Years go by, and more of the greats of the past move on to either afterlife or nonexistence, leaving us to wonder what the point of it all is. “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” We must announce that sadly, Florian Schneider of Kraftwerk perished today at the age of 73.
6 CommentsTags: Ambient, electronic, electronic music, florian schneider, kraftwerk, synthpop
About a week before the writing of this present review, Richard Lederer (a.k.a. Protector of Summoning) released Nullify, the newest album from his Electro-Industrial/EBM project Ice Ages after 11 years of inactivity, on Bandcamp as somewhat of a minor surprise with this resuscitation only announced a few days before release.
15 CommentsTags: 2019, Austria, die verbannten kinder evas, ebm, electro-industrial, electronic music, ice ages, justin timberlake, protector, richard lederer, Summoning, synthpop
One genre which often attracts the admiration of Metal musicians is Electronica. When musicians from Germany, France and elsewhere began experimenting in the third quarter of the 20th century with various newfound technologies in order to create monumental landscapes of synthetic psychedelia with cosmic scope, the uncanny wave of influence unexpectedly resulted in the arising of everything from the modern club scene to many of your favourite Black Metal bands.
Tags: 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, Ambient, ash ra tempel, ashra, brian eno, canada, cinema, classical music, conrad schnitzler, Cosmic, drugs, edgar froese, electronic, electronic music, electronica, film, film score, france, futuristic, germany, greece, jean-michel jarre, keyboards, Klaus Schulze, kraftwerk, krautrock, manuel gottsching, michael hoeing, michael stearns, progressive rock, Romanticism, science fiction, sinoia caves, Soundtracks, space, steve roach, surrealism, synth, synthesizers, synthpop, tangerine dream, terry riley, UK, USA
Tags: abhoth, acid, adult contemporary, aima, anvil strykez, AOR, aosoth, Atreides, black 'n roll, burial ritual, carnal decay, cryptic brood, czar, deathcore, desolate shrine, drought, female vocals, hard rock, heavy baby sea slugs, illimitable dolor, insanity cult, metalcore, mindful of pripyat, mortifica, nyogthaeblisz, poseurs, post-hardcore, rites of thy degringolade, sadistic metal reviews, screamo, solitary, stadium rock, stench of profit, stoner rock, Summoning, Supremative, synth pop, synthpop, synthwave, the charm the fury, the ossuary, War Metal
During the tumultuous past few years, a new sub-genre appeared that combines elements of several existing genres. Fashwave is synthwave with a darkwave sensibility and occasional metal-inspired riffs that sound very much out of the canon of Beherit or Burzum, but simplified to fit within the more synthpop-oriented rhythms of fashwave.
37 CommentsTags: Ambient, article, cybernazi, darkwave, electronic music, electronica, fashwave, joseph retrostein, retro, synthpop, synthwave, vaporwave, xurious
Havukruunu, despite their Burzum like cover, worship Bathory‘s Blood Fire Death and 1980s synth pop on Kelle Surut Soi. Havukruunu attempt the folk choruses, epic atmosphere, and melodic solos as Quorthon did in his successful attempt at mixing black and speed metal. Unfortunately for my ears, Havukruunu are not so successful on Kelle Surut Soi.
6 CommentsTags: 2017, black 'n roll, Finland, funderground, glam metal, havukruunu, kelle surut soi, naturmacht productions, review, synth pop, synthpop
An experienced music listener who is new to black metal asked for a doorway into the genre. This raises the question of how to appreciate black metal, which like most things in life is mostly mental preparation. Without context, black metal seems like any other loud genre, and it becomes harder to distinguish the newer tryhard junk from the original.
The best way to gain context is to walk through the history of the genre from oldest to newest. This approach, common in art, literature and philosophy, allows people to see what developed from what and what the reasoning for that was and therefore, what the reasoning is behind what is here now.
The result of this query was a simple list to urge people to explore this genre further. This list originates in the history of black metal music, but also in influences that can be identified among the bands as immediately relevant. Toward the end it extends more into general conjecture based on what shows up later in highly different form among the black metal works of relevance listed above it.
I. Proto- Metal
II. Interim
III. Black metal
IV. Second Wave
V. Extended Contemporary
For immediate death metal background to black metal:
For heavy metal background to black metal:
For hardcore punk background to all metal:
For electronic music background to underground metal:
For progressive rock background to metal:
For classical background to metal:
Tags: Ambient, Black Metal, classical music, cosmic ambient, death metal, electronic, electronic music, electronica, Hardcore Punk, Heavy Metal, History, metal history, progressive rock, synthpop
Neoambient gains another stronghold. This genre — constructed of film soundtracks, Dead Can Dance style medievalism, neofolk and dark ambient with some structural ideas from black metal — rose out of the ashes of black metal, with bands like Beherit, Neptune Towers (Darkthrone), Lord Wind (Graveland), Danzig (Black Aria) and Burzum leading. On The Ways of Yore, Burzum integrates organic sounds like vocals and guitar into the cosmic ambient that defined the last album, Sôl austan, Mâni vestan.
The Ways of Yore creates within the same spectrum of music stretching between Dead Can Dance and Tangerine Dream that marked the previous album but with even more of an ambient feel. Songs rely on repetitive patterns with layers of instrumentation and song structures that shift to develop melody or make dramatic contrast enhance the imitation of their subjects. As in ancient Greek drama, poetry and music merge with sole musician Varg Vikernes‘ spoken and sung vocals guiding the progress of keyboard-sample-based music. Melodies refer to each other across the length of the album through similarity and evoke themes from past albums, culminating in “Emptiness” which previously made itself known as “Tomhet” on Hvis Lyset Tar Oss, the album that ended black metal by raising the bar above what others could imitate.
Somber moods prevail throughout this work which mixes melancholy with a sense of reverence for the past. Hearing Varg sing and develop harmonies with his voice shows room for expansion by this creative musician who previously let the guitars do the talking. Guitars show up on later tracks, distorted in the shuddering but mid-tone texture that gave Filosofem its otherworldly sound. Even though songs begin with simple note clusters, they expand to full melodies which match to a cadence and regulate atmosphere. The result demands attention through its conquest of empty space with the barest of sounds but over time reaches an intensity of expectation that resembles a ritual.
What makes people love neoambient is that it obliterates the pace of modernity and replaces it with a reverent, transcendental atmosphere. Burzum takes an approach that aims at a sound older than medieval, a primeval cave-dwelling primitivism that strips away the pretenses of developed culture. Its striking Nordic imagery, including songs to Odinn and Freyja, add to this mystery and the Burzum mythos as a whole. Escaping black metal, while controversial, granted Vikernes a chance to explore the development of melody in silence, and the result serves to expand atmosphere beyond our age to something that is both ancient and futuristic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbWMOoFFgLU
31 CommentsTags: Ambient, burzum, dark ambient, neoambient, neofolk, synthpop, varg vikernes
