To Hell and Back Again: My Black Metal Story (Norway 1991-1993)
by Varg Vikernes
150 pages, Ancestral Cult Productions, $13
Tags: Black Metal, burzum, Euronymous, mayhem, multiple stab wounds, norway, varg vikernes
Fester – Silence (Lethal, 1994)
Back in the day, this Norwegian band was derogatorily referred to as a “life metal”-band by scenesters. Especially their sophomore effort Silence suffered a reputation of being an exceptionally weak, pretentious and – above all – boring release. Although recent years have given rise to sporadic reevaluations of the band’s work, Fester remains largely neglected to this day (and some would say deservedly so).
11 CommentsTags: Black Metal, death metal, fester, norway, silence
A Guide to Electronic Music: Volume 2.0
Five thousand years ago, the present author created a guide to the main acts associated with the classic 70s-style electronic sound. The response was generally quite positive in nature (which the present author humbly appreciates), and several individuals requested a sequel focusing on later acts and developments in Electronic music.
28 CommentsTags: 1990s, 2000's, acid, Ambient, aphex twin, astral projection, atmospheric, Autechre, bass communion, biosphere, boards of canada, carbon based lifeforms, coil, computers, Cosmic, dance, drugs, dub, electronic, electronic music, electronica, film score, futuristic, goa, hallucinogen, house, idm, Industrial, insanity, Israel, keyboards, man with no name, norway, ott, porcupine tree, psybient, psychedelic, psychill, psytrance, science fiction, shpongle, simon posford, Soundtracks, space, steven wilson, surrealism, Sweden, synth, synthesizers, techno, the future sound of london, the infinity project, the orb, trance, UK, underworld, USA, woob, younger brother
Uncovering The mysteries of Molested – Blod-Draum
Norway has never been known for being an exponent of death metal, barring the early contributions of Darkthrone and the parent bands to some of the greatest black metal groups to emerge from the country. The brainchild of Borknagar main songwriter Øystein Garnes Brun, Molested was a brief flash in the pan before the mediocrity of Borknagar would define his career.
14 CommentsTags: Black Metal, blod-draum, borknagar, death metal, molested, norway
Some Brief Thoughts : Mayhem – De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
After having built up a legacy for over a quarter of a century, it seems fitting to briefly revisit a few thoughts on the genre-defining De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas.
11 CommentsTags: 1990s, attila csihar, Black Metal, de mysteriis dom sathanas, Dead, Euronymous, hellhammer, mayhem, noktorn, norway, snorre ruch, some brief thoughts, varg vikernes
Norway’s Wordless Abyss
Studies have shown that listening to instrumental music while writing, studying, doing accounting, or any other productive task can increase stimulation without the distraction that the words of vocals provide. But for Hessian, Templar, Heathen and other true metalheads instrumental works can be difficult to come by as extreme metal has not dabbled much into the realms of instrumental savagery. But thanks to the necrophiliac obsession that many have had with Norwegian black metal and its culture, there are a few enjoyable demos and early rehearsals from Norway’s finest that can provide a motivational grim instrumental experience without demanding too much from the attention of the listener.
Join me if you will for a vocal-less adventure through some of Norway’s best kept foreboding hidden secrets.
2 CommentsTags: 1990s, Black Metal, Blackthorn, burzum, darkthrone, death metal, demo, Euronymous, Grymyrk, hellhammer, instrumental metal, low fidelity, mayhem, norway, Norwegian Black Metal, rehearsal tapes, Thorns, varg vikernes
Hipsters Discover That Black Metal Musicians Are Bad
Another scandal! Yes folks, for the fourth time in the past two or three weeks, hipster journalists and fake metal fans are shocked and appalled that a black metal musician has done something immoral. Despite black metal being a music genre for 30 years, smelly neckbeard losers and dreadlocked trust fund crusties are figuratively (though literally in some cases) throwing their own feces every time they catch a mid-tier black metal musician doing something not socially acceptable. This time, the horrific act came from Marduk, whose purchasing of German World War II merchandise from a sketchy online retailer made them too evil for a fest called Stockholm Slaughter (who apparently think slaughter is cool, but just not when it pertains to 1940s Europe).
Because millennials are too dumb to learn any history that doesn’t involve student loans, let’s quickly look back and see if any criminal or immoral things were done by the original black metal bands. Maybe there’s something that we can learn from that fateful 1990s Norwegian scene:
Band Criminal/Immoral Act
Burzum Murder, violating parole with a shitload of explosives, arson, Nazism, white supremacy
Dimmu Borgir Using the N word in an interview/proclaiming the desire to genocide Africans
Emperor Hate crime murder of a homosexual, arson
Gorgoroth Rape, battery and torture, violation of Poland’s animal rights laws, homosexuality
Immortal Arson
Mayhem Murder, 2nd degree murder, arson, public mutilation, trashing hotels
Satyricon Rape, arson, rape
Thorns 2nd degree murder
I’m sorry to break this to everyone living in a liberal bubble, but a painfully obvious truth exists: black metal musicians are bad men.
90 CommentsTags: antifa, arson, bad hombres, Black Metal, burzum, crime, Deus Vult, dimmu borgir, emperor, future of metal, hipsters, immortal, Inquisition, live music, marduk, mayhem, murder, Nazism, norway, Norwegian Black Metal, rape, satyricon, sjws, Taake, Templar, Thorns, watain
NIGHTMARE: LORDS OF CHAOS MOVIE COMPLETED, PREMIERED AT SUNDANCE
It’s actually happening. After decades of “will they” speculation, directors picking up and dropping the project, rumors of Twilight actors playing Varg Vikernes, and a boycott by virtually every member of the original scene the Rory Culkin led bastardization of Norway’s finest Lords of Chaos premiered at Sundance this week. In the ultimate defeat, death, and burial of Norweigian black metal- a movement opposed to everything commercial, financial, and mainstream- we will soon see a polished Hollywood narrative of this beloved movement pollution theaters across the globe.
Tags: Black Metal, disaster, disgrace, embarassment, Euronymous, Hollywood, lords of chaos, mayhem, nightmare, norway, Norwegian Black Metal, Rory Culkin, varg vikernes
Ancient – “Eerily Howling Winds” (1993)
As previously pointed out by the editor of this site, metal demo recordings does not exist as crass commercial propositions with the sole purpose of advertising the market viability of the artist, but function — at least ideally — as independent works produced and distributed without further infringement from the recording industry. In spite of eventual shortcomings resulting from lack of budget, experience, and time, demo-level recordings remain a breath of fresh air because they oftentimes capture bands at a nascent and untempered creative stage.
7 CommentsTags: 1993, Ancient, Black Metal, eerily howling winds, norway
Obliteration Headlining 2017 Heavy Nights Festival
Norwegian death metal band Obliteration and Swedish speed metal band Antichrist are headlining the 2017 iteration of the Heavy Nights festival in Norway on September 28th through 30th.
1 CommentTags: Antichrist, Black Metal, death metal, festivals, news, norway, obliteration, Speed Metal, upcoming shows
