Gorgoroth (Funeral Winds) - Holocaust # 7 - 1994

Yet another semi-forgotten gem: Funeral Winds.

They were among the first fully-fledged "second-wave" black metal bands from the Netherlands.  Also, they were fucking awesome.  Unfortunately, they never managed to release a full-length during the "glory days," and have since fallen into relative obscurity.  Still, they received a fair amount of coverage in the 'zines of the day, and from 1992 to 1995 they managed to release a handful of demos, a two-song EP, and a split with Japan's Abigail before at last delivering an "official" debut in 1998 in the form of the jaw-droppingly good Godslayer XUL.

Gorgoroth (Funeral Winds) - Holocaust # 7 - 1994

Godslayer XUL is about as old-school as you can get, even by 1998's standards: these guys clearly have Morbid Tales and To Mega Therion in their collections and listen to both frequently.  Actually, the album sounds so much like a stripped-down early Celtic Frost that it comes off as sounding not a bit unlike early 80s UK hardcore à la Discharge and Charged G.B.H. and the legions of Swedish bands that followed in their wake.  This is a good thing.  After all, there's a fine line between incredibly raw black metal and incredibly raw d-beat/crust.  Regardless, Godslayer XUL absolutely goes for the jugular throughout the duration of all eight of its tracks, three-chord, minor-scale shred and ultra minimalist, vaguely-death-metal-influenced tremolo melodies abounding.  There's certainly little subtlety to be found therein, and what subtlety exists is incredibly subtle, but isn't that what all the best black metal is about?

Funeral Winds - Godslayer XUL - 1998

Æon

Schiekron (Ungod) - Tales of the Macabre # 1 - 1993

So Nåstrond and Ancient Rites are pretty cool, and I'll listen to either one of them any day; Germany's Ungod, on the other hand, are downright godly.  *Ahem*.  Excuse me.

But seriously: Ungod were among the first genuinely "second-wave" (I'm starting to feel like all of these "-wave" terms are silly.  I get it, I really do, but...) black metal bands to crop up in Germany along with Martyrium - who would later become Secrets of the Moon - and Dawnfall.  Their 1993 debut, Circle of the Seven Infernal Pacts, while not quite as mind-blowing as your Mayhems and Darkthrones, deserves at least to be mentioned alongisde more secondary Scandinavian classics as Dark Medieval Times and Those of the Unlight.  Bassist Schiekron was interviewed by Germany's Tales of the Macabre #1, 1993, and his responses were, for the most part, exceptionally lucid and straight-forward. 

Schiekron (Ungod) - Tales of the Macabre # 1 - 1993

To be quite frank, and surely much to bassist Schiekron's chagrin, their debut fits in very nicely with what the Norwegians and Swedes were doing around that time: it's at once incredibly raw (no keyboards whatsoever) in the style of yep-you-guessed-it-Bathory-and-Hellhammer and insanely minimalistic in places like Transilvanian Hunger, interestingly enough a whole year before the latter was released.  Melodically, the album is exceedingly simple, yet in possession of a quality that exudes in places genuine diabolism, in others overwhelming sorrow.  I even hear pre-Nightside Emperor's most trudging inclinations - sans the keys - during some moments, and that in itself is a feat to behold.  Bottom line: this release is fucking awesome.  You can thank me later.

Ungod - Circle of the Seven Infernal Pacts - 1993

Æon

Arganas and Draugr (Nåstrond) - Kill Yourself 'Zine # 4 - 1995

Easily one of the best "forgotten" black metal bands from the early-mid 90s, Sweden's two-man-and-two-man-only Nåstrond formed in 1993 and released a few demos, an EP, and two full-lengths (on Napalm Records, no less) before disappearing for well-nigh a decade.  Currently Encyclopaedia Metallum has them listed as active on the band's page, despite having released nothing in five years.  Nevertheless, I've unearthed an interview with drummer Arganas and guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Draugr (Karl Nachzehrer) from 1995 in Kill Yourself 'Zine # 4.  It's remarkably long, and if you look closely and know what you're looking for, you'll no doubt discover some unorthodox political views in the responses of Draugr/Karl Nachzehrer.

Arganas and Draugr (Nåstrond) - Kill Yourself 'Zine # 4 - 1995

The reason I'm featuring them here is their debut LP, Toteslaut, which is remarkably accomplished, although I suppose it has to be taken into account that it was released in 1995 and they may have been just a bit behind the pack.  Still, the songwriting is outstanding, careening wildly yet effortlessly between sombre, almost classically-inflected melodic numbers a la Emperor - although keyboards are kept to a minimum - and rawer thrash-fests more akin to early Gorgoroth; I even detect a hint of folk-influence in some of the more melodic pieces, although there are no acoustic guitars to be found here.  Granted, I really should be honest: this probably wasn't terribly ground-breaking when it was released, but if you're like me and simply can't get enough of golden age black metal, it's absolutely worth tracking down for the simple fact that it retains the old spirit that we're just not going to find anymore.

Nåstrond - Toteslaut - 1995

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Gunther Theys (Ancient Rites) - Death Industry # 4 - 1993

    

I've been delving into some of the "forgotten" bands from the classic era, and one of the first that immediately sprung to mind for me was Belgium's Ancient Rites.  Having released their first demos in 1990 and 1992, they rode the crest of what would become the black metal explosion of the early '90s and at one point seemed to have been poised for future legendary status, but were sadly overlooked when Scandinavia erupted as the world's black metal hotbed

Gunther Theys (Ancient Rites) - Death Industry # 4 - 1993

I've found an interview with main man Gunther Theys (bass/vocals) in the Lithuanian 'zine Death Industry, conducted not long after the release of their Evil Prevails EP.  The interview is one of the more insightful I've discovered, and Gunther is remarkably down-to-earth and lucid, both of which characteristics a far cry from the typical fare I dig up.

They finally released their debut full-length, The Diabolic Serenades, in 1994, and it is a blistering maelstrom of a record, a raging cacophony of metallic violence.  It is undeniably indebted to early death metal, but is nevertheless a bona fide black metal album, possessing a maliciousness, a sense of the genuinely sinister that renders it gleamingly black.

Ancient Rites - The Diabolic Serenades - 1994

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