline's Return (1988) and Leprosy of Death (1988), as well as the split with Sound Pollution (1989), the grindcore sound is readily on display.
An example of Rotting Christ's early grindcore sound, this is their 1988 demo, Decline's Return
With the 1989 demo Satanas Tedeum, Rotting Christ's shift away from grindcore and toward black metal becomes apparent. The sound really resembles a mixture of elements of all three styles: grindcore, old-school black metal, and old-school death metal. That being said, it clearly belongs in the black metal camp, because it has a rhythm and pacing more reminiscent of black metal, and the lyrical content shifts away from the pathological and toward the blasphemous. The vocals, however, were death/grind for sure.
"The Nereid of Esgalduin" is from the 1989 demo Satanas Tedeum
With their 1991 release--the Passage to Arcturo EP--the transition to black metal was complete. With this, you get the mystical and blasphemous aura that is now forever-associated with the Greek black metal scene. The style associated with bands such as Rotting Christ and Necromantia (sometimes called "hellenic black metal" after Hellas, that is, Greece) was not always about the necro, trebly sound that the Norwegians became associated with, but they had a style all their own nonetheless.
Off of Passage to Arcturo, this is "Forest of N'Gai"
Since that EP, Rotting Christ has released albums pretty steadily. Their early albums--such as 1993's Thy Mighty Contract and 1994's Non Serviam--are excellent black metal albums that combine the rawness of the old-school style with the atmosphere of the newer, so-called second wave sound. Non Serviam in particular manages to construct a classic black metal style and use symphonic elements without it sounding cheesy at all.
The title track off of 1994's Non Serviam
By the mid 1990s, Rotting Christ was beginning to go in a more gothic direction with their sound. The songs from this time in their existence have little to do with good, quality black metal, in my opinion. It really wasn't until albums such as 2004's Sanctus Diavolos and 2007's Theogonia that they returned to a more black metal sound, albeit with the incorporation of some folk elements.
This is an example of Rotting Christ's more recent stuff
Select Discography:
Leprosy of Death (demo) (1988) Decline's Return (demo) (1989) Satanas Tedeum (demo) (1989) Passage to Arcturo EP (1991) Thy Mighty Contract (1993) Non Serviam (1994)
Next time: VARATHRON and the rest of the early Greek scene
Now for a journey to the land down under! The Australian scene is one of the most prolific scenes in existence. Like all extreme metal scenes, this one got its start in the 1980s. Early bands like the extreme thrash groups Hobbs Angel of Death and Slaughter Lord more or less paved the way for later bands. But it was the mid- to later 1980s that saw the emergence of death and black metal bands in Australia. SADISTIK EXEKUTION was one such band.
Sadistik Exekution are truly odd bastards...
Sadistik Exekution formed in 1986, in Sydney, Australia. They supposedly recorded their first album, The Magus, that same year, but it didn't see the light of day until 1991. In the 1980s, the only SadEx release that did see the light of day was a 1987 demo. See below for a sampling of what that demo sounded like:
Here is their 1987 demo in full
In 1991, SadEx pummeled the world with their demo Suspiral, the "Sadistically Exekuted" single, and the long-delayed The Magus full-length album. Their style was chaotic, insane, and ridiculously fast. The uninitiated might go far as to call it noise. The influence of extreme thrash as well as punk can be heard.
"Lupercalia" is off of their first album
Following the 1992 demo Agonizing the Dead, SadEx has put out a fairly steady stream of releases every few years or so. Full-length albums such as 1996's We Are Death...Fukk You!, 1997's K.A.O.S., and 2002's Fukk simply continued the chaotic, over-the-top style of SadEx. To some, their songs border on the ridiculous.
Over-the-top doesn't even begin to describe this song from 2002's Fukk
Exmortes is kind of an odd selection, this is true. This Dutch one-man band (Jan List being the one man in question) is somewhat notorious in the underground for being raw to the point of being bad. But one man's treasure is another man's trash. Exmortes put out two demos, 1988's Hear the Saw...Coming Near and 1989's Fuckin' Nightmare. Most of the songs that appeared on those demos later appeared on Exmortes' few EPs.
From the EP--not the demo--Fuckin' Nightmare
One listen to Exmortes' material and you can hear why some people think their rawness is so terrible. The drums overpower the mix to the point where the guitar is hardly audible. Some have gone so far as to label this style "raw black noise," and if you listen to more recent black noise bands (Stalaggh, TOMB, Gnaw Their Tongues, etc.) you can hear resemblances.
From 1990's "Lord of Temptation"single
After those two demos (which I have not heard), Exmortes put out the Fuckin' Nightmare EP in 1989. This had four of the six songs from the demo of the same name. In the following year, Exmortes put out a single, "Lord of Temptation" which contained the title track and "Forced to Be Silent".
Someone managed to upload the entire 1991 EP, Hear the Saw...Coming Near
In 1991, the EP Hear the Saw...Coming Near was released. Followed by only one more release (the Total Hate split with Apator, also released in 1991), Exmortes was on the scene only briefly. I think that any fan of raw black noise can hear the influence Exmortes left on the scene. The rawness of these early releases has seldom been equalled, in my opinion.
Canada's scene has always been sadly neglected by the mainstream metal press. With extreme bands like Voor, Razor, Infernal Majesty, Slaughter, and Procreation, the 1980s in Canada was a very good time for extreme metal. In terms of black metal, the band that stands at the head of the pack is British Columbia's BLASPHEMY.
Although they formed in 1984, it wasn't until 1989 that they released their first demo, Blood Upon the Altar. Upon first forming, they played covers of bands like Sodom, Slayer, and Bathory. During the years between formation and the release of the demo, they did manage to make a name for themselves performing live shows. One of the other things holding them up was that some of the band members served jail time. The band members also adopted ritualistic stage names like Nocturnal Grave Desecrator and Black Winds (vocals/bass), Caller of the Storms (guitar), 3 Black Hearts of Damnation and Impurity (drums), and Black Priest of the Seven Satanic Blood Rituals (guitars).
The 1989 demo track "Blasphemy"
Blasphemy's style might be one of the most brutal in the history of black metal. One can clearly hear the influence of not only the early black metal underground, but also death metal. With the pounding drums, the guttural, demonic vocals, and the guitar playing that mixed the speed of early black/thrash with the ferociousness of old-school death metal, Blasphemy had a unique sound. They did not think of themselves as black metal, but labelled their sound "war metal".
"Demoniac" might be Blasphemy's best known song
In 1990, Blasphemy put out the full-length album, Fallen Angel of Doom. With a grittier production, the sound on this album was a little more intentionally raw, evil, and demonic. It also featured re-recorded versions of several demo tracks, including the now-infamous "Demoniac" (see above). Blasphemy declared in an interview years later that their intention was always to "pound the world like a demon with a battering ram" with their music, and I think they come damn close.
"Emperor of the Black Abyss" is from 1993's Gods of War
In 1993, Blasphemy not only put out another legendary album--Gods of War--but they also went on the infamous "Fuck Christ" tour, with Immortal and Rotting Christ. I can only imagine how amazing those shows were (Rotting Christ at their most evil, Immortal having just released Pure Holocaust, and Blasphemy at the peak of their creative powers?). This next clip is a taste of that tour:
After this tour, Blasphemy got put on hold because of trouble with the law (I think the drummer went to jail). During the down time, members of Blasphemy attempted to initiate new projects such as Necrosleezer. At the urging of fellow Canadian war metallers Conqueror, Blasphemy re-formed and put out the live album Live Ritual: Friday the 13th in 2001. There is a also a bootleg entitled Return of the Hooded Demons that is a recording of a rehearsal from 2001, and it features new material.
While the band we today know as NECROMANTIA is one of the pre-eminent Greek black metal bands, they originally got their start as extreme death/thrash metal band Necromancy. Forming in Athens in 1986, they put out two demos (1988's Rehearsal and 1989's Vision of Lunacy) before breaking up and more or less re-forming as Necromantia.
Off of the 1989 demo Visions of Lunacy
As Necromantia, they released the demo Promo Tape 1990 which showcased their more occult-oriented, black metal style rather well. As opposed to the straightforward speed-oriented approach of all of the 1980s black/thrash bands, Necromantia crafted an eerie atmosphere. Using carefully placed riffs, and demonic vocals, Necromantia's style was about conveying the evil feel of black metal rather than pummeling the listener with violent music.
The very famous "The Family of Dog (Feast of Ghouls)"
After the 1992 demo Vampiric Rituals, Necromantia put out a split with fellow countrymen Varathron (more on them later) entitled The Black Arts. Continuing in the occultic, atmospheric style of their earlier demos, this split has become somewhat legendary in the Greek scene and the international black metal scene as well.
"Lord of the Abyss" is off of that famous split with Varathron
It was in 1993 that Necromantia put out their first full-length studio album, Crossing the Fiery Path. This was more of the style they had established in the underground with their earlier material, but at the same time, the speed of older-school black metal was evident as well. The Greek scene has always been about atmosphere more than raw, in-your-face intensity or a particular style of guitar playing. Since their first studio album they have continued to put out pretty consistent and dark albums. 1995's Scarlet Evil Witching Black, 2000's IV: Malice, and 2007's The Sound of Lucifer Storming Heaven are all excellent black metal albums.
"Unchaining the Wolf (At War)", off of Crossing the Fiery Path, is my favorite Necromantia song
An example of their sound off of Scarlet Evil Witching Black
Select Discography: as Necromancy:
Rehearsal (demo) (1988) Visions of Lunacy (demo) (1989)
as Necromantia: Promo Tape '90 (demo) (1990) Vampiric Rituals (demo) (1992) The Black Arts 12" (split with Varathron) (1992) Crossing the Fiery Path (1993) Scarlet Evil Witching Black (1995) Ancient Pride EP (1997) IV: Malice (2000) The Sound of Lucifer Storming Heaven (2007)
Czechia (formerly the Czech Republic) had some pretty important bands back when black metal was getting started. Törr, Master's Hammer, and the rather unique ROOT, coming from the city of Brno, are the most noteworthy. Not a lot of countries can claim three important old-school black metal bands making an impact on the scene before 1990. Root formed in 1987 and began putting out demos in 1988--including War of Rats and Reap of Hell.
Off of the 1988 demo Reap of Hell, this is "Pisen Pro Satana"
After two more demos in 1989 (Messengers From Darkness and The Trial), Root put out their first full-length studio album with 1990's Zjeveni. Root's style was always less about pure, primitive speed and more about an evil atmosphere. Their particular type of black metal never felt like the speed/thrash-oriented sound of the Venoms, the Sodoms, the Bulldozers, the Sarcofagos. There was a doomier, more meticulous quality to their style.
"Aralyon"--off of Zjeveni--highlights their unique style
Root never lived up to the expectations of the black metal underground. Their song structures, vocal style, and even riffing clearly had the evil rawness of black metal, but differed sharply from the expected nonetheless. The unique evilness that is Root continued on such albums as Hell Symphony (1991) and Temple of the Underground (1992). From 1996's Kargeras and onwards, Root began to branch out from black metal significantly and venture into more conceptual and progressive territory.
In the 1980s, it wasn't just Necrodeath and Bulldozer making waves with raw black/thrash. The Sicilian band SCHIZO was also becoming known for blackened thrash in the old-school vein. Formed in 1984 in the city of Catania, their style leaned a little more toward heavy thrash than did those other two giants of Italian black/thrash. But make no mistake, it was still an old school black/thrash.
Off of the 1986 demo Total Schizophrenia
With demos such as 1985's Thrash the Unthrashable - Thrash to Kill!, 1986's Total Schizophrenia, and 1987's Main Frame Collapse, Schizo's black/thrash sound spread far and wide in the metal underground. Then in 1989, they released the cult album Main Frame Collapse (not the same as the demo, obviously).
From 1989's Main Frame Collapse
Schizo continued releasing albums into the 1990s, but (inexplicably) never really became as widely known as Necrodeath. They are still around to this day, putting out albums. Their most recent, 2010's Hallucinating Cramps, is more straightforward thrash (think later Sodom or Destruction) than black/thrash.
Select Discography
Thrash the Unthrashable - Thrash to Kill!!! (demo) (1985)
Rehearsal (demo) (1986)
Total Schizophrenia (demo) (1987)
Main Frame Collapse (demo) (1987)
Main Frame Collapse (full-length album) (1989)
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Pescara's REQUIEM started out as an occult-obsessed blackened/doom metal band before gradually becoming a progressive-sounding doom metal band. They put out some very hard to find demos--1986's Nunc et Semper and 1987's Per Aspera--before releasing studio albums such as 1988's Ex Voto EP and 1990's Via Crucis. By the time of those albums, the shift away from black metal was very noticeable. The band broke up in 1995, with some members going on to form the doom metal band The Black.
The Hellhammer-influenced BLACK PROPHECIES formed in 1988. Coming from the area near Genoa, their style was really raw and primitive. Their first demo, 1988's Azathoth, was really vile-sounding with awful production--in other words, perfect visceral old-school black metal. After that initial demo, they only put out two other demos before breaking up.
While Italy's scene in the 1980s had other noteworthy bands--like INFERNALIA, CENOTAPH, POSTRIBULUM, and FUNERAL ORATION--there have been a few old-school black metal bands that went on to international renown. I will make separate entries for bands like Opera IX, Winged, and Sinoath at a later date. But as a final note on this entry on the early Italian scene, I have to mention DEATH SS. They're one of those bands that is definitely extreme metal, but don't really fall into one genre or another.
Death SS--from the city of Pesaro--formed in 1977. They performed a brand a music that might properly be called occult-themed horror metal. With their early releases (1981's Horned God of the Witches demo, 1982's "Zombie/Terror" and "Night of the Witch" singles, 1983's "Profanation" single, and the 1983 Evil Metal EP), one can hear the influence of all the heavy metal and hard rock pioneers of the seventies like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Kiss, and Alice Cooper. Their methodical, almost doom-like music featured a raw guitar sound, and vocals that were primal yet not screeched.
The demo track "Terror"from 1981
The band members adopted stage names that were drawn from horror and the occult, such as The Death, The Vampire, The Mummy, The Zombie, and The Werewolf. Their lyrical content was--not surprisingly--heavy on evil, Satanism, the occult, and horror movies. Some of the members were actual Crowleyans (members of OTO), and this clearly influenced their song-writing.
"Chains of Death" is from their 1983 EP, Evil Metal
To my mind, the sound of Death SS changed somewhat with their first two proper studio albums. On 1988's In Death of Steve Sylvester and (to a greater degree) on 1989's Black Mass, their sound became less steeped in the seventies styles of the above-mentioned bands, and began to resemble the extreme metal sounds of the 1980s, like speed and thrash metal. In this regard, one could consider these two albums (especially Black Mass) important releases in the history of old-school black metal. In the 1990s, Death SS shifted styles away from an old-school occult/black/speed metal to something with a heavy electronic/industrial feel to it.
From the outstanding album, 1989's Black Mass
Select Discography
The Horned God of the Witches (demo) (1981)
"Zombie/Terror" (single) (1982)
"Night of the Witch" (single) (1982)
"Profanation" (single) (1983)
Evil Metal EP (1983)
The Story of Death SS Vol. 2 (demo/compilation) (1987)
In Death of Steve Sylvester (full-length album) (1988)
Switzerland is known for giving the world two bands: Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, and SAMAEL, hailing from the city of Sion. Samael formed in 1987, and played in the raw old-school black/death style made famous by their fellow countrymen. They released several excellent demos in the late 1980s, such as 1987's Into the Infernal Storm of Evil and 1988's Macabre Operetta. These albums showcased the extreme black/death sound of early Samael.
Samael covering the classic Hellhammer song, "The Third of the Storms"
In 1988, Samael released the EP Medieval Prophecy. This featured a pretty faithful cover of Hellhammer's "The Third of the Storms" (see above). Samael's fame in the black metal underground only grew. In 1989, the demo From Dark to Black just cemented their reputation. By the nineties, Samael was releasing full-length studio albums, such as 1991's Worship Him and 1992's Blood Ritual.
The very atmospheric "Sleep of Death", off of 1991's Worship Him
Samael's very famous "After the Sepulture"--which is off of 1992's Blood Ritual
After Blood Ritual, Samael began to get more creative with their black metal sound. Not afraid to incorporate varied tempos, electronic manipulation, and non-traditional black metal vocals, the albums since Blood Ritual have stretched the very idea of what black metal can accomplish. 1994's Ceremony of Opposities is a true masterpiece in this regard. By the time of 1996's Passage, however, the genre of black metal is barely present in Samael's sound, and they have begun to enter a realm all their own.
"Baphomet's Throne" is Samael at perhaps the peak of their black metal creativity
This track from 1996's Passage shows the shift away from black metal...
Since the time of 1996's Passage (an incredible album in its own right), Samael has simply expanded their sound to include more and more non-black metal elements. At this point, they are more or less a electronic/industrial metal band with occult/black metal influences. In terms of the development of black metal, their first few years (1987-1992) are the most noteworthy.
Select Discography:
Into the Infernal Storm of Evil (demo) (1987) Macabre Operetta (demo) (1988) Medieval Prophecy EP(1988) From the Dark to Black (demo) (1989) Worship Him (1991) Blood Ritual (1992) Ceremony of Opposites (1994) Passage (1996)
Next time: SCHIZO and first wave Italian black metal
From the old school of black metal comes Täby, Sweden's TREBLINKA. They are known primarily as being the band that evolved into Tiamat after slaving away in the underground for a few years. Formed in 1987, Treblinka played a pretty straightforward old-school black metal (unlike the atmospheric blackened gothic metal of Tiamat). Their first demo, 1988's Crawling in Vomits, testifies to this fact.
"Earwigs in Your Veins" is from their first demo
Their second demo was 1989's Sign of the Pentagram. It continued the old-school black metal style of the first demo. In the same year, Treblinka put out their first proper studio release as well. Entitled Severe Abominations, this EP would be the last actual release before the band changed names to Tiamat the next year.
"Necrophagious Shadows" is from the Sign of the Pentagram demo
Before (sort of) disbanding and re-forming as Tiamat, Treblinka did manage to record the material for a full-length album. This is what would go on to become Tiamat's first studio release, 1990's Sumerian Cry.
The title track off of the Severe Abominations EP
On Sumerian Cry, Tiamat/Treblinka began to show the influence of the emerging Swedish death metal scene. Tiamat didn't continue in this style very long before starting to expand their sound. They began moving away from black/death metal entirely, and after a few years were a doom/gothic-influenced band that was straddling the line between rock and metal. To be honest, I haven't heard anything of theirs since 1997's A Deeper Kind of Slumber, and that was boring to me. But as a little 'post-script' to this entry, here is a Tiamat song off of Sumerian Cry:
