Aborym

 

While Italy's black metal scene during the years of the first wave was filled with some classic bands like Necrodeath and Bulldozer, and early second wave bands like Opera IX are important, very few bands really blew up to a level of worldwide fame. ABORYM, originally from Apulia, might be an exception.

Formed in 1992 by Malfeitor Fabban, the band's name comes from an ancient grimoire. The band struggled in their first few years. According to Fabban, there weren't a lot of places to rehearse in the city where he lived. Once Fabban recruited other band members and found some rehearsal space, the band got to work. In these early years, the band was primarily an old-school black/thrash that performed covers of other extreme bands (they specifically mention Rotting Christ and Sepultura).

"Black Deicide" comes from one of their early demos

This incarnation of the band put out two demos in the early nineties. In 1993, they released a rehearsal (Live in Studio), with a proper demo (Worshipping Damned Souls) to follow the next year. Their sound was not particularly noteworthy for early second wave black metal. See "Black Deicide", above.

Fabban soon branched out into other musical projects, putting Aborym on hold. He also moved to Rome in the hopes of being able to recruit musicians more in line with his vision. When Fabban started the band up again in 1997, he had recruited new musicians (including future black metal superstar Set Teitan). The band quickly got to work and put out the demo Antichristian Nuclear Sabbath.

From their debut studio album, this is "Wehrmacht Kali Ma"

Shortly after their third demo, Aborym entered the studio and recorded their first proper full-length album. The result was 1999's Kali Yuga Bizarre. By this point in their evolution, the band had begun to incorporate synths into their black metal. On this first album, the result was a black metal that veered between the symphonic and the industrial. Fabban cited industrial and electronic music as an influence, which was now beginning to seep into Aborym's style. Take note of how synths are used in "Wehrmacht Kali Ma," above.

The follow-up album--2001's Fire Walk With Us--ventured even more into industrial territory. By this point, industrial black metal was a well-established genre (genre stalwarts like Mysticum will be explored at a later date) and experimental incorporation of synths was something Norwegian bands like Thorns and Arcturus had made palatable to the black metal-loving masses.

The next few albums after Fire continued in this vein: the harsh electronics of industrial mixed with the rhythms and structure of black metal. And despite this experimental approach to black metal, there was never any question about Aborym's bonafides. Their roster--at various points--included such luminaries as Attila (of Mayhem and Tormentor fame), Faust (of Emperor fame), and Occultus (of Perdition Hearse and Mayhem fame).

"Love the Death as the Life" is off of Fire Walk With Us

This aggressive track is the title track from 2003's With No Human Intervention

This is my favorite track from 2006's Generator

These days, Aborym's sound isn't exactly industrial black metal. Like other bands that have evolved (in addition to the previously mentioned ones, think Samael and Dødhemsgard), Aborym is more electronic extreme metal. That said, their peak in the early 2000s is must-listen for fans of industrial black metal.

Select Discography:

Live in Studio (rehearsal demo) (1993)

Worshipping Damned Souls (demo) (1994)

Antichristian Nuclear Sabbath (demo) (1997)

Kali Yuga Bizarre (full-length) (1999)

Fire Walk With Us (full-length) (2001)

With No Human Intervention (full-length) (2003)

Generator (full-length) (2006)

Next time: THUS DEFILED

Mayhem: Of Lord Satan's Mysteries (1992-1994)

 

Mayhem's masterpiece

The years following Dead's suicide in 1991 were tumultuous ones for MAYHEM. By this time, black metal was beginning to emerge from the underground and establish itself as a legitimate genre. However, Mayhem had some issues they needed to work through. 

The first issue in these times was whether or not the band even still existed. Did Dead's suicide mean the end of Mayhem? Euronymous had begun exploiting Dead's suicide for publicity's sake, including crafting the narrative that it was the posers and trendwhores in the metal underground that drove him to take his own life. Between this and Euronymous's stated intention to use a photo of Dead's corpse as the cover to a future Mayhem release, Necrobutcher had had enough. He quit the band out of frustration. 

Dead without corpsepaint

The second issue Mayhem faced was that Mayhem still had no full-length studio albums to their name. 1987's Deathcrush was technically an EP, and Live in Leipzig had not been released yet. Numerous bootlegs were circulating in the underground, and some of those eventually saw the light of day as officially sanctioned releases. What was to become of Mayhem, and would their music ever see the light of day in a proper release? 

Euronymous took this time as an opportunity to champion the burgeoning Norwegian black metal scene. In a series of interviews in various zines, he (and to a lesser degree, Burzum's Varg Vikernes) laid down what he thought black metal should be and what it could be. He also decided to move forward with Mayhem.

Euronymous in corpsepaint

With no bassist and no vocalist, Mayhem first recruited Occultus (of Perdition Hearse) to fill both roles. While Occultus did contribute, he soon left the band because of personality clashes with Euronymous. Then, Varg was recruited to fill the role of bassist. Some recordings of rehearsals from this time period eventually saw the light of day as the From the Darkest Past bootleg.

This was also around the time that Snorre Ruch and Attila Csihar were recruited. Snorre came on board as a second guitarist and helped write lyrics for a few songs. Attila was recruited as vocalist. At this point, Mayhem's first full-length studio album was almost complete. 

This rough mix of "Funeral Fog" comes from the Life Eternal EP

The resulting album was to be titled "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas", and this was a title that had been up Mayhem's sleeve since before Dead's suicide. Unfortunately, Euronymous would never see the album's release. As is widely known, he was murdered by Varg Vikernes shortly after the completion of the album's recording.

The album was released in 1994. It was hailed as a milestone in black metal, and the album itself has (for better or worse) influenced scores of young musicians to try their hand at this diabolical genre of music. I think that this album is a true masterpiece, and it marvelously captures the essence of early second-wave black metal.

The title track of the album in question

Alas, with Euronymous dead and Snorre and Varg in jail for their criminal activity, Mayhem's roster was once again decimated. Was the band gone for good? Only time would tell..... 

Select discography of this era:

From the Darkest Past (1992 bootleg rehearsal of DMDS)

De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (full-length) (1994)

Life Eternal (rough mix of DMDS) (2009)

Next time:  ABORYM

Tormentor

The most famous black metal to come out of Hungary is the atmospheric old-school black metal band TORMENTOR.  They formed in 1986, and the two demos they put out in the late 1980s (later released on CD as albums) were very strong entries into the black metal canon.  Featuring the vocals of the enigmatic Atila Csihar (later of Mayhem fame, among other bands), Tormentor were not afraid of more adventurous guitar playing than the norm in black metal.

The title track from their 1987 demo, The Seventh Day of Doom

After 1987's The Seventh Day of Doom demo, they put out the classic Anno Domini demo in 1988.  This demo--more than Doom--was studio-quality work of the highest caliber.  Tormentor's black metal style was a bit more melodic than some of the primitive black/thrash that was mostly the norm in the 1980s.  Sweden's Dissection famously covered "Elizabeth Bathory" in the 1990s, and their melodic Swedish style fit Tormentor perfectly.

Tormentor's most famous song, "Elizabeth Bathory"

After these two epic demos, Tormentor didn't put out much else of interest to old-school black metal fans.  They did a split album with other bands in 1989, but it wasn't new material.  They broke up in 1991 and re-formed in 1999, but their material since then has been an experimental hard rock sound, not black metal at all.  Aside from the two demos, there have been a few bootlegs here and there.

This 1988 live performance is off of the 2000 compilation album, The Sick Years

Attila, of course, went on to great international notoriety with his performances with Mayhem, Aborym, and a host of other bands.  He has not focused much on Tormentor at all in recent years.

Select Discography:

Live in Budapest (live demo) (1986)
The Seventh Day of Doom (demo) (1987)
Anno Domini (demo) (1988)
Black and Speed Metal (split with Atomic, Trepan, Diktator) (1989)
The Sick Years (compilation) (1998)

Next time:  BATHORY gives birth to Viking Metal