7 inches of shivering

I remember I used to love 7'' EPs. They were collectables, they were a more sophisticated and charming way of introducing a band's work than a demo, they were limited. In general the whole thing showed devotion and that deserves to be rewarded. My interest in collecting 7''s lasted until late 90's. It was then, that my interest and active involvement with the underground came to an end. These days I don't really care so much about such things. Maybe it is because although my interest for the underground is rejuvenated, there is no active involvement. There is no time nor will to pursue little gems, like it used to be.
Trying to rearrange my record collection the other day, I found some of those 7'' little records that I haven't seen for quite some time. Three or four of them were of special importance for me, for various different reasons.

Morbid Angel - Thy Kingdom Come 

 

 This was made for distribution with Splattermaniac zine and contained two of the tracks from the demo with the same title. I remember I first heard it on a tape copy somewhere around 1989 and I was searching for the original pressing for some years after. I only obtained it in 1995 when a guy that had lost interest in death metal accepted to trade it asking me Monumentum's In Absentia Christi (basically a lazy guy that was bored of going to the record shop and buy a copy of his own).

Thy Kingdom Come is one of Morbid Angels three best songs and on this 7'' it is far superior than on the remake on Blessed are the Sick.

Asphyx - Mutilating Process  

 

 I followed Asphyx since their second demo tape (Enter the Domain). Especially the Crush the Cenotaph tape was an amazing work of doom-death that had me crushed. It didn't warn me though about the majesty that was the Mutilating Process EP. It is still my favourite Asphyx recording, a haunting, heavy as fuck and more compact than a wall of steel attack that makes me feel sorry for the ones that never heard it. 

Thou Art Lord / Ancient Rites split

 

A nice little disk that had me charmed from the first glance, mainly due to the occult aesthetic. A classic Thou Art Lord track on one side, Ancient Rites on their most dark and occult incarnation on the other. This is blessed by Satan.

There are several more 7'' records that are important to me. Maybe I shall return to the subject soon. Maybe not. You don't care but I don't mind either.

AMSG

Clarifications

I was speaking with a friend of mine the other day and he told me that he thought I misjudged Burzum's record. As I believe he is not the only one, I will take the opportunity to clear some things about this little blog.

First of all I am no judge so I cannot misjudge anything. I just post my opinion and for the specific record I think it is no better than any average black metal album one can listen to, today. It's not bad. It is just mediocre...which is worse than bad.

Furthermore this is not a page that claims to be any fucking webzine. I hate WEBzines. Give me a printed fanzine anytime. I am not a journalist so my opinion has not any importance of such nature. I have no relationship with no record labels, so all the music I write about is cds or lps that I have purchased myself. Nothing is given to me for free.

All in all this is just a personal space I use in order to get certain things out of my system and to express my feelings about music mainly. The opinion of others is of no importance to me. Exchange of opinions does not interest me, hence the absence of the comments feature. In all honesty I hope this blog continues to stay out of the radar of the masses. I don't have any desire for many visitors. I am antisocial by nature and I don't think highly of the majority of humans, so the lesser the better. 

I hope this clears things up.

PS: I see that my 'favourite' Terrorizer magazine features Burzum (again) on the cover of the last issue. It seems that boycott and censorship of 'suspiciously' fascist artists is important but not as important as the urge to sell some copies more. It's perfectly understandable...we are living in times of economical crisis after all. You can censor an underground band like Italy's Janus and don't harm your sales. But a high profile band like Burzum is a totally different case. Well done.

Sounds...

Vorkreist - Sickness Sovereign 

Vesaeleth - Crypt Born & Tethered To Ruin
Darkthrone - Sardonic Wrath
Master's Hammer - Mantras

Words...
Julius Evola - Metafisica del Sesso

I hope you Die...

Time for the false myths to end

Arguably Burzum have been an important part of the second wave of black metal both in terms of music and general behaviour. As long as the music goes, Burzum was never one of my favourites - not even close. There's no denying though that the guy had started a sub category of black metal all by himself. His beliefs and behaviour though is another debate. As much as I enjoyed the mind games he was playing with the mainstream press in the mid 90's, there's no doubt that it's a moron we're talking about. And as is usually the case, a moron is often being idolized and followed by complete imbeciles, making things even worse. Rest assured that my scepticism about his views and beliefs are of no ethical nature. It is just that they lack any intelligence and basic knowledge of history and philosophy.

The new record is soon to be released and the hype is growing stronger every day. Of course it has leaked to the internet and I sadly succumbed to my curiosity and downloaded it. The record is viewed as Burzum's return to its metal incarnation leaving the days of ridiculous ambient behind. The lyrical concept deals with Belus or the 'white god' or blah blah...anyway, I couldn't care less. So I will elaborate a little bit more on the musical side of the record. Which is supposed to be a return to the style of old, until Filosofem. The problem is that what seemed unique and charming in 95, is dated and boring in 2010. The guitars try to sound moody and create an ambient atmosphere, using the known trick of repetition, but they fail in both. The vocals that used to add a rare tortured feeling are now plain, ordinary black metal vocals lacking the soul they used to have. All in all, the well of inspiration seems to have dried out. Not a great surprise, as we are talking about a guy that has been all talk for so many years now. It's time for his false myth to collapse. Vikernes says that he doesn't want this record to be associated with black metal. Of course Belus is not black metal...but not because he says so.
Needles to say that I listened to Belus ten or eleven times in the past couple of days and it is already deleted from my hard drive. A needless burden.


On the contrary...
Ash Pool - For Which He Plies The Lash
Kawir - To Uranus (the three new tracks are awesome)
Abhorrer - Zygotical Sabbatory Anabapt
Dodsengel - Mirium Occultum
Denouncement Pyre - Under the Aegis of Damnation

AMSG

Speak of the Devil

 I avoid reading interviews. Few are the bands or artists that can back their art with a strong vision and clear views or better a philosophical stance about their work and life in general. Most commonly, black metal bands have few things to say and usually, the more they talk, the more they expose an ignorant and shallow self. 
There are of course the exceptions of bands that have the knowledge, intelligence and vision and whose interviews are totally worth reading, provided that the interviewer has a basic knowledge of the topics that are discussed and an average IQ, so that he doesn't destroy the conversation.

An example of a worth reading interview is an almost three years old one with Abigor. Does it seem 'old' to anyone? The point is that it is not dated at all, as it revolves around matters that don't have to do with dull and shallow stupid topics like useless trivia about the latest album, band members coming and going etc. That's another important point characteristic of a good interview (at least in my opinion). Can you read it again and again? Can you read it some years later and will the subjects discussed be still relevant?
Furthermore said interview is a rare case as I find myself agreeing 100% with the views expressed by Abigor and it is the first time that I find another individual expressing views exactly the way (even in the same words) I would do. 
The interview was published in Imhotep and it comes in three parts. You can read it here...part 1, part 2, part 3.

Boiling soils

I don't like wasting my breath about things I dislike. This is a rule. An exception to this rule follows.

Norway used to be in the forefront of the black metal movement. During the previews decade though, norwegian bands tried their best to ridicule any positive reputation they might have in the 90's (see Immortal, Carpathian Forest, Gorgoroth and the rest of the clowns). And yes, I consider the activist days of the early 90's to be a positive thing (albeit a naive one)  in a world full of passive, non living individuals.

The attempt of an ex black metal band, to participate in the eurovision song contest though, is still a first one. Of course Keep of kalessin is not black metal , for many years now. Still the gap between being an ex bm band to being the charlatan in a gay circus, is huge. Fuck those faggots.

 Devote your time to things that matter

The earth is trebling. The seas are boiling. The time is nigh.

The portals to chaos are soon to be opened.

TRI               PTY                                    KON


Until the holiest of times...
Leech - Ten black hymns
Juvenile Baroque Slaughterhouse - To Astonish the Browns
Rotting Christ - Aealo
Mütiilation - Rattenkönig

Mourning and war

The new Rotting Christ album named Aealo is about to take the world by storm, so these are some of my thoughts after my first encounter with it.

First of all, under a strict black metal view, I still like Theogonia much more that the new LP. So, to approach  the album as the mere sequel of that beast would be a great mistake and one would lose the much more pluralistic microcosmos of Aealo.

The signs were evident though in Theogonia, which was influenced by greek traditional music without falling into the ridiculous folk metal territory. Aealo is much more immersed in traditional music without losing its own soul and hard edge. An album that starts with the line 'Χάρε πάρε με και κάψε με' (rough translation 'take me death, and burn me') chanted by the female polyphonic group 'Pleiades', cannot fail. The polyphonic chants are dominant on the record. Basically mourning chants that are blended with the martial feeling of the album very well. The theme that runs through Aealo is war and the feelings it provokes to a warrior. I'm not fond of that kind of themes but I can settle with a work of artistic competency as this one, even if the lyrical content is not to my liking. Besides, the lyrics are not the shallow, idiotic, pseudo-heroic crap we came to expect by metal bands talking about war.

Other than that, all the trademark parts of the band are there. Especially the characteristic guitar riffs and melodic leads as well as the vocals...all are in top form here. I mentioned on the previews post that I'm a stubborn bastard that prefers Rotting Christ as a strict black metal band. I'm really gland though, that they created this excellent work of art. Someone should show the world how it should be done. Recommendations.

Among the many appearances of guest musicians, two are those that are dominant and give a different aura to Aealo. First the female polyphonic group Pleiades (pictured above), that participates on most of the songs. Πλειαδες were formed in 2006 aiming to contribute to the diffusion of the Greek-speaking folk polyphonic singing of the region of Epirus. Folk  Polyphony  has old roots, according to some researchers primitive ones; it is found in few areas all over the world and is based on the variation of the melodic expression lines of the members of the polyphonic group. The musical base of folk polyphony is the five-tone scales without semitones.  Through different ways of evolution and influences, folk polyphony is found in Epirus, South Albania, South Italy, Corsica, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Rumania, Slovakia, South Poland, Ethiopia, Georgia, North Pakistan, north foothills of Himalayas, Indonesia and Taiwan.

The second guest contribution that marks Aealo is of course Diamanda Galas'. Here we have a reworking of 'Orders from the Dead', from her 'Defixiones, Will and Testament' album. Rotting Christ have added their music behind her narration, creating a mournful song, a μοιρολόι of highest quality. Diamanda Galas' voice allways sends shivers down the spine. Just feel...

Π'ανάθεμά σε Διαμάντα Γκαλάς...μέλι και σκουλήκια κρύβεις στο λαρύγγι σου.

ΕΑΛΩ

I am one of those stubborn bastards that believe that Rotting Christ's best work is still their Satanas Tedeum demo tape from 1989. Dark, heavy and extremely brutal, bearing the signs of their (then) recent transformation from a grindcore band to a black metal force. The next best thing they created was their previous LP the monstrous Theogonia. I am waiting with interest the new album Aealo which is said to be heavily based on greek traditional music, especially from the region of Epirus, a region that bears some of the best and most mournful greek traditional music. It is not by chance that Epirus is the part of greece where mythology places the entrance to the underworld. I am not that fond of the big or 'mainstream' black metal productions but Rotting Christ is a force I would truly support.
Besides it is a real joy to see that greece's most exportable music 'product' is a band with that abominable name. This should seem like a curse to a conservative, close minded, god fearing, fucked up community like the greek one. ΕΛΛΑΣ ΕΑΛΩ. Thank Satan for that.
More on the record soon. A first comment though is that the cover artwork leaves a lot to be desired.


Bleeding ears...
Blasphemophagher -  ...for Chaos, Obscurity and Desolation
Castevet - Stones-Salts
Socrates - Phos
Dodsengel - Mirium Occultum
Thornspawn - Wrath Of War

AMSG

Time and Satan

It seems that the new Abigor album was the most anticipated one in the underground circles for the last few months. Now that it is upon us, can it survive the hype that was created?
Time Is the Sulphur in the Veins of the Saint... is the logical step following the magnificent Fractal Possession. The present incarnation of the band is singlehandedly the most interesting and fertile one. Thankfully the band is not out of inspiration after the previous album. On the contrary the ideas presented here, in these two tracks, would be enough to fill three or four albums. The guitars continue their dissonant journey in multiple layers while the bass is ever dominant. What stole my attention though is the excellent vocal performance. It has to be heard thoroughly to be believed. This Arthur Rosar guy seems to be a really interesting case. I would like to see the reaction of the 'trve black metal kiddies' (ha) when they find out his other band, the excellent Walser.
All in all the record is essential for everyone that wishes to see the future of black metal shaping in front of his eyes. A complete masterpiece of modern art, that crowns Abigor's career so far.
The lyrical content follows closely the quality of music. Basically an essay on Time based on a phrase of Albert Einstein, it is linked with Blacklodge's album.
T/ME, is the french band's contribution to this combined work. The things that characterize Blacklodge are all there. Harsh and extreme electronics, electro rhythms, satanic devotion. Maybe this is not the best work I've heard from them but it is a worthy addition to their discography.
The two albums can perfectly stand on their own, but personally I found the experience much more rewarding when listening to them as parts of the same combined work they really are.


__________________________________________________________

On more 'conservative' grounds, Dødsengel's second album Mirium Occultum is the other release that enchanted me recently. Norway may well have showed the basics for the black metal sound that is the most dominant in the scene, but as far as the philosophical background goes, there has always been a huge void. The first bands of the 'second wave' had their mandatory excercise in juvenile 'Satanism' blended with detailed references to the weather condition of the north (as if anyone should care). Then the hilarious viking thing came to the front. Anyway, a norwegian band that has the talent to write and perform inspired black metal AND at the same time back it up with a philosophical or theosophical view that matters, is not the most common of cases. This is a gap filled by Dødsengel. I quite liked their debut Visionary but after listening to it 6 or 7 times it got lost in the pile of cds. For the sake of comparison I will say that I heard the new record 5 times in a row after the first encounter I had with that beast. This is a perfect example of a band that sticks to the known norms of black metal, yet the flame that burns inside them acts as an infinite source of inspiration. Ritualistic, cruel when needed, slow and painful at other times, this is the best norwegian black metal I've heard in ages. What's for sure is that this record will not leave my player for a long time.

AMEN

Triptichon of darkness

The forthcoming Triptykon Debut album Eparistera Daimones will feature the artistic geniuses of H.R. Giger and Vincent Castiglia. As the time for its release approaches, it becomes ever more evident that this record is going to be a complete and monstrous work of art. My fever reaches its climax.

Go here right now.

AMSG