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

Mussorgski

As I've said many times before, black metal has a wide range of styles---it's so much more than Darkthrone/Burzum/Mayhem clones or brutal Beherit/Blasphemy imitators. One oft-overlooked subgenre that gets little respect is industrial black metal. In that regard, Poland's MUSSORGSKI is a true pioneer.

Formed in Poland in 1990, Mussorgski has always been--since its inception--driven by mainman Khorzon. Khorzon is mostly known for his work as the guitarist for the raw black metal band Arkona, but Mussorgski actually predates the formation of that band by  several years.

Khorzon, the man behind Mussorgski

In 1991, they released the Mussorgski/Nazichrist demo. Their sound on this demo can be characterized as raw and atmospheric in its use of harsh guitars, but with eerie and repetitive synths that give it that overall industrial feel. The next couple of years saw the recording of two additional demos, 1992's The Bath in the X-Rays and 1993's The Unholy Stories.

This version of "Ice In My Heart" is from the 1993 demo The Unholy Stories

1995 saw the release of Mussorgski's absolute masterpiece, In Harmony With the Universe. This is a ground-breaking work that--much like some of the work by Arcturus and Thorns--shows that black metal has much more porous boundaries than its fans will admit. The eerie, odd synths; the electronic beats; the cosmic aura.....all of these elements managed to give Mussorgski's magnum opus a creepy, harsh industrial edge to its black metal.

From 1995's In Harmony With The Universe,  this is "Victim"

Mussorgski didn't last long after the release of Harmony. Khorzon chose to focus his energies on Arkona (but resurrected Mussorgski in 2009). I think that the seeds for some truly epic sounds  had been sown. It would be hard to imagine some of today's so-called "cosmic black metal" bands--like Mesarthim, Progenie Terrestre Pure, or Alrakis--existing without the foundation laid by Mussorgski.

"Paradisum" is a recent Mussorgski song--from 2016's Creatio Cosmicam Bestiae

Select Discography: 

Mussorgski/Nazichrist (demo) (1991)

The Bath in the X-Rays (demo) (1992)

The Unholy Stories (demo) (1993)

In Harmony With the Universe (full-length) (1995)

Next time: BESTIAL WARLUST