Arcturus

One of black metal's more unique bands, ARCTURUS formed in 1990, predating the Norwegian explosion by a couple of years. They initially formed as an off-shoot of death metal band Mortem with the intention of creating a more atmospheric, eerie-sounding music. The initial line-up featured some of the Norwegian scene's more well-known musicians: Hellhammer (of Mayhem fame), Sverd (later of Ulver and Covenant), and Marius Vold (of Thorns). 

Their first release was the 1991 single "My Angel". The title track showcased the eerie, atmospheric vibe that Arcturus were striving for. At the time, it didn't really resemble anything else in the Norwegian scene, but it still had a strongly occultic feel to it.

This is 1991's "My Angel"

Some major line-up changes happened not too long after the release of the "My Angel" single. Marius left the band, and Sverd decided to switch over to keyboards/synths. As a result, they soon recruited Samoth (guitarist from Emperor) and Garm (from Ulver) on vocals. Newly reinvigorated with this line-up, they released the Constellation EP in 1993.

"Du Nordavind" is a classic track off of Constellation

This EP expanded on their earlier sound in a rather noteworthy way. With a cold, unforgiving  guitar sound to complement the creepy synths, Arcturus entered into new territory for black metal. Their style was strongly atmospheric in a way few bands had been.

After some additional line-up changes the following year, Arcturus set about recording their first full-length album: 1995's Aspera Hiems Symfonia. With a title that translates from Latin as "harsh winter symphony," Aspera is one of the absolute classics of Norwegian black metal.

"Wintry Grey" may very well be Arcturus's best song

Aspera Hiems Symfonia takes black metal in a different direction. By the time of its release, the Norwegian black metal boom was in full swing,  and all of the features associated with black metal were well-established: tremolo picking, lo-fi production values, screeching vocals, etc. However, Aspera didn't aspire to these stylistic norms: clean vocals, epic symphonic passages, and varied tempos abounded. It is a darkly beautiful album that transcends the label 'black metal'.

Aspera Hiems Symfonia marked an important transition for Arcturus. The seeds for a more avant-garde direction, one not bound by genre labels, had been sown. 1997's La Masquerade Infernale was a radical departure from black metal, but with an eerie, haunting atmosphere all its own. And since that album, Arcturus has continued to challenge people's ideas of what extreme metal is capable of.

"Chaos Path" is very representative of the avant-garde sound of Masquerade Infernale

Select Discography:

"My Angel" (single) (1991)

Constellation EP (1993)

Aspera Hiems Symfonia (full-length) (1995)

Next time: INQUISITION

Mayhem: The Dead Years, 1988-1991

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)

Next time: PROFANATICA

Samael

In terms of black metal, 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

Mayhem: The Early Years, 1985-1987

The story of MAYHEM is pretty well-documented at this point.  They formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway, taking their name from the instrumental Venom song, "Mayhem With Mercy".  The founders were guitarist/vocalist Euronymous, bassist Necrobutcher, and drummer Manheim.  Drawing their influence from bands like Venom and Bathory, a lot of their early material was covers.  They produced a very rough, raw demo in 1985 entitled Voice of a Tortured Skull.  It never got an official release and is still considered a bootleg down to this day.

The classic song "Carnage", without vocals, from 1985's Voice of a Tortured Skull

In these early years, Mayhem became known more for their demos than anything else.  Euronymous tended to vocal duties until they landed Maniac on vocals sometime in 1986.  In 1986, they put out the official demo Pure Fucking Armageddon and recorded live tracks that later were put out on the bootleg album The Dawn of the Black Hearts.

"Ghoul", from Pure Fucking Armageddon

In 1986, Maniac (or was it Messiah?) joined on vocals.  In 1987, they put out the Deathrehearsal demo and the very famous EP Deathcrush.  I would say along with Sarcofago's INRI and Bathory's Under the Sign..., Deathcrush was one of the black metal highlights of 1987.  One can really hear a modern black metal sound taking shape on Deathcrush.  The genres were really beginning to differentiate themselves from each other by this time, with thrash and death and black metal all carving out specific niches.

I love this song.  "Deathcrush" is such a classic.

With vile, tortured vocals and the kind of distortion which is still with modern black metal to this day, Mayhem achieved something fairly unique on Deathcrush.  There weren't really a lot of black metal bands that sounded uniquely black metal.  They were, for the most part, black/thrash or black/death or some other blurring of genres.  Mayhem really marked a shift.


After 1987, Mayhem changed quite a bit.  Hellhammer took over on drums, and the infamous Dead took over on vocals.  I will focus on Mayhem during the Dead years at a later date.....

Select Discography:

Voice of a Tortured Skull (demo) (1985)
Pure Fucking Armageddon (demo) (1986)
Deathrehearsal (demo) (1987)
Deathcrush EP (1987)

Next time:  SARCOFAGO

Celtic Frost

Allegedly, Hellhammer broke up on May 31, 1984, and CELTIC FROST formed the very next day.  Or so the story goes.  Hellhammer was about primitive, raw extreme metal, and Tom Warrior and Martin Ain felt they had achieved all they could with that band.  So Celtic Frost was born.  In 1984, they introduced themselves to the world with Morbid Tales.

"Into the Crypts of Rays," one of the best Celtic Frost songs.  Ever.

The sound was an extension of what Hellhammer had been doing.  Less primitive and visceral, but still bearing that old-school death/black vibe.  With the early material, Celtic Frost stuck to this template.  After Morbid Tales, the Emperor's Return EP came out in 1985, featuring more of the same.

The link says it's from Morbid Tales, but it's really from Emperor's Return

 Changes in Celtic Frost's sound began to happen with the 1986 album To Mega Therion.  On this album, there was a stronger move away from the primitivism of Hellhammer while still retaining a strong old-school black/death feel.  At the same time, CF began to incorporate symphonic elements and their music took on a grander, more epic atmosphere.

This song illustrates the evolution of CF's sound

The 1987 album Into the Pandemonium marked a pretty big shift for Celtic Frost.  More progressive than their earlier stuff, CF were now using clean vocals, female singing, more of the symphonic sounds, and the songs themselves sounded less old-school.  It's a great album, but not very black metal.

"Babylon Fell" is one of the few songs off of the album that would really fit into my discussion on black metal

After Into the Pandemonium, Celtic Frost put out the 1988 glam album Cold Lake, and more or less became irrelevant until they broke up in 1993 and re-formed in the 2000s.  Their 2006 album Monotheist was a great return to form.  It is very much in the vein of To Mega Therion and, to a lesser degree, Into the Pandemonium.

Select Discography:

Morbid Tales EP (1984)

Emperor's Return EP (1985)

To Mega Therion (full-length) (1986)
Tragic Serenades EP (1986)
Into the Pandemonium (full-length) (1987)

Next time: NME

Hellhammer

HELLHAMMER is an important and unique band in the history of black and death metal because--despite the short lifespan of the band--they have hugely influenced so many extreme bands down to this day.  The band formed in 1982 as Hammerhead before changing their name to Hellhammer.  The lineup shifted a bit, with members coming and going, but it all centered around Tom Warrior (born Thomas Gabriel Fischer).  Hellhammer was all about creating primitive, extreme metal influenced by Black Sabbath, Motorhead, and Venom.

"Death Fiend," from the 1983 demo Triumph of Death

In 1983, Hellhammer had recorded the demo Death Fiend (which initially went unreleased), and they released the demo Triumph of Death in June.  This showcased a sound that noticeably differed from what Venom was doing, yet at the same time the influence of the British black metal pioneers could be heard.  Hellhammer's was a raw and dirty sound, much less influenced by the NWOBHM production values so clearly present in Venom's work.

From the Satanic Rites demo, this is "Eurynomos"

In 1984, however, Martin Ain joined the band on bass and became a major contributor to the sound of Hellhammer.  The resulting demo was Satanic Rites.  The raw, dirty edge is still present, but there's a little more of the vicious speed associated with black and death metal.  After this demo, Hellhammer went on to release their one proper studio release: the EP entitled Apocalyptic Raids.

"The Third of the Storms," from 1984's Apocalyptic Raids

By this time, Hellhammer's mark had been made on the metal underground.  The rawness of their style, the evil of their lyrical content, the intensity  of their music--these hallmarks of black metal played a big role in the genre's sound during the 1980s.  But Tom Warrior and Martin Ain began to feel limited by the more primitive aesthetic of Hellhammer and wanted to do something different, more expansive.  Thus, Hellhammer broke up in May of 1984....only to shortly re-form as Celtic Frost in June (more on that legendary band at a later date).

The evil bastards of Hellhammer

Select Discography

Death Fiend (demo) (1983)

Triumph of Death (demo) (1983)

Satanic Rites (demo) (1983)

Apocalyptic Raids EP (1984)
Demon Entrails (demo compilation) (2008)

Tomorrow: MERCYFUL FATE