MORBOSIDAD, who formed in Oakland, California, despite the band members being from Mexico, is a raw and brutal band known for a style that blends elements of war metal and black/thrash. There has been some debate about when they formed, with the band insisting they didn't form until 1993, but Tomas Stench (the mastermind behind the band and the one constant in the band) realizing they had actually formed in 1991 after finding an old interview in a 'zine from that year!
Regardless, it wasn't until '93 that their first demo was released. Their follow up, 1994's Santísima Muerte, was what made the extreme metal underground sit up and take notice. Featuring a sound that was heavy on the death metal side, Morbosidad's lyrics were also noteworthy for being highly blasphemous, in the vein of Profanatica.
Here is the complete 1994 demo
Just as things were starting to take off, tragedy struck. Their drummer died in a freak explosion in 1995. The band was devastated, and put things on hold. They didn't return to making music until 1999.
When they returned on the scene with new material in 2000--including their self-titled full-length album--their sound was still primitive and raw and evil. However, they were less death metal and more like what we now know as war metal.
From their self-titled album, this is "Bestial y Morboso"
Morbosidad is nothing else if not consistent. They wear their influences--Sarcofago, Beherit, Blasphemy, Archgoat--on their sleeve. Each release features that insane war metal style, with ultra-blasphemous lyrics in Spanish (because, according to Tomas Stench, "it gives our music a more primitive, evil, and blasphemous sound"). Even among American war metallers, very few bands sound like Morbosidad.
From their 2004 album, this is "Sangriento Sacrificio Cristiano"
Since their re-emergence in 1999, Morbosidad has consistently released brutal black/death brilliance on album after album. Even when drummer Goat Destroyer fell out of a window and died in 2009, the band soldiered on. In fact, they actually put out albums in his honor, including a split with Manticore.
"Poseido por el Diablo" comes from 2008's Profana la cruz del Nazareno
Select Discography:
Demo '93 (demo) (1993)
Santísima Muerte (demo) (1994)
Morbosidad (full-length album) (2000)
Bajo el egendro del crucificado EP (2002)
Cójete a Dios por el culo (full-length album) (2004)
Legiones bestiales EP (2006)
Profana la cruz del nazareno (full-length album) (2008)
The American black metal scene, as has been mentioned before, got off to a slower start than many other countries' scenes. The 1980s saw some important advancements by bands like Goatlord and NME, and by the early 1990s, groups like Von, Profanatica, and Demoncy were helping the style evolve, but nothing as fruitful as the Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, or Greek scenes took hold for several years.
Instead, bands were few and far between for several years in the nineties, and a lot of these bands confined their activity to the underground. One such band was black/death band IRREVERENT, from Florida. Forming in 1990, they intially started out as a band interested primarily in covering old-school black metal bands like Hellhammer and Bathory.
"Crush the Messiah" is one of Irreverent's songs from an old demo
After a couple of years as Irreverent, the band kind of ran out of steam and essentially broke up. From the ashes of this band arose WITCHERY. Their style was darker, heavier, more aggressive. By the time Witchery formed in the mid-nineties, the American black metal scene was in full swing, but Witchery was playing in a style not well-represented in the black metal mainstream. The Norwegian template laid down by Mayhem, Darkthrone, and Burzum on the one hand and the eerie symphonic stylings of Emperor, Cradle of Filth, and Dimmu Borgir on the other were the two dominant modes of making black metal, but Witchery's sound resembled an Americanized version of Blasphemy-style war metal.
Witchery's 1998 demo Evil Shall Prevail gives us "Dominion of Everlasting Darkness"
Witchery's demo material from the mid-nineties was well-received in the underground, but member Darkwulf eventually left the band due to his disgust with the direction the USBM scene was taking. Main man Impurath then recruited Tregenda and Vaz to round out the band. With this change, their music got even darker and more hellish. It was also around this time that the Swedish retro-thrash band Witchery was starting to get really big on the international metal scene, so Impurath and company decided to change their name. Thus, BLACK WITCHERY was born in 1998.
After 8 years of laboring in the American black metal underground, this band--under the moniker Black Witchery--was finally able to start putting out proper studio releases. Their first such release was 1998's Summoning of the Infernal Legions 7" on Dark Horizon Records. It featured new versions of old Witchery classics. However, I would say that the release that really dragged Black Witchery from the underground into the light (so to speak) was their split album with Canadian war metallers Conqueror. This album--entitled Hellstorm of Evil Vengeance--is a savage black metal masterpiece, and perhaps my favorite black metal split of all time.
From the split with Conqueror, this is "Unholy Vengeance of War"
With these releases, Black Witchery was now becoming known as one of USBM's more crucial bands. Their style of war metal was still not incredibly common in the American scene, so this made them even more of a curious anomaly. Nevertheless, they have remained a consistent source of black metal intensity since their re-branding as Black Witchery in 1998. Studio albums such as 2001's Desecration of the Holy Kingdom and 2005's Upheaval of Satanic Might showcase this brutal, unapologetic style.
"Command of the Iron Baphomet" comes from Desecration of the Holy Kingdom
2005's Upheaval of Satanic Might gives us "Darkness Attack"
Impurath, the mastermind and main driving force behind Black Witchery
Select Discography:
as Irreverent:
Inverted Crucifixion (demo) (1991)
Crush the Messiah (demo) (1992)
as Witchery:
Death to Trends (demo) (1997)
Evil Shall Prevail (demo) (1998)
as Black Witchery:
Summoning of the Infernal Legions EP (1998)
Hellstorm of Evil Vengeance (split with Conqueror) (1999)
Desecration of the Holy Kingdom (full-length album) (2001)
Upheaval of Satanic Might (full-length album) (2005)
Live Destruction Ritual (live album) (2010)
Inferno of Sacred Destruction (full-length album) (2010)
Holocaustic Death March to Humanity's Doom (split with Revenge) (2015)
In the 1980s, one of the most important countries for the development of black metal was Brazil. Sarcofago, Vulcano, Holocausto, Exterminator, Escola Alemã and others were absolutely instrumental in the shaping of old-school black metal and laying the foundation for so much of what came after. By the early 1990s, many of these bands had broken up or were no longer making an impact on the scene. GOATPENIS, formed in 1991, was a crucially important underground black metal band that helped Brazilian black metal evolve in these years.
Band mastermind Sabbaoth has mentioned that their name draws on the fact that "penis" can be used to denote testosterone-driven power and strength. In terms of style, Goatpenis draws not just on the raw Sarcofago-styled black metal from the 80s, but they looked to Brazil's death metal and grindcore scene--bands like Necrobutcher and Fear of God--for sonic inspiration. The resulting sound is primitive, nasty, and visceral. It compares favorably with the work of such brutal bands as Blasphemy, Beherit, and Archgoat. Topically, like so many black metal bands on the brutal side of the genre, Goatpenis has been obsessed with not just all things blasphemous, but the dehumanization and chaos of war.
From their 1992 demo, this is "S'havohej Detaefed"
This is the title track from their 1994 demo, Jesus Coward
In the early 90s, Goatpenis put out some really raw and intense demos that showed the world the brutality that Brazil was capable of. Through tape trading, Goatpenis's sound spread far and wide. That being said, the band went on hiatus in 1997 due to lack of rehearsal space--but they did become active again in 1999.
Since the dawn of the millenium, Goatpenis has been much more active than they were in the early 90s. They've put out numerous albums, EPs, splits, and compilations that show how the band retained their signature raw sound, but had matured and refined it in the intervening years.
This track from 2004's Inhumanization showcases Goatpenis's post-millenial sound
Canada's scene has always been sadly neglected by the mainstream metal press. With extreme bands like Voor, Razor, Infernal Majesty, Slaughter, and Procreation, the 1980s in Canada was a very good time for extreme metal. In terms of black metal, the band that stands at the head of the pack is British Columbia's BLASPHEMY.
Although they formed in 1984, it wasn't until 1989 that they released their first demo, Blood Upon the Altar. Upon first forming, they played covers of bands like Sodom, Slayer, and Bathory. During the years between formation and the release of the demo, they did manage to make a name for themselves performing live shows. One of the other things holding them up was that some of the band members served jail time. The band members also adopted ritualistic stage names like Nocturnal Grave Desecrator and Black Winds (vocals/bass), Caller of the Storms (guitar), 3 Black Hearts of Damnation and Impurity (drums), and Black Priest of the Seven Satanic Blood Rituals (guitars).
The 1989 demo track "Blasphemy"
Blasphemy's style might be one of the most brutal in the history of black metal. One can clearly hear the influence of not only the early black metal underground, but also death metal. With the pounding drums, the guttural, demonic vocals, and the guitar playing that mixed the speed of early black/thrash with the ferociousness of old-school death metal, Blasphemy had a unique sound. They did not think of themselves as black metal, but labelled their sound "war metal".
"Demoniac" might be Blasphemy's best known song
In 1990, Blasphemy put out the full-length album, Fallen Angel of Doom. With a grittier production, the sound on this album was a little more intentionally raw, evil, and demonic. It also featured re-recorded versions of several demo tracks, including the now-infamous "Demoniac" (see above). Blasphemy declared in an interview years later that their intention was always to "pound the world like a demon with a battering ram" with their music, and I think they come damn close.
"Emperor of the Black Abyss" is from 1993's Gods of War
In 1993, Blasphemy not only put out another legendary album--Gods of War--but they also went on the infamous "Fuck Christ" tour, with Immortal and Rotting Christ. I can only imagine how amazing those shows were (Rotting Christ at their most evil, Immortal having just released Pure Holocaust, and Blasphemy at the peak of their creative powers?). This next clip is a taste of that tour:
After this tour, Blasphemy got put on hold because of trouble with the law (I think the drummer went to jail). During the down time, members of Blasphemy attempted to initiate new projects such as Necrosleezer. At the urging of fellow Canadian war metallers Conqueror, Blasphemy re-formed and put out the live album Live Ritual: Friday the 13th in 2001. There is a also a bootleg entitled Return of the Hooded Demons that is a recording of a rehearsal from 2001, and it features new material.
