Poccolus, Nahash, and the beginnings of Lithuanian black metal

A picture of Poccolus from the mid-90s

As influential black metal took the world by storm, bands began to emerge in the unlikeliest of places. Additionally, world events helped the process along. When the Soviet Union and Eastern European communism collapsed, black metal sprang up soon thereafter. The Baltic states illustrate my point.

Within a few years of the collapse of the USSR, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia all developed thriving scenes. Of those three nations, Lithuania's scene proved the most fruitful. The band at the head of the pack is the old-school black/thrash band NEMESIS, from the city of Kaunas. Nemesis formed in 1991.

While they never produced any official releases (only rehearsals, with only one of them ever seeing the light of day as a demo), this band is where various metal musicians cut their teeth (much like Old Funeral and Thou Shalt Suffer in the Norwegian scene). As a result, when the band broke up in early 1993, the members went on to form such bands as POCCOLUS and NAHASH.

Poccolus started as a more traditional old-school black metal band, releasing a demo in 1993. This was followed by the Kingdom of Poccolus demo in '94. By this time, the world metal scene was turning their attention to Lithuania and recognizing that brilliant black metal could come from anywhere.

"Rudens Miško Šnabždesiai" is from Poccolus's self-titled

Poccolus's only full-length studio album was their self-titled album, released in 1996. By the time of the recording and release of their self-titled, pagan and folk influences had begun to show up in their black metal The music and rhythms of Lithuanian culture had shaped their black metal.

Poccolus didn't last much beyond their one full-length album. A live split album was released in 1997, but when Poccolus began to write and record songs for a planned second album, musical differences led to a break-up.

This is "Wellone Aeternitas II" from Nahash's album of the same name

Nahash--the other band to emerge from the ashes of Nemesis--was a band that began under the influence of black metal (like Bathory and Darkthrone). While they never morphed into pagan metal, they created a black metal style that helped put Lithuania on the map.

After an appearance on the legendary compilation Dark Fire Dancing with other Lithuanian bands in '94, they put out the demo Nocticula Hecate. On this demo, you can hear that the typical stylistic elements of Scandinavian black metal are present, but with a unique twist.

Nahash performing live

After that demo, Nahash released their magnum opus: the 1996 studio album Wellone Aeternitas. A more refined black metal than the demo, the influence of the Norwegians was present. At the same time, the band was not afraid to make it their own with a somewhat progressive approach to the music. Since that album, Nahash hasn't been very prolific. 

Another band that peaked around the same time as Nahash was ANUBI. Formed in 1992 by Skro and Renofer, it was with Lord Ominous's recruitment in 1993 that things really began to take shape. Lord Ominous brought an artistic and philosophical temperament to the creative process. This shaped Anubi's music in new and different ways.

Here is Anubi's demo Mirties Metafora

Drawing on Egyptian mythology but with a focus on death and mortality, Anubi had an almost experimental edge to their black metal. Lord Ominous's artistic background and philosophical training were clearly evident in their nonconformist approach. Simply listen to 1995's Mirties Metafora, above.

Their full-length album--1997's Kai pilnaties akis užmerks mirtis--was even more out there. Odd time signatures, dissonant sounds, unique rhythms were all present on this overlooked masterpiece of an album. It may very well be the rarest gem of Lithuanian black metal. 

"Mirtis" comes from that 1997 album

Anubi was an important chapter in Lithuanian black metal, and was poised to keep pushing the boundaries of the genre, but Lord Ominous unfortunately died in a boating accident in 2002. The band didn't last long after that. 

One final band from the era of classic Lithuanian black metal is OBTEST. Forming in 1992, the band cites genres ranging from traditional heavy metal to thrash to folk to black metal as their influences. On their early demos, the sound owes a lot to the harsh iciness of Norwegian black metal. Listen below:

This is the title track from the demo "Oldness Coming"

After those early demos, Obtest's sound continued evolving. By their first full-length album (1997's Tūkstantmetis), the song structures were less true black metal and more on the pagan side of the genre. Over time they moved further and further away from black metal into a pagan metal sound that resembled traditional heavy metal.

"Vilkalokiai" is from Obtest's debut studio album

By the late 90s, black metal had taken root in Lithuania in a big way. The above-mentioned bands laid the foundation for what extreme metal is today in that part of the world.

Selected discography of classic Lithuanian black metal:

Nemesis:

Black Spirituality (rehearsal demo) (1992)

Poccolus:

Demo 93 (demo) (1993)

Kingdom of Poccolus (demo) (1994)

Dark Fire Dancing (split album with Nahash, Anubi, Akys, Wejdas) (1994)

Poccolus (full-length album) (1996)

Live at Black Friday (live split album with Ha Lela and Skyforger) (1997)

Nahash:

Dark Fire Dancing (split album with Poccolus, Anubi, Akys, Wejdas) (1994)

Nocticula Hecate (demo) (1994)

Wellone Aeternitas (full-length) (1996)

Anubi:

God's Pantheon (demo) (1993)

Mastabos dvelksmas (demo) (1994)

Dark Fire Dancing (split album with Poccolus, Nahash, Akys, Wejdas) (1994)

Mirties metafora (demo) (1995)

Sutemus skambės 7" (1996)

Kai pilnaties akis užmerks mirtis (full-length) (1997)

Obtest:

Reh. Demo (demo tape) (1994)

Oldness Coming (demo) (1995)

Live at Poltergeist (video) (1995)

Prieš audrą (demo) (1995)

Tūkstantmetis (full-length) (1997)

Promo 98 (demo) (1998)

997 7" (1998)

Next time: MAYHEM RETURNS

Infernum

 

Heading back to Poland, we discover the mighty INFERNUM, a band second in importance only to Graveland and Behemoth in the Polish scene. Their story gets a little tricky because of competing visions of black metal and the existence of more than one band named Infernum...

While Graveland's Rob Darken was a member of Infernum, the band really is the brainchild of Grzegorz "Karcharoth" Jurgielewicz. A prolific musician who contributed mightily to Poland's black metal scene, he also wrestled with severe schizophrenia in his private life. 

An early 90s picture of Karcharoth

Infernum was formed in late 1992, and in these early days, Grzegorz went by Anextiomarus. He and drummer Balrog put out their first demo, The Dawn Will Never Come. After meeting and recruiting Darken, they put out a second demo, Damned Majesty, on which Darken played synths. Both of these demos were put out in 1993. Infernum played a raw, yet atmospheric, black metal on those early demos. 

"The Dawn Will Never Come" is actually off of the second demo

Shortly after the second demo, Capricornus took over on drums. This was the beginning of Graveland and Infernum sharing the same line-up: Darken, Anextiomarus (who was now going by "Karcharoth"), and Capricornus. This was also around the time that Infernum took the plunge into the political far-right world of National Socialism (Nazism). This involvement in the far-right was clearly an extension of Karcharoth's obsession with extreme evil.

By this time, Infernum had proven themselves on their demos, and so had attracted the interest of record labels. Polish label Astral Wings signed Infernum and agreed to pay for the recording sessions. The resulting album was the now-classic ...Taur-nu-Fuin..., an atmospheric, pagan-infused black metal masterpiece.

From that debut comes "In the Black Clouds of War"

Problems emerged after the release of the album. Karcharoth and Capricornus had written a veritable screed in the album's liner notes, and it was more or less Nazi rantings. This brought the band to the attention of the Polish authorities (as a country that bore the brunt of the Nazis' hate in WW2, it makes sense that the authorities would not take kindly to Nazi writings).

This was also around the same time that Karcharoth's schizophrenia emerged and began to make life difficult for him and his fellow Polish musicians. Karcharoth did continue to contribute to the Polish black metal scene--including playing bass for Graveland, and beginning to write and record the follow-up to ...Taur-nu-Fuin...--but he also became more erratic. This culminated in Karcharoth attempting to travel to Norway to kill Fenriz over some perceived slight.

Between episodes like this and harassment from the authorities, Karcharoth began to isolate himself from his former bandmates. His grip on reality began to get more and more tenuous, until he took his own life in 2004.

A pic of the classic Infernum line-up

In the early 2000s, there were two separate efforts to continue the work of Infernum. Darken and Capricornus took the already-recorded material and finished it, resulting in the 2005 album Farewell. Once that album was finished, they laid the band to rest. At the same time, Karcharoth recruited some musicians to be a totally new Infernum, and they recorded completely new material. This material did not emerge as an album (2006's The Curse) until after Karcharoth's suicide. This second incarnation of the band soldiered on for a few more years before ultimately calling it a day in 2009.

"Black March" is from the 'true' Infernum's final album, 2005's Farewell 

Select Discography:

The Dawn Will Never Come (demo) (1993)

Damned Majesty (demo) (1993)

...Taur-Nu-Fuin... (full-length) (1994)

Farewell (full-length) (2005)

When the Light Has Died (demo) (recorded 1996, released 2019)

Next time: DAWN

Kampfar

 

One of the great things about exploring any genre of metal is discovering new bands. The big names of black metal--Mayhem, Immortal, Darkthrone, Emperor, Burzum--are known by everyone. But those mid-tier bands that slave away just beneath the surface?  It's exciting to watch when people discover them. KAMPFAR is a Norwegian band that the casual black metal fan knows little about. But the true black metal aficionados know them as a tried-and-true pagan black metal band.

Originating from the ashes of MOCK, who existed from 1991-1994, Kampfar was for years the brainchild of Thomas and Dolk. Dolk cut his teeth in the aforementioned Mock. Mock's sound was a classic Norwegian black metal that bears all the hallmarks of the early second wave. Check out their 1994 demo, Cold Winter, below:

After Mock dissolved in 1994, Dolk still had the yearning to create black metal.  The story goes that he had a bassline written for a black metal song, but it wasn't until he met Thomas that he had a music-writing partner who was able to write the perfect guitar part to go with it.  This became the song "Kampfar." Shortly thereafter, they wrote "Hymne". And this material became their first demo, and eventually,  the self-titled EP.

The Kampfar EP contains both the songs "Hymne" and "Kampfar"

In these early years of Kampfar's existence, Thomas and Dolk were the only two members of the band. Dolk brought a black metal sensibility to the table that was balanced out by Thomas's more classical and folk-oriented approach to music. This is what allowed Kampfar to create their now-classic pagan/folk black metal. The incorporation of clean, chanting vocals and folk/non-traditional instruments helped make Kampfar's music a crucial stage in the development of pagan and viking black metal. An album like 1997's Mellom skoggkledde aaser easily holds its own when put next to albums like Vikingligr Veldi or Hammerheart.

From their 1997 album, this is "Valgalderkvad"

In these early years of the band, they weren't the most prolific. Dolk attributes this to his and Thomas's writing process. They were more painstaking about their approach to writing their music. As a result, in this stage--when only Thomas and Dolk were the members of the band--they only churned out two full-length albums, the above-mentioned 1997 album and 1999's Fra underverdenen.

From their 1999 album, this is "Norse"

Things changed pretty radically in the early 2000s. Ask and Jon were recruited as new members, on drums and bass respectively. Their writing process shifted in a major way, and the band became more prolific. In the 2000s, Kampfar churned out a slew of fantastic pagan black metal albums that still stand the test of time: 2006's Kvass, 2008's Heimgang, and 2011's Mare.

From 2006's Kvass, this is "Ravenheart"

"Inferno" comes from their 2008 album

"Blitzwitch" is a great track from their 2011 album

In 2010, Thomas left the band, leaving Dolk as the only original member. Kampfar has soldiered on to this day, still releasing quality albums of folk-influenced and pagan black metal. They may not be a household name like Mayhem, but they're a band that has had an impact on black metal the world over.

Select Discography:

Mock:

Cold Winter (demo) (1994)

Vinterlandet EP (1995)

Kampfar:

Kampfar EP (1996)

Mellom skoggkledde aaser (full-length) (1997)

Norse EP (1998)

Fra underverdenen (full-length) (1999)

Kvass (full-length) (2006)

Heimgang (full-length) (2008)

Mare (full-length) (2011)

Next time: GRAVEWÜRM

Graveland

These days, there is some truly quality black metal coming out of Poland. Mgła, Cultes des Ghoules, Kriegsmaschine, Furia, Massemord, Medico Peste, and a slew of other bands push forward the boundaries of black metal, all while staying true to the genre's roots. Before all of these bands, however, the mighty GRAVELAND, from the city of Wroclaw, was one of the chief standard-bearers of Polish black metal.

As a band, Graveland has mostly been about achieving the musical vision of founder and main songwriter Rob Darken. Darken is an extremely controversial figure in black metal history, on par with Varg Vikernes for sheer notoriety. He arose from the far-right wing of the Polish black metal scene, with views that could be characterized as National Socialist (Nazi). In a series of highly incendiary interviews throughout the early and mid-1990s, Darken espoused his views to anyone who would listen. Needless to say, time has tempered his views. Some say this is because Darken has recognized that Graveland's fanbase comes from all over the globe--and includes many non-Polish, non-European, non-white fans. Some say that he has merely mellowed with age. And some say he believes the same things, but is not vocal about it for fear of commercial backlash (this seems the least likely to me, as black metal doesn't usually take commerical interests into consideration). What can be said for certain is that Darken does currently hold pagan-inspired ethno-nationalist beliefs. He may or may not still be a National Socialist, but he still trucks with the extreme far-right. All of this being said, Graveland's music has always reflected Darken's obsession with his European pagan heritage and love of an idealized past.

Darken initially formed Graveland as a solo project in 1991, heavily inspired by Bathory and the emerging Norwegian scene. Demos such as Necromanteion and Drunemeton (both released in 1992) showcase a raw, unpolished style that Graveland was known for in their early years. The early Graveland sound is an odd, eerie death/black metal with an old-school vibe, replete with an almost industrial feel to it because of the production values and the incorporation of keyboards and evil sound samples.

"The Celts Ride Over Graveland" is a well-known demo song from 1992's Necromanteion

After these early demos in 1992, Darken recruited others to help him realize his musical vision. Karcharoth (of Infernum fame) and Capricornus were key musicians in the shaping of Graveland's sound after the band transitioned away from their initial raw sound. Some of the stronger demos from these years--like 1993's In the Glare of the Burning Churches and 1994's Celtic Winter--are absolute classics of early 1990s Polish black metal, and have influenced countless bands from all over the world. In terms of style, I think 1993's Glare is a demo that easily holds its own with many full-length albums of the early second wave.

From In the Glare of the Burning Churches, this is "Night of the Fullmoon"

With a full roster, Graveland set about recording what would be their first album, Carpathian Wolves. This album was a continuation of the sound of the Glare and Winter demos. On this album, we also see Graveland began to craft long, epic, almost progressively-structured black metal songs---something that would become their trademark on future albums. Another aspect of Graveland's sound that was present on this album was the use of thematically-relevant samples that helped to create the eerie, occultic black metal atmosphere. Note the intro sample of wolves howling below as it segues into the song "In the Northern Carpathians":

Carpathian Wolves really caught the attention of the black metal world as a whole. Graveland were then able to sign with Austrian label Lethal Records for the release of their second album, A Thousand Swords. This album was a strong release in the vein of 1994's Wolves, yet at the same time represented a move away from pure black metal into a more folk/pagan-styled sound. Unfortunately for the band, Darken's statements on his political and racial beliefs in some interviews in this time period caused Lethal Records to drop the band.

The next phase of Graveland's existence saw them shift even further away from a pure, old-school black metal to a more folk-influenced sound. With a core of Darken and Capricornus (Karcharoth left in 1995), the band began to focus on a sound that reflected Darken's obsession with his pagan beliefs. This sound has more or less persisted to this day (in varying forms). It can rightly be characterized as a viking/folk/pagan black metal more than anything else. Graveland songs began increasing in length, with epic symphonic passages that are designed to evoke ancient battlefields from Europe's pre-Christian past. Even the album titles reflect this aesthetic change and interest in heritage and the past: Following the Voice of Blood, Immortal Pride, Memory and Destiny, etc.

"Sacrifice for Honour" is from 1998's Immortal Pride--note how long it is!

Graveland's sound has been fairly consistent since their transition to a more viking-esque style. They continue to release albums to this day focusing on pagan eras goneby, painting sweeping soundscapes that fans of any pagan or viking black metal owes it to themselves to check out.

Select Discography: 

Necromanteion (demo) (1992)

Drunemeton (demo)  (1993)

In the Glare of the Burning Churches (demo) (1993)

Celtic Winter (demo) (1994)

Carpathian Wolves (full-length)  (1994)

Thousand Swords (full-length) (1995)

Following the Voice of Blood (full-length) (1997)

Immortal Pride (full-length) (1998)

Creed of Iron (full-length) (2000)

Next time: FRANCE'S LES LEGIONS NOIRES - MÜTIILATION

Falkenbach

One of the most important--and one of the oldest--bands in the history of the Viking/pagan subgenre of black metal is Germany's FALKENBACH. Formed in 1989 by Dusseldorf-born Vratyas Vakyas (real name Markus Tummers), Falkenbach was initially a nameless project designed to be an outlet for an expression of Germanic pagan ideas. The first demo--1989's Havamal--didn't even have a band name attached to it.

Vratyas labored in the underground for several years, churning out a style that can clearly be characterized as a folk-infused pagan black metal. Between 1989 and 1995, Falkenbach released a slew of demos (many of which are next to impossible to find) that show the development of this sound. Check out the 1995 demo Laeknishendr, below:

Following the release of demos such as Laeknishendr in 1995 and ...skinn af sverđi sól valtiva... in 1996, Vratyas was able to sign with German label No Colours Records in order to put out a proper studio album. The result was the epic ...en their medh riki fara... album. Shortly after the release of this album, Vratyas was approached by Napalm Records and he was impressed with the terms of their contact, so he signed with them. Falkenbach has since put out several quality albums through Napalm. During this time period, Vratyas recruited several session musicians to help craft Falkenbach's music. That being said, however, Falkenbach remains the brainchild of Vratyas Vakyas through and through.

"Winternight" is from their 1996 debut album

 Despite the fact that Falkenbach's sound clearly has much in common with other classic viking metal bands--especially Bathory's viking material--Vratyas has said that he has not been influenced by any other metal bands. He has stated that he draws musical inspiration from Romantic composers like Wagner, Grieg, and Franz Grothe. Being that one of the hallmarks of Romantic music is a glorification of the past and pride in one's heritage, it makes perfect sense that Falkenbach would draw on these traditions.

As can be heard in Falkenbach's lyrics, Germanic and Norse paganism is very real, very authentic, and very personally important for Vratyas Vakyas. He has explicited stated that he wants his music to glorify the ancient gods and goddesses of the Northern European tradition, even admitting to being a practitioner of modern-day Asatru. He also writes most of his lyrics in old languages---Old Norse, Old German, Old Icelandic. Falkenbach is first and foremost about Germanic heritage.

Many people consider "When Gjallarhorn Will Sound" to be Falkenbach's best song

Aside from being the mastermind behind Falkenbach, Vratyas Vakyas also ran his own label--Skaldic Art Productions--for a while. Furthermore, Vratyas has stated in interviews though that he doesn't know what the future holds for Falkenbach, and has often thought about just hanging it all up. We'll have to see. In the meantime, we'll enjoy this classic-sounding pagan black metal.

2005's Heralding the Fireblade gives us "Heralder"

Select Discography:
Havamal (demo) (1989)
Tanfana (demo) (1990)
Towards Solens Golden Light (demo) (1991)
Laeknishendr (demo)  (1995)
Promo '95 (demo)  (1995)
...skinn af sverđi sól valtiva... (demo) (1996)
...en their medh riki fara... (full-length) (1996)
...magni blandinn ok megintíri... (full-length) (1998)
Ok nefna tysvar Ty (full-length) (2003)
Heralding the Fireblade (full-length) (2005)
Tiurida (full-length) (2011)
Asa (full-length) (2013)

Next time: OPERA IX

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