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

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