Immortal: All Shall Fall
After seven long years, my most anticipated release of 2009 has finally been unleashed and the big question is does it hold up to all the hype? Well… yes and no.
Norway
Blasphemy Blog: True Norwegian Black Jeans
Music has been incorporated into fashion since, well, forever.
The band t-shirt is a common article of clothing and music edition sneakers are a great way to support your favourite artist in style.
I’ve lost count of every time someone has questioned the indecipherable logo sprawled across my shirt: “Ola, what the hell does that say?” I simply reply “Oh this? Well, it’s Emperor”.
Glittertind: Landkjenning
Glittertind is essentially a two-man band, which makes tracks such as the rollicking “Longships and Mead” interesting. The song reminds me of something The Pogues or our Canadian counterpart, Sprit of the West, might release – a blend of traditional Norwegian folk melodies with the addition of electric guitars, a slightly sped-up tempo and punk attitude…
Throne of Katarsis: Helvete-Det Iskalde Mørket
Norway’s Throne of Katarsis have produced a sophomore full-length album that is, in almost every way, a recreation of much of the early nineties Norwegian black metal sound.
Blasphemy Blog #1: Lords Of Chaos – Yay Or Nay?
There has been much controversy and mixed opinions surrounding Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground since its 1998 release. Michael Moynihan and Didrik Soderlind’s book is probably the most notable of it’s kind, offering much insight to the life and crimes of our favourite black metal artists.
Lords of Chaos: a story involving the TNBM scene, with actors retelling the intriguing, but violent tales of music, murder and arson. Will it shock or compel?
Execration: Syndicate of Lethargy
This is a good example of ‘meat and potatoes’ death metal that does not venture very far.
SAHG: II
Sahg takes influence from classic groups like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin and their doom metal sound ranges from fast, retro sounding groovers to more plodding and psychedelic crushers. Fuzzy, trippy and heavy, Sahg does a nice job changing up the styles and tempos.
Watch Black Metal Doc Trailer Here, Now
Until The Light Takes Us is the upcoming documentary examining the Norwegian Black Metal scene including the church burnings and the murder of Oystein Aarseth/Euronymous.
Darkthrone: Rally ‘Round The Black Flag
While Darkthrone may have been associated with the second wave of black metal by virtue of its time and place, the hellish duo behind the band, Fenriz and Nocturno Culto, always associated their band with the first wave of black metal, prior to the establishment of rigid genre boundaries. Back then, black metal had more to do with attitude and spirit. Darkthrone has always remained firmly entrenched in that black metal ethos.
Satyricon: The Age Of Nero
I’ll be honest, even though I am a big fan of Norwegian metal in general, Norwegian black metal especially, I haven’t really cared for anything Satyricon has done since Rebel Extravaganza. The whole “black ‘n’ roll” thing they have adopted really makes my stomach turn… but there’s something about this record I really dig.