This Will Always Be Happening

I'm fully dedicated to this little blog.  However, I'm a busy man: I have multiple jobs, one of which involves running my own business with my wife.  Add to that a "career"-y day job, said wife, and a band, and I barely have time to shit.

This blog is the first baby step of the realization of a long dream of mine, and I won't put it to rest quietly.  Instead, the way it's going to work as exactly as it's been doing: I'll post a whole bunch of stuff when I have the occasional large block of free time.  Between those large blocks of free time, new material will be sporadic.

Also, my laptop which has all of my material on it is temporarily kaput, so until I can get it fixed, my hands are pretty tied as to what exactly I can do.

Still, this will continue, and I thoroughly appreciate and sincerely thank all of you who keep coming around and looking at this stuff.  I can see that kind of thing in my stats, you know.

AEon

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

Æon

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

Æon

Tom G. Warrior (Celtic Frost) - The Book of Armageddon # 1 - 1986

Tom G. Warrior, probably ca. 1984

 So since I'm in the mood for adding much-needed pieces with bands that either pioneered black metal or were heavily influential on those who did, here's a short little number with Tom Warrior of Hellhammer/Celtic Frost from 1986 (!) in The Book of Armageddon # 1.

Tom G. Warrior (Celtic Frost) - The Book of Armageddon # 1 - 1986


AEon

Hellhammer - Satanic Rites (demo) - 1983

 

I said for a long time that I wasn't going to do this, but what do you know?  Here's hoping this works out, if you know what I mean.

This should need no introduction.  It's an absolute classic and had a massive influence on every single one of the Norwegian bands, as well as the Poles and the French.  It's beyond primitive, it's beyond crude, and it's stellar.  You're welcome.

Hellhammer - Satanic Rites - 1983

Æon

Quorthon (Bathory) - Brain Damage # 2 - 1985

Qurothon, ca. 1984

It dawned on me just a day or two ago that I still hadn't posted an interview conducted with Quorthon of Bathory, who probably more than any other single person has the most to answer for with regard to the Norwegian, and thus worldwide, black metal explosion.  I've got several interviews with the man, who died quite unexpectedly in 2004 from heart failure, but the one I've chosen for the time being - from 1985 - is the oldest that I could find, and here at Blackened Relics we're (I'm) all about old shit.

Quorthon, ca. 1984

Quorthon (Bathory) - Brain Damage # 2 - 1985

Meanwhile, I feel it only right that this also be made available here for those whose hearing has yet to be ruined by it.  It needs little introduction, and is quite possibly the single most seminal recording in black metal's entire history.

 Bathory - Bathory - 1984

Quorthon, ca. 1984

Quorthon, probably ca. 1984-1985

Æon

Vorphalack (Samael) - Holocaust # 5 - 1991

In case you hadn't noticed, the Polish Holocaust 'zine definitely had its finger on the pulse of the burgeoning black metal movement well before many other publications who were, in 1991, still featuring predominantly standard death metal.

Samael, meanwhile, have long since gone on to pastures anew and avant-garde, but they begin in the late 1980s in Switzerland as a seminal second wave black metal act with a series of renowned and influential demos before at last unleashing their debut Worship Him on Osmose in 1991.  The album is incredibly dark, albeit primitive even by early black metal standards, being most heavily indebted to Hellhammer and Celtic Frost's slowest dirges and bearing only moderate resemblance to the sort of Bathory-cum-Sodom-on-phencyclidine black metal that the Scandinavians were about to thrust down the maw of the underground.  Still, it is absolutely essential listening, particularly bearing in mind that it and the songs featured thereon predate even Darkthrone's A Blaze in the Northern Sky.

Here, then, is featured an interview with guitarist/vocalist Vorphalack, conducted not long after the release of Worship Him in 1991 in Holocaust # 5.

Vorphalack (Samael) - Holocaust # 5 - 1991


AEon

Mutilator (Rotting Christ) - Descrator # 2 - 1992

It's probably no secret by now that I'm very, very partial to the old Norwegian bands, followed closely thereby by the French Black Legions.  However, for those of you who don't know, Greece had a pretty thriving black metal scene that happened concurrently with the Scandinavian explosion, even predating it in some cases.  The best of those bands by far was Rotting Christ, whose debut Thy Mighty Contract is an absolute classic, not to mention the preceding EP Passage to Arcturo and demo Satanas Tedeum (my personal favorite of their demos), all black as pitch yet superficially miles removed from the frigid sounds of the Norwegians and Swedes.  Thus, I've transcribed an interview with original bassist Mutilator from the 2nd issue of the Polish Desecrator 'zine from 1992; incidentally, Mutilator also played on fellow Hellenic group Varathron's debut, His Majesty at the Swamp.

Mutilator (Rotting Christ) - Desecrator # 2 - 1992


AEon

Nominal

The name has been changed to more accurately reflect what this project is about.  Besides, I'd come to find "Black Metal Documents" smacking of drabness, and Blackened Relics has a much nicer (and much more METAL) ring to it.  The URL has been changed as well to reflect this, and is now http://blackenedrelics.blogspot.com.  I'm also attempting to jazz up the place graphically, so things may look a bit silly from time to time.  Bear with me: I'm not remotely well-versed in HTML.

AEon 

Samoth (Emperor) - Tales of the Macabre # 1 - 1993

Just to demonstrate that I'm serious about this not being dead, here's another old piece conducted with Samoth, guitarist from Emperor, in the first issue of Tales of the Macabre, which I believe was published in late 1993.  The interview was done soon before the release of the debut Emperor full-length, In the Nightside Eclipse.

Samoth (Emperor) - Tales of the Macabre # 1 - 1993


AEon

Isolate

This is still happening.  Yes, I've posted nothing in a year, but real life happens.  Ten, twelve, thirteen years ago (I'm now 27, 28 in July) this blog would have been my sole activity, but these days, whether I like it or not, I'm grown: I'm married, I have a 'career,' and I run a side-business with my wife which increasingly takes up more and more of my time.  Still, music - above all heavy metal, above all black metal - is yet my greatest passion, just as it was nearly 16 years ago when I heard Emperor for the very first time.

I won't let this project die.  The state of black metal, at least that state by which it's increasingly coming to be known, concerns me.  The other day, I ran into a gentleman in the audience of a show that my wife and I produced, and he discovered that I was partial to black/death/etc. metal.  He was young - barely college-aged - and proceeded to very excitedly tell me about all of the black metal he'd been listening to: Alcest, Amesoeurs, Wolves in the Throne Room, Liturgy, that ilk.  I asked him about Emperor, and he said, "I don't really know much about them, only that they're old."  I asked him about Darkthrone, Mayhem, and Bathory, and he said "I don't know: I've never heard of any of them."

Some months later, I ran into another gentleman at another show, again one that my wife and I had produced, who had sewn a Burzum - Hvis lyset tar oss patch onto the arm of a zip-up hoodie (sp?).  I asked him about it, and he responded verbatim, "What can I say?  I have bad taste."  I raised an eyebrow and smirked, then inquired about his other patch, as I didn't recognize the logo.  "Wolves in the Throne Room," he answered, at which I hesitated before responding, "Of course: I should have known."  I abruptly excused myself.

There is a word that I hesitate to use for these two fellas, one based largely on their attitudes, but those of you who are old enough to know better and present enough to have been paying attention know what it is.  These bands (excluding Burzum, of course), their fans, and the general trend of which they seem to be a part will die out soon enough, and you'll never find any of them, or any groups resembling them, featured here.  I'll never use the terms "atmospheric," "depressive/suicidal," or "post-" to describe some mythological subset of black metal that the generation of listeners discovering this music - our music - of late have been applying in a (vain) attempt to refashion it more suitably in their own image.  Those of us who love honest-to-goodness black metal - unadulterated, untainted, unholy - won't let it die or be replaced or reappropriated.

The flame still burns.


Æon