In the Woods...

 

Norwegian band IN THE WOODS... represents a unique chapter in the history of black metal. Their style in the late nineties was like almost no one else in the Norwegian scene, and they have unique connections to other crucial black metal bands at the same time. 

ITW formed from the ashes of death metal band Green Carnation in 1991 when band member Tchort went to join Emperor on bass. Green Carnation dissolved and remaining members Anders, Christian, and Christopher formed ITW--recruiting Oddvar and Jan along the way--as an outlet for their nascent black metal sound. Their first demo in 1993 was a raw piece of black metal that didn't do too much to stand out from the pack.

Here is the '93 demo in full

Shortly after the release of that demo, ITW entered the studio with the goal of releasing a second demo. This demo--1994's Isle of Men--was essentially the first demo re-recorded. The sound quality was improved, but this was still the same music: a somewhat raw, midpaced black metal.

This is the 1994 version of "Tell de døde", from the Isle of Men demo

The Isle of Men demo in 1994 proved to be a pretty well-received demo in the black metal underground. It has been reissued by several different record labels as a CD, most recently by Soulseller Records. It is pretty easy to find these days, if you're interested in acquiring a copy.

That said, ITW began pushing the boundaries of their music after the release of Isle of Men. The midpaced black metal sound on their demos eventually gave way to a melodic and progressive folk-influenced style on their first full-length album, 1995's Heart of the Ages. With a sound that reminds the listener of Isengard and older Arcturus, all wrapped up in an atmospheric package, there really was nothing like it in the Norwegian scene at the time of its release.

"...in the woods" is probably the most traditionally black metal song off of Heart of the Ages

Now calling their music 'pagan metal'--despite not having all of the hallmarks of that genre--ITW had really made their mark on the Norwegian scene, and by extension, global black metal. If they had called it a day after releasing this album, they'd still be a noteworthy chapter in the history of black metal. But in this first phase of their existence (they broke up in 2000), they put out two more albums that revolutionized extreme metal.

On 1997's Omnio, they moved away from black metal, but kept a dark, moody aura to their music. With epic, progressive passages painted over a doom-y riffing style, Omnio is a hard album to characterize. Not really like any kind of traditional black metal, fans of modern-day atmospheric and epic black metal like Saor, Aquilus, or Agalloch might find themselves at home on this album.

From 1997's Omnio, this is "Weeping Willow"

On 1999's Strange in Stereo, they moved even further away from traditional black metal. Still possessing the dark, moody atmosphere from Omnio, their music reminds the listener of old-school gothic rock bands like Bauhaus at times. Strange in Stereo is an odd album--one whose name is very apt. This is an album that further alienated hardcore black metal fans, but brought in a whole new audience of open-minded listeners.

"Closing In" is the opening track from Strange in Stereo

But all was not well in the world of ITW. The band members could not agree on the direction to take the band, and these musical differences would prove fatal to the band. In the Woods... broke up in the year 2000 (In the Woods...did get back together in the 2010s, but their music was more in the doom-death vein than it was black metal). But as fortune would have it, some of the band members had recently reconciled with Tchort, and Green Carnation was re-formed as a result. If you listen to the Green Carnation albums from the early 2000s, you can hear some similarities with what ITW was doing on Omnio and Strange. Check out "Light of Day, Day of Darkness," below, to see what I mean.

Select Discography:

Rehearsal (demo) (1993)

Isle of Men (demo) (1994)

Heart of the Ages (full-length album) (1995)

Omnio (full-length album) (1997)

Strange in Stereo (full-length album) (1999)

Next time: IMMORTAL

Enslaved

Like many bands of Norway's second wave of black metal, ENSLAVED formed from the ashes of a defunct death metal band. The death metal band in question--Phobia--managed to put out a demo before breaking up.

By the time of the demise of Phobia, band members Grutle Kjellson, Ivar Bjornson, and newly recruited drummer K. Johnny (later to go by Trym Torson) set about creating material for this new project, Enslaved. While the sound was definitely firmly in the Norwegian black metal style, the lyrical content moved away from the Satanic and toward Norway's pre-Christian past. Their early demos--1991's Nema and 1992's Yggdrasil (a classic!)--showcase this sound.

"Allfadr Odin" is one of Enslaved's classic demo tracks

Citing Bathory's mature viking metal albums (Twilight of the Gods and Hammerheart) as inspiration, Enslaved viewed their Norse pagan heritage more philosophically than most. For them, it wasn't ideological fodder or reactionary drivel, but a real, meaningful set of beliefs. This philosophical orientation permeated their song lyrics. At the same time, Enslaved's songwriting began to transcend the simpler aspects of the Norwegian black metal template. Beginning with the amazing 1993 EP Hordanes Land (which was also released as a split with Emperor), songs with multiple motifs and long, epic passages started to become the norm for this viking metal band.

One of Enslaved's more well-known songs, this is "Heimdallr"--off of Vikingligr Veldi

Following this EP, Euronymous--who had been a supporter of the band since the beginning--released Enslaved's full-length debut (Vikingligr Veldi) on his Deathlike Silence Productions. This album was a more mature effort at their epic viking metal. Thematically--and to a lesser degree, structurally--this album was quite different than what other Norwegians were doing, but it still fit in the camp of Norwegian black metal in terms of sound. The guitar riffing style, lo-fi production, screeched vocals, and focused use of atmospheric snyths were still a key component of Enslaved's sound.

Since Deathlike Silence went under with Euronymous's death, Enslaved had to search out a new label. Within a few months, not only had they landed a deal with French label Osmose Productions, but they had also released their second full-length album, Frost. This album did continue the viking-themed lyrics, but in terms of sound, Frost was a much more aggressive album. The synths were almost entirely absent, and the song structure resembled that of other Norwegian bands.

"Loke" is an amazing track off of 1994's Frost

Frost was a cold, harsh, unforgiving album. Like much of Enslaved's work from this era, it is an absolute classic of Norwegian black metal. They followed it up with 1997's Eld (Trym Torson had left to join Emperor, so they recruited new drummer Harald Helgeson). Also released on Osmose, Eld was yet another change in style. The production, song structure, and even musical approach stayed true to Enslaved's viking metal ethos, but it was pretty distinct from both Frost and Vikingligr Veldi. 

"Glemt" is my favorite song off Eld

1999's Blodhemn gives us songs like "I Lenker til Ragnarok" 

With these classic releases under their belt, Enslaved was now the master of the viking metal subgenre. With one more solid black metal album in the viking vein to come (1999's Blodhemn), Enslaved had more or less exhausted the possibilities of that particular style. There was nowhere left for them to go but to change the face of black metal completely.

With 2000's Mardraum: Beyond the Within, they did just that. While this album rested on a clear black metal foundation, it bore the influence of more progressive fare at the same time. Epic, long songs filled with time and motif changes, non-standard riffing, and vocal variation dominated this masterpiece. 2001's Monumension took it even further, with song structures that were not only progressive in nature, but borrowed from other genres.

Listen to the new direction evident on Monumension's "The Voices"

Since those early 2000s albums, Enslaved has continued to push the boundaries of their music. Their work still retains elements of the Norwegian black metal from whence they came, but they test the limits further and further with each release.

Select Discography:

Nema (demo) (1991)

Yggdrasil (demo) (1992)

Hordanes Land EP (1993)

Vikingligr Veldi (full-length album) (1994)

Frost (full-length album) (1994)

Eld (full-length album) (1997)

Blodhemn (full-length album) (1999)

Mardraum: Beyond the Within (full-length album) (2000)

Monumension (full-length album) (2001)

Next time: BEHEMOTH