Strid

The more you dig into the depths that is the early 90s Norwegian black metal scene, the more you are able to appreciate the different styles that were pioneered. Case in point: depressive suicidal black metal (DSBM). While many folks think of it as a more recent phenomenon, created by perhaps Shining or Xasthur, this isn't the case. Norwegian band STRID, from the town of Askim, is credited as the inventor of the style.

Formed in 1991 as Malfeitor by band members Storm, Samhain, Lost, and Funeral, the original stated goal was to make music that was true to the nascent black metal ethos that was emerging in Norway. Their self-titled demo--recorded in the drummer's basement--was possessed of that grim, forbidding black metal atmosphere,  but it wasn't groundbreakingly unique.

This is 1991's Malfeitor in full

After a second demo (Pandemonium) the following year, the band underwent some line-up and stylistic changes. As a result, they changed their name to Battle, and soon thereafter, to Strid (which is the Norwegian word for "battle"). The stylistic changes are what is worth talking about, as they led to the sound we associate with this band--and the foundations of DSBM.

This is 1993's End of Life

In 1993, Strid released their first demo--End of Life (it was recorded when they were still Battle). Consisting of one eleven minute song (the title track), End was a mid-paced black metal song with riffing that created a sorrowful aura. These melodic riffs were definitely squarely in the traditional Norwegian black style, but by putting them over a moody tempo, an entirely new atmosphere was achieved. The song "End of Life" is a testament to the beauty of darkness.

In addition to the sound and structure of End laying the foundation for one of black metal's subgenres (you can hear Xasthur, Shining, Lifelover, and pretty much any other modern DSBM  band in the sound on End), the lyrical content was a shift as well. Obviously suicide and self-destruction had been a part of black metal--think of Mayhem's Dead, for example, cutting himself on stage during live performances. With Strid, though, it became the raison d'etre for their music.

"Nattevandring" comes from the Strid EP

 The following year, Strid put out a self-titled EP. Only comprised of two songs--"Nattevandring" and "Det Hviskes Blant Sorte Vinder"--the EP was a melancholic continuation of the sound from End, as you can hear above. The motivation for creating such dark and morose music came from,  in the words of guitarist Ravn Harjar, the desire "to isolate from society and the modern world" because they "felt a lot of anger and hate." More than simply the hatred toward Christianity that was, at bottom, the starting point for all black metal, Strid felt animus toward "everything that had contributed to bring our existence to the present situation with decay in more or less every aspect of the world and culture." It's not a big leap from this kind of feeling to self-hatred and self-destruction.

And this was all the music that Strid ever made. The band itself soldiered on for a few more years after the self-titled EP's release, but got put on indefinite hold when life imitated art: founding band member Storm killed himself in 2001. After fellow founding member Samhain died in 2014, the band officially broke up. However, there have been stirrings that Strid does have plans for the future. We shall see.

Select Discography:

as Malfeitor: 

Malfeitor (demo) (1991)

Pandemonium (demo) (1992)

as Strid:
End of Life (demo) (1993)
Strid EP (1994)

Next time: NERGAL