Moonspell

In Portuguese black metal, Decayed has made more of a sustained impact but MOONSPELL--from Amadora, in the Lisbon area--had a rather early impact on not just Portuguese black metal, but world black metal. A noteworthy difference in the trajecteories of these two bands was that after their early years of influential black metal, Moonspell changed direction completely and became a melodic gothic metal band. Decayed, however, has remained a black metal band.

Forming in 1989 under the name Morbid God, the members continued in the extreme metal tradition of using dark and demonic stage names. There was Langsuyar on vocals, Tetragrammaton on bass, Malah and Mantus on guitar, and Baalberith on drums. Their sound can best be described as a dark, atmospheric metal that is heavily steeped in old-school black metal. Aside from some rehearsals, the only actual release put out by Morbid God was a one-track promo in 1992, "Serpent Angel." This song also made its way onto some compilation albums.

Here is Morbid God's "Serpent Angel"

1992 was both the beginning and the end: it was the end of Morbid God, but it was the beginning of Moonspell. They quickly took the metal world by storm with 1993's Anno Satanae demo. This was a very atmospheric release, with melodic and gothic elements that would remain with the band throughout their career.

Here is the Anno Satanae demo in its entirety

In 1994, Moonspell put out their now-famous self-titled EP. It was a clear continuation of their earlier sound, but you can already hear them moving away from black metal. The songs were more riff-oriented than your standard black metal (especially considering that this was 1994), and there was a heavy emphasis on a keyboard-driven melodic atmosphere. You can definitely hear the seeds of their later gothic style on this seminal release, and they moved even more in that direction with 1995's Wolfheart.

"Tenebrarum Oratorium" comes from that 1994 self-titled EP

1995's Wolfheart gives us this track, "Wolfshade"

Wolfheart is rightly hailed as a masterpiece. It contains an excellent balance of the melodic and brutal, the gothic and the black, the romantic and the necro. The changes that came after this album are changes that have divided a lot of metal fans. Moonspell would choose to emphasize the gothic more and more, with often inconsistent results. Some of their post-Wolfheart albums alienated metalheads pretty strongly, and as such, I think that their early years are the ones worth focusing on most for the purposes of the history of black metal.

Select Discography

Anno Satanae (demo) (1993)

Under the Moonspell EP (1994)

Wolfheart (full-length) (1995)

Next time: NIFELHEIM

Ancient Rites

Belgium has produced a few noteworthy black metal bands. I personally love Enthroned (great band!), but pre-dating them, there was ANCIENT RITES, from the Flemish Brabant area of Belgium. Founded by four guys--including core member Gunther Theys--who were already veterans in the heavy metal scene, they sought to create music that drew not just on old-school black metal, but NWOBHM and classic heavy metal, too.

The song "Fallen Angel" is off of their 1990 demo, Dark Ritual

They released a demo--1990's Dark Ritual--which showcased their influences. This, like most demos of the age, circulated through tape-trading and helped spread their name far and wide. 1990 also brought line-up changes: all of the band members except Gunther left the band (one of them, guitarist Philip Bollengier, died in a car accident). After acquiring new band members, Ancient Rites soldiered on. With this lineup in place, they self-released the now-legendary EP Evil Prevails in 1992. This EP featured songs that would go on to become classics, like "Obscurity Reigns (The Fields of Flanders)" and the title track, "Evil Prevails."

Title track from the 1992 demo

The early 1990s saw a relatively stable lineup emerge: Gunther on bass, Bart on guitars, and Walter on drums. It was during this time that Ancient Rites continued cementing their metal reputation by collaborating with other bands on split albums (Thou Art Lord, Uncanny) and putting out EPs of their own. Finally, after signing with label After Dark Records (a label that eventually folded), they released their debut full-length album: 1994's The Diabolic Serenades. This album was a clear continuation of their early sound, and featured re-recorded versions of old classics. What set apart this release, though, was that Ancient Rites was now incorporating atmospheric keyboard passages that helped give some of their songs a darkly atmospheric vibe, and some of their songs an epic, folk-influenced feel. Check out the beginning to "Morbid Glory (Gilles de Rais 1404-1440)" below:

Off of The Diabolic Serenades

The first era of Ancient Rites' existence can be said to reach its pinnacle on Diabolic Serenades and its follow-up, 1996's Blasfemia Eternal. As noted above, this era of their music was based around an old-school heavy metal/black meal style. It was dark and aggressive, touching on typical extreme metal lyrical themes, but also incorporating historical elements as well. And it was after perfecting this sound that they shifted gears completely with their 1998 release Fatherland.

Title track off of Fatherland

Building on their old school black metal foundation that they had laid, Ancient Rites now sought to focus more on the historically-oriented and folk elements in their music. The resulting sound was a more epic pagan metal sound. Following Fatherland, this then became the sound that Ancient Rites was known for. With each subsequent release, the band has honed their pagan black metal style so that they now stand as one of the elite of that subgenre.

From 2001's Dim Carcosa, this is "North Sea"

"Brabantia" is off of 2006's Rubicon

Select Discography

Dark Ritual (demo) (1990)

Promo 1992 (demo) (1992)

Evil Prevails EP (1992)

From Beyond the Grave II 7" (split with Thou Art Lord) (1993)

The Diabolic Serenades (full-length) (1994)

Blasfemia Eternal (full-length) (1996)

Fatherland (full-length) (1998)

Dim Carcosa (full-length) (2001)

Next time: MOONSPELL

Christ Agony

Poland is a nation whose black metal scene is sorely overlooked. Over the years, phenomenal bands like Profanum, Graveland, Infernum, and the mighty Behemoth have helped propel the genre forward to new heights, and today bands like Mgła, Massemord, and Cultes des Ghoules continue to show that cutting-edge black metal is still coming out of Poland. But one of the earliest--and most underrated--black metal bands from Poland that emerged at the time when the second wave was just beginning is Olzstyn's CHRIST AGONY.

Christ Agony has primarily been the brainchild of founding member Cezar (who is also known for his work in black metal band Moon, with Vader's Doc [R.I.P.]). While different musicians have come and gone on bass, drums, and backing guitar, Cezar has remained the constant. In 1990, Cezar, Zurek, and Ash formed Christ Agony, drawing on old school bands like Hellhammer and Bathory as influences. By the end of 1990, they put out the Sacronocturn demo.

"Nocturnal Symphony" is from the Sacronocturn demo

This early material definitely bears the imprint of classic old-school bands, especially Hellhammer and early Samael. Since they were emerging onto the scene at a crucial turning point in the history of black metal (the beginning of the explosion known as the second wave), their material was lucky enough to receive the attention it deserved. Their 1992 demo, Epitaph of Christ, was a continuation of their earlier work, and it led to them entering a studio to record their first proper full-length album.

From their first album, this is "Dies Irae"

That first studio album was 1993's UnholyUnion. The influence of Hellhammer, Bathory, and Samael can clearly be heard. At the same time, Christ Agony's sound was always their own. They never really copied any trend, or resembled any of the established styles. They didn't exactly follow the trebly, lo-fi Norwegian sound; the melodic riffing style of the Swedish scene; the brutal, unrelenting Beherit or Blasphemy style; or a typical black/thrash pattern. They had a very rhythmic style that was riff-oriented, but still darkly atmospheric.

This style continued over the course of what can be argued are their classic 1990s albums: 1994's Daemoonseth: Act II and 1996's Moonlight: Act III. Yet despite the quality black metal that Christ Agony was churning out, and despite the fact that their rotating roster included members of bands like Vader, Behemoth, Dies Irae, Witchmaster, and Profanum (among others), they never seemed to get the recognition worthy of their talent.

A great song from Daemoonseth, this is "Avasatha Pagan"

"Mephistospell" is from 1996's Moonlight

The late 1990s saw many luminaries from the Polish black and death metal scenes filling in the roles of bass, drums, and backing guitar in Christ Agony. They continued to toil away in the underground with not much recognition from the metal press at large. After a few more crucial releases, the band changed their name to Union in 2005 and released an album titled Christ Agony before changing their name back. This phase saw them incorporating more death metal elements into their sound.

"Hellfire" is a good sample of their sound from the Union era (2005-2007)

In 2007, after renaming themselves Christ Agony, they still continued to incorporate death metal elements into their sound. The 2008 album Condemnation, for example, is pretty different from 1990s classics like Daemoonseth or Moonlight. It's heavily percussive, very bass-driven, and has a production style that reminds one of some of the stalwarts of the death metal scene. This sound more or less continues on 2011's NocturN (an album where you can definitely hear the influence of drummer Inferno, of Behemoth fame).

"Flames of Several Suns" is of off 2011's NocturN

I'd have to say that since the early 2000s and then their Union years, Christ Agony has been steadily transforming into a band that is less and less black metal, and more and more genre-blurring (but heavy on the death metal). Black metal purists will probably not find much to enjoy after their early work, but open-minded metal heads (especially those who like bands like Deivos and Behemoth) will enjoy Christ Agony's recent work.

Select Discography

Sacronocturn (demo) (1990)

Epitaph of Christ (demo) (1992)

UnholyUnion (full-length) (1993)

Daemoonseth: Act II (full-length) (1994)

Moonlight: Act III (full-length) (1996)

Darkside (full-length) (1997)

Trilogy (full-length) (1998)

Elysium (full-length) (1999)

Next time: ANCIENT RITES

Denial of God

If Finland, despite having great bands like Beherit and Impaled Nazarene, existed in the shadow of neighbors Norway and Sweden, then Denmark was practically invisible. Denmark, of course, is known as the home to Mercyful Fate and King Diamond, whose impact on extreme metal is virtually without peer. But in terms of traditional black metal, not many bands emerged in the era we've been talking about up to now. The major exception is DENIAL OF GOD.

Denial of God was formed by brothers Azter and Ustumallagam (on guitar and vocals, respectively) and their friend Uksul (on drums) in 1991 in a small town near Sønderborg, Denmark. Much like a lot of the rest of Europe, death metal was huge in the late 80s and early 90s, so it was hard for Denial of God to find like-minded individuals to join their black metal outfit. As a result, they weren't able to recruit a bass player until 1992.

Here is their 1992 demo, Oscularium Infame, in full

After finally recruiting Kulmar on bass, they recorded the Oscularium Infame demo in 1992. There were only around 400 copies of this demo made, but they circulated widely in the underground. Denial of God's name began to spread, and one of the results was that they began to get offers for shows from around Denmark, and even headlined a couple of smaller shows.

 A second advantage to this new-found notoriety was that they were able to record their next demo in an actual studio (this was 1993's The Dawn of Aemizaez). The sound on this second demo was much improved over the first one. Some of Denial of God's influences--like early Bathory and Dead-era Mayhem--can be heard on this demo. As a result of the Dawn of Aemizaez demo, their underground reputation only grew. Labels began to seek them out.

This is the title track from 1995's The Statues Are Watching

Italian label Maggot Records, for example, wanted to put out a Denial of God 7" on vinyl. The result was 1995's The Statues Are Watching. As Ustumallagam put it, he'd "never forget the feeling the first time [he] held the vinyl" in his hands. This release was a milestone for the band, and opened yet more doors. They were in contact with more labels, and what followed was a series of EPs, MCDs, and 7-inches on various labels. Denial of God also went through numerous line-up changes in the 1990s as well. They had a hard time finding a dedicated bass player, and eventually parted ways with long-time drummer Uksul.

One of the things that Denial of God became known for was their showmanship. For them, live shows weren't just about playing their music for their fans, but it was about harnessing an evil atmosphere and truly performing. Denial of God shows have incorporated candles, corpsepaint, maggots, and other elements to truly give them a ritualistic, evil vibe. For band member Ustumallagam, the shows were, first and foremost, about catharsis.

"Curse of the Witch" is from 2006's The Horrors of Satan

After a series of EP's and 7-inches, the band ran into some rough times in the early millenium. They lost their rehearsal space and some of their equipment in 2001, and didn't really get back on their feet until 2004. This year marked the beginning of a new era for Denial of God. Newly invigorated, D.O.G. put out their first full-length--The Horrors of Satan--in 2006. This album can be considered a true landmark in Danish black metal.

Since that time, Denial of God has soldiered on with their trademark horror-infused sound. They have re-released old material, continued to put out EP's and MCDs, and released their second full-length album (Death and the Beyond) in 2012. 

From Death and the Beyond, this is "Funeral"

Select Discography:
Oscularium Infame (demo) (1992)
The Dawn of Aemizaez (demo) (1993)
The Statues Are Watching EP (1995)
The Ghouls of DOG EP (1996)
The Curse of the Witch EP (1999)
Klabautermanden EP (1999)
The Crypt Has Eyes EP (2000)
Robbing the Grave of the Priest EP (2001)
A Night in Transylvania EP (2006)
The Horrors of Satan (full-length) (2006)
Death and the Beyond (full-length) (2012)

Next time: CHRIST AGONY

Ophthalamia

Swedish band OPHTHALAMIA represents an unusual chapter in black metal. Much like Abruptum (which featured many of the same members), Ophthalamia was about evil, atmospheric music that had much in common with black metal without being straightforward black metal in the way we understand the term now. But make no mistake, Ophthalamia and their output made a definite mark on not just the Swedish scene of the nineties, but black metal since then.

Ophthalamia was, first and foremost, a brainchild of the man known as IT. Born one Tony Särkkä, IT made his name in various extreme bands of the late 1980s, including thrash band Brejn Dedd (which featured Dan Swanö). While IT formed Opthalamia with guitarist All in 1989 from the ashes of their band Leviathan, this band was fundamentally created to be an outlet for IT to communicate about a fantasy world he himself had concocted. This fantasy world was called Ophthalamia. The name is derived from the word for an eye condition: this is a metaphor for the fact that not everyone can see or perceive the fantasy world. The world of Ophthalamia was populated with various fantasy creatures, had its own language, and even had a dark goddess, Elishia. All of these were created by IT.

"A Lonely Ceremony/The Eternal Walk" is from one of their first recordings, in 1990

In 1991, Ophthalamia put out their first demo, A Long Journey. Ophthalamia's style can best be described as an eerie, melodic, almost doom-paced sound that drew on everything from classic doom metal (Black Sabbath and Candlemass can clearly be heard) to old-school black metal (Bathory). Attempting to communicate their devotion to Elishia and their love of the Ophthalamian mythos, the band created an evil atmosphere with their music above all else.

"A Cry From the Halls of Blood/Empire of Lost Dreams" comes from the 1991 demo

Following the release of a 1992 demo, Journey to Darkness, Ophthalamia signed with Avantgarde Records. They put out their first full-length album A Journey in Darkness in 1994. Featuring newly re-recorded versions of many of their demo songs, this release was produced by legendary musician Dan Swanö and featured Jon Nodtveidt of Dissection fame on vocals. This album contains a darkly melodic sound that fits in well with the 1990s Swedish black metal scene all while being unique in and of itself. To my ears, A Journey in Darkness is Ophthalamia's best work.

Off of their first studio album, this is "Enter the Darkest Thoughts of the Chosen/Agony's Silent Paradise"

Ophthalamia's storied career involves many members leaving or being kicked out (co-founder All, for example), and famous names being involved at various points (producers Dan Swanö and Peter Tagtgren; musicians Ole Ohman, Legion [of Marduk fame], and Jon and Emil Nodtveidt). But as stated above, the band was really about IT's desire to tell the world of the realm known as Ophthalamia, its lore, and its inhabitants. After A Journey in Darkness, Ophthalamia put out a few more albums, as well as the 1997 compilation To Elishia. 

From their last album--1998's Dominion--this is "Time for War"

Select Discography:

A Long Journey (demo) (1991)

Journey to Darkness (demo) (1992)

A Journey to Darkness (full-length) (1994)

Via Dolorosa (full-length) (1995)

A Long Journey (full-length) (1998)

Dominion (full-length) (1998)

Next Time: DENIAL OF GOD

Desaster

Of all of the various black metal bands that arose in Germany in the 1980s, perhaps none have been as important as DESASTER, from the Rhineland-Palatinate area. Taking their name from the Destruction song "Total Desaster," they formed in 1988. For the next two years they toiled in the underground and managed to record a few rehearsals, very few pf which have seen the light of day. The goal of the band, according to founding member Infernal in a later interview, was to emulate bands who were "totally possessed by the magic metallic spirit"--bands like Venom, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Slayer, Destruction, Sodom, Mercyful Fate, and Bathory. After a live gig in 1989 (which Infernal has characterized as a "total Desaster"--pun intended), the band split up in 1990.

In 1992, Infernal recruited some fellow heavy metal maniacs and re-started Desaster. Among those in this new line-up was Okkulto, who would remain their longtime vocalist, and Odin, who is still their bassist to this day. It was in these early years that Desaster began putting out actual releases. Their Fog of Avalon (1993) and Lost in the Ages (1994) demos were very well received in the metal underground, and circulated widely.

This is the complete Fog of Avalon demo

Desaster's sound has always been about strong, quality black/thrash. From the outset, they wanted to pay homage to the old school. That much is evident on every release they've ever put out. Their sound caught the ear of many record labels, and they signed with Merciless Records. Their first release on Merciless was a split 7" with fellow Germans Ungod. After this, they put out their first full-length studio album, 1996's A Touch of Medieval Darkness.

"In a Winter Battle" comes from that first album

Desaster's sound on Medieval Darkness can definitely be characterized as a blistering, no-holds-barred black/thrash. It's a very riff-oriented style that clearly draws on Venom and Sodom. Over the next several years, with Okkulto still on vocals, they put out two more studio albums (1998's Hellfire's Dominion and 2000's Tyrants of the Netherworld), several EP's and splits, and a 10-year anniversary release.

It was in 2001 that the next big change came for Desaster. Vocalist Okkulto parted ways with the band, and they acquired vocalist Sataniac. Musically, Desaster still played the same old-school inspired black/thrash, but there was a clear difference in vocalists. Okkulto's style could be characterized as more of a black metal style: raspy, raw, and evil. Sataniac's style was more of a traditional old-school thrash metal growl.

I think the opening to "In the Ban of Satan's Sorcery" is one of their best

"Nekropolis Karthago" is trademark Desaster!

In the Sataniac era, Desaster also toured to new places they had never toured before, including all over South America. This was also a time that saw them change record labels from Merciless to Iron Pegasus, and eventually to Metal Blade as their star continued to rise. As black/thrash has made a comeback in the last few years, Desaster has still remained dedicated to the old school.

From 2007's Satan's Soldiers Syndicate, "Razor Ritual" highlights the difference in vocal styles

And from a more recent album--2016's The Oath of an Iron Ritual--this is "Damnatio ad Bestias"

Select Discography:

The Evil Dead Will Rise Again (rehearsal) (1989)  
The Fog of Avalon (demo) (1993)
Lost in the Ages (demo) (1994)
The Hill of a Thousand Souls 7" (split with Ungod) (1995)
A Touch of Medieval Darkness (full-length) (1996)
Hellfire's Dominion (full-length) (1998)
Tyrants of the Netherworld (full-length) (2000)
Divine Blasphemies (full-length) (2002)
Angelwhore (full-length) (2005)
Satan's Soldier's Syndicate (full-length) (2007)
The Arts of Destruction (full-length) (2012)
The Oath of an Iron Ritual (full-length) (2016)

Next Time: OPHTHALAMIA

Barathrum

For our next band, we return to Finland--the home of some of the greatest black metal bands in the world. While early Finnish bands are known for unrelenting brutality (Beherit and Archgoat being prime examples), Kuopio's BARATHRUM is a unique entity in the black metal scene. Their sound is a dark, atmospheric mix of old-school black metal and eerie doom metal.

Barathrum was founded as Darkfeast in 1990 by members Demonos Sova (the one constant member of all Barathrum's incarnations), Aki, and Ilu. By early 1991, Darkfeast had released the Hail Satan demo, and soon thereafter, changed their name to Barathrum. By the end of 1991, Barathrum had put out two demos--including the now legendary Witchmaster demo.

This is the Witchmaster demo in its entirety.

Over the next couple of years, Barathrum continued to put out some crucial demos, including 1992's Battlecry and 1993's Soaring Up From Hell. They also--like many bands in this era--made a name for themselves through shows and tape trading, building their reputation in the underground. As a result of this reputation, Barathrum was courted by a few labels, and there were even rumors of a split album to be released with fellow Finns Archgoat (that never materialized). Apparently, Barathrum also recorded material for an album during this time period, but it never saw the light of day (it eventually materialized as the Warmetal LP in 2014).  Around this time, Barathrum did choose to sign with Nazgul's Eyrie Productions. Through N.E.P., Barathrum put out their first three albums.

This is Barathrum live in 1993 with "Lord of South and Fire"

(which is also a song that can be found on their first studio album)

In 1994, N.E.P. put out Hailstorm, Barathrum's first full-length studio album. Hailstorm contained the dark, occultic sound Barathrum had become known for, but with a deeper, more bass-heavy production sound (compare "Battlecry" on Hailstorm to the same song on the Battlecry demo, for example). Their second album, 1995's Eerie, was very much a continuation of the style of the demos and Hailstorm as well. With 1997's Infernal, a slight shift in sound was evident.

Off of Infernal, this is "Warmetal"

With Infernal, elements of thrash began to creep into Barathrum's trademark black/doom style. One can definitely hear the influence of bands like Sabbat and Venom--two bands that Demonos Sova has said he admires. Following the release of Infernal, Barathrum signed with Finnish label Spinefarm Records, and continued to churn out occultic, creepy blackened doom. 1998's Legions of Perkele was the first of five albums released through Spinefarm.

"Necromantical Ritual" is from Legions of Perkele

With each album, there has been a slight change in their sound. From elements of thrash or old school heavy metal creeping into their sound, to starker, more crisp production values, Barathrum's sound continued to evolve. By the time of 2005's Anno Aspera, Barathrum still sounded like themselves, but a more mature, more evolved version.

From their latest (and possibly last?) studio album, this is "Into Maze of Nightmares"

Since the release of their 2005 album, Barathrum hasn't done much. Aside from a 2009 split, all the material Barathrum has put out is older, unreleased stuff. What does the future hold for these Finns? We'll have to see.

Select Discography

From Black Flames to Witchcraft (demo) (1991)

Witchmaster (demo) (1991)

Battlecry (demo) (1992)

Soaring Up From Hell (demo) (1993)

Hailstorm (full-length) (1994)

Eerie (full-length) (1995)

Infernal (full-length) (1997)

Legions of Perkele (full-length) (1998)

Saatana (full-length) (1999)

Okkult (full-length) (2000)

Venomous (full-length) (2002)

Anno Aspera (full-length) (2005)

Next time: DESASTER