Alice Cooper : "Detroit Stories"

 

He is back and continuing down the more rock n roll  road he was on with the last ep he released. Alice Cooper is one of my all time favorite artists. Yes he does have straight up rock n roll songs like "Elected" and " Under My Wheels"  This album follows more of that blue print. In fact "Go Man Go" is from the "Breadcrumbs" ep I want him to be darker and more of a heavier edge.   The child like skip to " Our Love Will Change the World"  sounds like the Beatles bouncing through New York in the 70s. His voice sounds great on this song. It is just there is an odd juxtaposition of moods;. The band he has is great and are killing it behind him. I just the production was more metal and not as stripped down on raw/ 

There is a more 70s funk groove to " 1000 Dollar High Heel Shoes". The soulful back up singers just doesn't seem like Alice to me. The drums to "Hail Mary " make perfect sense.  It feels more like classic Cooper . "Detroit City" is a 3rd attempt having appeared on both "the Eyes of Alice Cooper" and "Breadcrumbs" . The there is the blues soaked  'Drunk and in Love" that is almost "Bad to the Bone" as it sticks to the same blues pattern.   'Independence Dave" reminds me of the song Steven Tyler did for the movie "Polar Express". I mean Alice has always had a silly side. This song and " I Hate You" that follows it are silly but also theatric. "I Hate You" is the weaker song of the two . He comes back into the better side of his wheelhouse with "Wonderful World" that finds his croon sounding youthful and a bluesy swagger to the song.. I think this song is more what I want from him than the more Rolling Stones like "Sister Anne", though Cooper's vocal is true to his classic style.  

I like that "Hanging on By a Thread" is darker , but I could do without the public service announcement feel. What happened to the world needs guts Cooper ? Perhaps he should heed the advice he gives on "Shut Up and Rock" that follows. The albums ends pretty strong . I will give it a 9, far from his best , but dialing it in with some garage rock still works better than his peers. 

Black Metal History Month : The Wide World of Black Metal

I often talk about the egregore of a place where music is created and how certain geographic locations and the culture imprinted in them influences the music made there. fHere is a snapshot at where the best Black Metal is coming from though at the end you will see there is a catch a country with more appropriation is obviously going to pump out more music if creating content is the key to their machine. 

Columbia ,Romania Poland ,  Ukraine , Belgium ,Australia, Austria, Japan, Greece, Ireland, and Switzerland 

The following bands have 2 Entries  and 3% of the best black metal. Then the number go up from here.

Italy-

Netherlands

Finland

 Entries -3

4 %

England & France

4 Entries 

6%

Sweden 

entries- 8

 12.1 %  

Norway-

Entries 15

22.7 % 

America 

17 entries 

 25.7 %

I do like more post rock influence black metal that has an experimental edge, so a great deal of this comes from America. also America is quick to jump on band wagons so explains how they edged out Norway, most of their black metal tries to be derivative of what Norway originally did in this genre.   

 

Black Metal History Month -The Top 66 Black Metal Bands of All Time - 6 to 1

We  have now reached the furthest point of darkness as we are in the top 6 bands  of the Top 66 Black Metal Bands of All Time. Before you get your bullet belt twisted with what is about to go down here. I am not writing commentary with each entry, instead I will cryptically foreshadow the reasoning for where these bands fall. I typically defaulted to Last Fm so this is ranked by most listened to by me. Since it is my blog it only makes sense I can think I am a huge fan of one band but if I never listen to them how good can they really be? There are bands that are supposed classics , and well they did make the list and this is the top 66 black metal bands out of hundreds. If they did not rank as high as you liked well go make your own fucking list or start your own fucking blog.

p;There will not be much in the way of Raw or Beastial black metal, because they tend so sound like shit . There are many sub-genres represented here, Atmospheric, progressive , first wave , depressive, post ...so lots of ground is going to be covered. I have also included the country so we will have a clearer picture of who is exporting the best black metal. The tracks chosen are not the best , but the 6th track from my favorite album unless my favorite album does not have six songs and then I am picking the album before that one, if that one doesn't have six songs then I keep going back until I find one that does. So here ya go

6- Gorgoroth

 Country- Norway

 

5-Dimmu Borgir

Country- Norway 

 

 4-Darkthrone

Country- Norway

   

 3=Dissection

Country -Sweden 

 

 2=Emperor 

Country- Norway

 

1- Watain

Country - Sweden 

Black Metal History Month -The Top 66 Black Metal Bands of All Time -16 to 7

We are going further into this darkness with this list of the Top 66 Black Metal Bands of All Time. Before you get your bullet belt twisted with what is about to go down here. I am not writing commentary with each entry, instead I will cryptically foreshadow the reasoning for where these bands fall. I typically defaulted to Last Fm so this is ranked by most listened to by me. Since it is my blog it only makes sense I can think I am a huge fan of one band but if I never listen to them how good can they really be? There are bands that are supposed classics , and well they did make the list and this is the top 66 black metal bands out of hundreds. If they did not rank as high as you liked well go make your own fucking list or start your own fucking blog. 

 There will not be much in the way of Raw or Beastial black metal, because they tend so sound like shit . There are many sub-genres represented here, Atmospheric, progressive , first wave , depressive, post ...so lots of ground is going to be covered. I have also included the country so we will have a clearer picture of who is exporting the best black metal. The tracks chosen are not the best , but the 6th track from my favorite album unless my favorite album does not have six songs and then I am picking the album before that one, if that one doesn't have six songs then I keep going back until I find one that does. So here ya go

16 -Enslaved

Country -Norway

 

15- Weakling

Country- America

   

14-Immortal

Country - Norway

 

13-Tombs

 

Country- America

 

12-Burzum

Country - Norway

11-Agalloch 

Country - America

 

10- Mayhem

Country - Norway

   

9-Totalselfhatred  

Country- Finland

   

 8- Shining 

Country - Sweden 

 

 7-Nachtmystium 

 Country- America

 

Rob Zombie : "The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy"

The first song is more metal than you might have expected from the more booty grooving brand of industrial rock he normally peddles in. In other words it is heavier than his last album. It is fitting that "Ballad of the Sleazy Rider" is more rock n roll based. Not full blown Steppenwolf, But close to that than White Zombie. Still more organic than a great deal of his solo work. They split the difference on "Shadow of the Cemetery Man"  . It is very much what you expect from Zombie , but so safe it is just a happy middle of the road. Thins take a much more jarring turn on the country flavored "18th Century Cannibals..". It almost feels like something the Revolting Cocks or the Butthole Surfers might do. It does get more industrial as it progresses  

He steps on the gas for "|the Eternal Struggles of the Howling Man" .  It is heading in an almost thrashing direction. Ginger Fish from Marilyn Manson plays drums on this album and he is pretty impressive. He play way better than anything I remember him doing with Manson. "The Satanic Rites of Blacula" is not as inspired. It is not a bad song it is just what you expect and nothing more  "Shake Your Ass Smoke Your Grass" is the kind of anthem that Marilyn Manson would write. Coming from Rob Zombie who does not do drugs it is a little odd , but it is a good catchy song so I will take it. The more I listen to it I can hear how it is Manson by way of Alice Cooper who was an influence of both of these guys. Once we get to "Boom Boom Boom" the album begins to take a darker more interesting turn.   

"Get Loose" is fun, not the strip anthem that say "Living Dead Dead Girl" was but it shows he can do what works for him , and sticks to his formula without just dialing it in. The best song on the album might be "Crow Killer Blues" as the riff is not only the heaviest on the album , but also the darkest. Not sure why it took things this long to get creepy but glad it finally did. I will give this album a 9, it might not be his best work, but it is certainly better than the bulk of albums coming out these days from the more mainstream side of this spectrum.

 

  

Black Metal History Month- Harakiri for the Sky : "Maere"

 

When I first saw Deafheaven on the "Roads to Judah" tour they were opening up for Alcest in a small club. The first thing that struck me was the vibe of wait these guys did not grow up listening to metal they used to be hard core kids now playing black metal. I have not really noticed any hard core influence from these guys before. Not sure if this was a conscious change of direction on their part or not. There is still a lot of metal to what they do. The first song feels more like a kind of Myspace take on post-hard core. The cadence of the vocal on the second song is what keys me into the hard core under currents that are sometime more overt but disguised by the melodic guitar.  This does not mean they have abandoned black metal altogether. There are blast beats in the second song. It is how ever not all that dark. I can hear touches of an Alcest influence on how the sung vocals are introduced. 

The results are often something that might be their moment accessible moments. Very commercial modern post-emo rock vibes with "Us Against December Skies". If the vocals were screamed not shouted like this the results would be more metal . The drummer is  a freaking amazing monster, who plays for Septic Flesh and handles live drums for Behemoth. I mean this is a good hard core album with black metal influence. They do have a black metal history so belong in this month. Yes the touches of black metal reoccur through out but that kind of darkness is not what they are about. It is not surprise that the roads that connect post rock to emo and post rock to black metal might overlap. They sometimes do with screamo bands.  These guys even came correct with the ironic song titles. Despite this they have their sense of dynamics really dialed in a care about their songs. The execution is flawless even if you are unsure about their direction. The vocals really get into more of a hard core groove with " Three Empty Words". 

I have mixed feelings about this . I mean is this album going to be like their Kiss disco period just hard core ? The guitar playing makes them stand out as something other than a hard core band or even screamo as it is more nuanced and .dynamic. The tone shifts and is not afraid to add effects . The album as a whole is really well produced. This is their 5th album so they should know what they are doing. The guitar is really interesting and almost progressive on " Once Upon a Winter" . The song goes through a great number of transitions smoothly. "And Oceans Between Us " seems like an extension of the previous song. " Sliver Needle" is almost to brightly angry. 

They get more metal and melodic on "Time is a Ghost". Aside from the darker throb it is not more black metal, but more metal in it's deliberate heaviness. Sonically they remain pretty lush which is this album's strong suit. What they do on the last song works it is just not all that original and feel a little dialed in. I will give this album a 8.5 as it is very well done and the songs are good they took a risk wit the shift and it paid off.  Perhaps not something I will listen to a ton but I enjoyed the spins I gave it . T

Black Metal History Month - Grima : "Rotten Garden"

 This German duo does atmospheric black metal right. They have a big powerful sound. The synths are there , but another layer not one that they need to break up the song awkwardly top show you. They are not shoe gazing but capture a similar sonic shimmer. The vocals are well layered with both low growls and higher more blackened shrieks. They do not live on blast beasts alone. Granted their sound is so over powering on the second song it distracted me from what was going on with the song and I began to feel caught up in the drone and drifting a little/ By "At the Foot of the Red Mountains" I am going to need a little more dynamically than full speed ahead and they do provide such break downs with a more Germanic folk influence, they are not trying to be Vikings, and true to their roots. When they default back into the speed, it feels like it could be any band.

The dynamic shift I needed comes in the form of the tittle track. Leading into this there is an interlude that sets the stage, though it falls into that more minimalist school of atmosphere I was eluding to earlier.  They also fall into a more typical blasting as it begins to build. There is a majestic almost Dimmu Borgir like tone to their sound at times, though they never fall into anything symphonic. That majesty carries over into "Gorm" . I often talk about the merits of melody and dynamic, but I am real fine with vocals sounding this hateful I mean they go in an almost Gorgoroth direction here . Gorgoroth is one of my favorite black metal bands so I am 100 percent fine with this song , in fact it might be the album's best. The guitar solo on this song is not a bunch of shred and I appreciate that as well. 

There is a little more of a sweeping post black metal feel to the last song "Devotion to Lord" , the vocals do drop down into that more commanding death metal growl. A pretty easy listen that flows well in the scope of what they do on this album. I will give this album a 9, it is one of the better black metal releases I have reviewed this month. They care about the songs and it is evil enough and still very eaqsy on the ears of most metal fans and not a great deal of harshness for the sake of harshness. 

Black Metal History Month - Aborym : "Hostile"

 

These guys used to be a black metal band so they have a black metal history thus are a part of black metal history. Though they have always had an industrial edge to them. After some Marilyn Manson like brooding they build up to more of your big arena rockin 90s industrial, I am thinking Stabbing Westward here. "Proper Use of Myself"  fades into it's own groove and is less memorable than the catchier and more commercial "Horizon Ignited" . The vocals have a wider range on this song. The more metal side of the band roars back on "Stigmatized". This shifts into more groove oriented industrial flavors. " End of the World " feels like they have pushed the envelope too far from their sweet spot and past the point of heaviness that needed to be shed. It is too happy. 

If this was the 90s then I would have liked " Wake Up Rehab" , but since I have been there done that and got the t shirt it is less impressive. The same can be said for the song after it , though it flows a little better . It is very old school Nine Inch Nails. There is an A Perfect Circle feel at times to "Radiophobia". The song it self could stand to be a little more centered.  Not sure we needed the ballad "Sleep" but that is what we got. It is well done for what it is , I am just not into what it is. I am not sure what would possess a band in 2021 to write a song like it. This album is more middle of the road than not which makes the moments of heavy guitar more worthwhile. Even if they are kind of dialed in like the ones on "Nearly Incomplete" . The kinda spastic part throws the song off some for me.  

I mean on "the Pursuit of Happiness" they do prove that they are better at this than some more veteran industrial bands like hmmm maybe Die Krupps.  I mean the one constant thought I have with this album is that I want it to be heavier rather than Nine Inch Nails impersonations. Some of them are pretty good and Nine Inch Nails does not sound like this any more so I guess there is that. When the vocals are lower on " Solve et Coagula" they work better for me.The more experimental touch to the last song is the direction they need to go if they are shedding metal. Despite this being an album out of time it is well done I will give it an 8.

     

Black Metal History Month- Malamorte : "Mass Cult Suicide"

 Since this is black metal History month, let's take a listen to a band that calls back to the earlier days of black metal. It used to be if something was satanic it got called black metal , which is why Mercyful Fate is at the forefront of the genre. The vocals are a little weird. The first song is heavier, where the second song works for more of a melodic groove. Sometimes he sounds like if Blackie Lawless was covering a Ghost song. He has more balls and rasp to his voice than Papa Smurfitus. When he tries to go into falsetto it is not a good move, he is no King Diamond. His voice is really straining on the verses on "Reverend" it sounds like he needs to lean into the rasp and belt it out a little more like he does on the chorus. He is a little pitchy if he is not in his raspier belt. This makes some of his reaching for notes tough on my ears. This is their 6th album so you would think the singer would have worked through this by now.

"Slaves of God" finds them falling some where between Mercyful Fate and the Scorpions. The keyboards help to darken it a little but it is pretty typical of the early 80s metal. Perhaps marginally more aggressive than the Scorpions , but not as heavy as Mercyful Fate. "They Are Watching Us" starts like solid metal from this era and then begins to bore me as it is a little straight forward. The chant leading into "the Temple" is more interesting. I would not call this sort of thing poppy .It does gain some grit to the guitar as it digs into the verses. This might be the best song of the album so far. Though the Judas Priest like touches to the title track make it a strong song as well. This voice gives it more of an Accept. But wait that is not black metal you scream. No but that is where it came from. Judas Priest influenced King Diamond for sure.  

"The Witch " is the longest song though still under seven minutes. You can hear how bands like Emperor even drew from the style of music this band is imitating. I will round this album down to a 7.5 due to the shaky vocals . I think they did add a bit of their own touch to the formula they are paying homage to here. They have more balls than Ghost and are truer to the original sound this music came from .     

 

 

Black Metal History Month -The Top 66 Black Metal Bands of All Time -26 to 17

 

We are going further into this darkness with this list of the Top 66 Black Metal Bands of All Time. Before you get your bullet belt twisted with what is about to go down here. I am not writing commentary with each entry, instead I will cryptically foreshadow the reasoning for where these bands fall. I typically defaulted to Last Fm so this is ranked by most listened to by me. Since it is my blog it only makes sense I can think I am a huge fan of one band but if I never listen to them how good can they really be? There are bands that are supposed classics , and well they did make the list and this is the top 66 black metal bands out of hundreds. If they did not rank as high as you liked well go make your own fucking list or start your own fucking blog. 

 There will not be much in the way of Raw or Beastial black metal, because they tend so sound like shit . There are many sub-genres represented here, Atmospheric, progressive , first wave , depressive, post ...so lots of ground is going to be covered. I have also included the country so we will have a clearer picture of who is exporting the best black metal. The tracks chosen are not the best , but the 6th track from my favorite album unless my favorite album does not have six songs and then I am picking the album before that one, if that one doesn't have six songs then I keep going back until I find one that does. So here ya go

26-Chrome Waves

  Country- America

 

25- Taake

Country- Norway

 

24-Deathspell Omega

Country- France

 

23- Blut Aus Nord   

Country - France 

 

 22-INQUISTION  

Country- Columbia

21 -An Autumn For Crippled Children

Country- Netherlands

   

 20-Deafheaven

 Country- America

 

19-Carpathian Forest

Country- Norway

   

 18- Lifelover

 Country- Sweden

 

17-Samael

Country- Switzerland  

Black Metal History Month -The Top 66 Black Metal Bands of All Time -36-27

We are going further into this darkness with this list of the Top 66 Black Metal Bands of All Time. Before you get your bullet belt twisted with what is about to go down here. I am not writing commentary with each entry, instead I will cryptically foreshadow the reasoning for where these bands fall. I typically defaulted to Last Fm so this is ranked by most listened to by me. Since it is my blog it only makes sense I can think I am a huge fan of one band but if I never listen to them how good can they really be? There are bands that are supposed classics , and well they did make the list and this is the top 66 black metal bands out of hundreds. If they did not rank as high as you liked well go make 

your own fucking list or start your own fucking blog. 

 There will not be much in the way of Raw or Beastial black metal, because they tend so sound like shit . There are many sub-genres represented here, Atmospheric, progressive , first wave , depressive, post ...so lots of ground is going to be covered. I have also included the country so we will have a clearer picture of who is exporting the best black metal. The tracks chosen are not the best , but the 6th track from my favorite album unless my favorite album does not have six songs and then I am picking the album before that one, if that one doesn't have six songs then I keep going back until I find one that does. So here ya go

36-Destroyer 666

Country - Australia

 

35- 1349

Country- Norway

 

34-Wayfarer

Country- America

33- Rotting Christ

Country- Greece

 

32- Wolves in the Throne Room

Country - America

 

31-Primordial 

Country- Ireland 

 

30- Twilight 

Country - America

   

 29-Negura Bunget

Country- Romania 

28- Craft

 Country- Sweden

   

  

 27 Leviathan

Country - America 

Black Metal History Month - : Escumergamënt ".​.​.​ni degu fazentz escumergamënt e mesorga​.​.​."

 This is the debut by this Swedish black metal force that includes former members of Setherial in it's ranks. When one thinks of Swedish black metal Bathory and Dissection both come to mind. These guys are dark but I guess if they had to swear allegiance to anyone there might be a more Dissection influence though they are not as overt with it as say Watain, who has taken that sound and made it into something their own as the years pass. Cavernous is one word to describe where the vocals sit in the mix, the guitars are at the forefront. Synths add more to atmosphere here. The dark mood might win me over the most. I like the throbbing drive of "  To Envy the Corpses" . They speed up into more of a the typical black metal thing which the scowl of the vocals helps with. I like how the guitars accent the blast beats on this song as they do not follow the standard tremolo pattern but more staccato. 

I am a fan of anytime you can hear the bass in black metal as it often gets lost in the murk, so when it becomes the back bone of the 3rd song I am here for it. They are more dynamic , but in terms of the arrangement the execution is a little disjointed as there is not a smooth flow. With " I Sang of Murder" I am impressed by the commitment These guys are not impervious to the fact that when ever they launch into a blur of blast beasts they are going to sound like every one else. One thing I like about this album is black metal no longer conveys the icy feeling of emotional anguish and coldness it once did. This album recaptures that feeling which was more common 20 years ago. Like most black metal bands sometimes speeding up feels like the easy way out, but they maintain a nice dark mood.  

,Depressive black metal is a sub genre I like the most. These guys convey that without any crying or being overly dramatic . In fact it is the guitar that cries out in the shadows. They close the album with a song that not only does this but hits most of the other notes fans of black metal might want.  I will give this album a 9. It excels at capturing the atmosphere and mood I want from black metal while retaining some balls .

 

Black Metal History Month- Kankar : "Dunkle Millennia"

 

This German black metal duo's sound fall not far from Immortal in terms of sonics. They use things like clean singing to expand beyond being an Immortal tribute band. The harsher vocals are less of a croak and more of a caustic growl. They blend more traditional metal elements to create a more melodic song focused sound, rather than just hitting you with blast beats and this totally plays to their favor. On the second song I can hear how death metal is blended in the aggressive riffing that is not without it\s fair share of hooks. By the third song the more throbbing elements are set against some majestic thrashing. This does lead to more Immortal comparisons. Not as catchy as the first two songs , but still impressive. It has more winding twists and turns . 

The guitars are more deliberate going into "Vergeltung" . The sung vocals have a raspier Motorhead feel. They throw some blast beasts in from time to time and that is fine. There is more of a rock feel to the song that follows this.  That is until they throw blast beats at you. The more galloped double bass parts just work better. The vocals switch over to lower more death metal like growl. There is a more traditional black metal feel to "Der Shutze" . The song after it though has a few catchier moments perhaps. The chord phrasing has that Inquisition like dissonance when they are not blasting on it. The chorus is catchy , but when they are not rocking that part they lean into blast beasts.

When the sung vocals play a larger role it serves the song well. The more mid tempo riffs also work better than the blinding bouts of speed. Not all riffs are created equal here, some are more epic and crushing than others. They use cleaner tones to shift the dynamics on the title track that closes the album. Overall what they do works. It is evident they care about the songs and while a little more straightforward than what I normally listen to it is evident it works and I will give this album a 9. 

Black Metal History Month- The black metal interviews

I told my soon to be wife that I would make her a master list of all the interviews I have done over the years , but once I started digging around online to try and find them all there were way more than I even remembered doing. So I am breaking them up into more digestible portions.   Since this is Black  Metal History Month it only makes sense that I post the black metal ones first. These are not all the black metal ones but the first ten I found and offer a broad spectrum of the genre.  

Archgoat

 https://www.nocleansinging.com/2015/02/18/an-ncs-interview-ritual-butcherer-archgoat/

 Crowhurst

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/08/interview-jay-gambit-of-crowhurst.html  

HOD

 https://cvltnation.com/cvit-nation-interviews-carl-snyder-of-hod/ 

 VON

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2012/10/interview-venien-of-von.html 

 Cthonic

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2013/07/interview-doris-yeh-of-cthonic.html

 Goatwhore https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/08/interview-louis-of-goatwhore-part-1.html Ihsahn of Emperor https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2012/05/interview-ihsahn.html Sigh https://www.nocleansinging.com/2015/04/30/an-ncs-interview-mirai-kawashima-sigh/ Erik of Watain https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2012/05/currently-on-behemoth-headlined-tour.html WOE https://www.nocleansinging.com/2017/03/21/an-ncs-interview-woe-chris-grigg/

Black Metal History Month -Udande : "Life of a Purist"

There are some thing s that are a little confusing here. This is a one man black metal project or at least that is how it is billed. But Rasmus brought in a session drummer and vocalist. So it is one dude playing all the guitar and bass. He also wrote the songs. I mean it's a band , this guy just has control issue and perhaps commitment ones as well hence not just saying these guys are in the band. I mean having a band is nothing to be shamed of. This album benefits from it. If he tried to tackle all of this by himself, I do not think it would have as organic of a sound as it does. Slovakia is where the Hostel movies went down and Ultron threw hands with the Avengers not sure if it where I expect majestic as 

black metal to come from, but here we are. 

There is more of a Swedish feel to the second song. The vocals fall back into the guitars. Lots of galloping against the blast beats, which are not over done at this point in the album. The third song buzzes like the electricity in the air as a storm builds. It has a more throbbing drone . Then it becomes one of those things where I get lost in the tremolo of the guitar and it creates a hypnotic white noise similar to some of the earlier Darkthrone albums. There is some melodic guitar going into the fourth song and then I get lost in it and the next thing I know two songs have passed. This means a couple of things , one of them being that the songs start to sound the same as I can no longer tell where one ends and the other begins. The other the atmosphere is thick and effective, but here we get into that sound vs songs thing. They are a little angrier on the 5th song but nothing makes it stand out.

The album started off strong then kind of of fell down the road many black metal bands do where they pour on the speed  and create a vibe , but do not write songs that catch you. Overall these guys are good at what they do and the album sounds great. This kind of black metal , is a been here and done that , got the black t-shirt sort of thing, but they are good at what they do and if you only want a sound and ask less then this album is for you and is well done either way, so much so I am going to give it an 8. 

5.7

Black Metal History Month -Noctambulist -"Eiegieen"

 

This band from the Netherlands caught me by surprise. The first actual song on this album starts off with a scathing buzz of black metal, but they expand their horizons sonically from there. Do they share some common ground with Deafheaven sonically? Yes. These guys however are darker. They are very concise songwriters without going up to much room to simmer in their atmosphere. Their atmosphere contributes to the sparkling melodies that are layered in here. This creates a range of emotion beyond the screams of the vocals which are much nastier than Deafheaven's more monotone snarl. Now we can move on from the Deafheaven comparison as halfway into "Klatergoud" they have proven themselves as a force that is all their own more influenced perhaps by Weakling.

The second actual song since we are not counting the intro thing, drops the dynamic way down. If there was a black metal power ballad this would be it. It does build back up into a powerful post-rock-like punch two minutes in. The vocals do not relent. They are fucking pissed. We are nearing the five-minute mark by the time they lay into the blast beats and they do not hang on them long. They are used jsut the right amount on this album. The shoe gaze side comes out more on " Vagevuur". Two minutes in there is a riff that sounds almost hopeful. the bass line keeps the darker root, and they do not forget they are a metal band reminding you of the punches they throw in. They manage to keep the perfect blend of moods and dynamics throughout. I am never bored. 

There is a lighter tone set going into "Vreugd". It is more mid-paced. The vocals are the heaviest thing at the onset of the song. The drums begin to pick up steam next. The bass player is pretty impressive for black metal, not a genre known for bass players. At 13 minutes the last song is the most sprawling and also the one with the widest range of dynamics. It centers on atmosphere with metal building more toward the end, some cool sounds and riffs but the first few songs hooked me in more. Overall this is a pretty impressive album. I will give it a 9. If you want atmospheric gaze posty metal with a sonic spin of its own this is for you.  

  

Black Metal History Month- Culted : "Nous"

 Another band who proves black metal does not have to be fast.  Granted this might be thought of as blackened doom by some.  The second song lifers leans more into the black metal side of the equations as the tempo picks up. They have a very organic and sludge like tone. While this might point to more of a Darkthrone influence, it reminds me of Fister. "One Last Smoke" does fall back into more of a doomy place as it has touches of Black Sabbath amid the plentiful nods to Godflesh . The vocals are more sung than snarled though set back into a shroud of reverb. There is an angular discordance to them that kept the creepy feel in a darker place . 

Things stay weird on "Ankle Deep". It is more atmospheric. The murky dense ugliness is harder to sink your teeth into until the drums come in. Then a more shoe gaze like vibe crosses over into "Black Bird". i like how there is a beautiful little melody wedged into the sonic buzz of darkness. This gives it a more Swans like vibe, without being a blatant imitation. The dark ominous direction things go in with " Opiate the Hounds" ,  It is more of a droning affair, they have collected some interesting sounds to create it but I think what goes down on " Maze" makes for a better song. It has a pretty crushing sludge like riff driving it. The vocals are a spaced out whisper that goes into more of a snarl. 

We are midway into the atmosphere of "Crown of Lies" before it actually converges into a song. When it does it is a dark creeping post rock affair, which I am in favor of , I just wish the fat had been trimmed on the front end. The last  two songs find the air leaking out with a droning sludge of sound more than a song and a cover of a Godflesh song. They do a good job of covering it but it seems a little redundant considering how big of an influence Godflesh seems to be. I would have stepped out of their comfort zone if I was these guys. Overall this album is a dark and enjoyable listen I will give it an 8.5, as even in the moments I am less drawn to , if you are a fan you will dig it. 

7

Black Metal History Month -The Top 66 Black Metal Bands of All Time -46-37

We are going further into this darkness with this list of the Top 66 Black Metal Bands of All Time.  Before you get your bullet belt twisted with what is about to go down here. I am not writing commentary with each entry, instead I will cryptically foreshadow the reasoning for where these bands fall. I typically defaulted to Last Fm so this is ranked by most listened to by me. Since it is my blog it only makes sense I can think I am a huge fan of one band but if I never listen to them how good can they really be? There are bands that are supposed classics , and well they did make the list and this is the top 66 black metal bands out of hundreds. If they did not rank as high as you liked well go make your own fucking list or start your own fucking blog. 

There will not be much in the way of Raw or Beastial black metal, because they tend so sound like shit . There are many sub-genres represented here, Atmospheric, progressive , first wave , depressive, post ...so lots of ground is going to be covered. I have also included the country so we will have a clearer picture of who is exporting the best black metal. The tracks chosen are not the best , but the 6th track from my favorite album unless my favorite album does not have six songs and then I am picking the album before that one, if that one doesn't have six songs then I keep going back until I find one that does.  So here ya go 

 46-Urfaust

Country- Netherlands

 

45-Peste noire

Country- France

 

44 -Anagnorisis

Country- America 

 

 43-Sigh

Country- Japan

 

42 -The Great Old Ones 

 Country- France 

   

41-Ulver

Country- Norway

 

40- Kall

Country- Sweden

39 Kamfar

  Country- Norway

   

 38-A Pregnant Light

Country- America 

-

37-Liturgy

Country- America

Pale Waves : "Who Am I"

I still listen to their last album "My Mind Makes Noises" , and have been looking forward to this one. From the singles leading up to this albums release I was beginning to hear some 90s radio influence . When I actually put the album on it flows much closer to we heard from them without being redundant and still showing growth. There is less of a 80s Cure vibe. The album is still dark just in other ways There is more of a HAIM vibe instead of the 1975 feel of the first album/. Her voice is stronger on this album . She sticks to what she does though the moodier accents are smoothed out. She expands her gender preferences from the first album as evident on "She's My Religion", which is right on time for being relevant in 2021.

The best song on the album might be 'Easy". It has more in common with their last album sonically. It could have been on it. "Wish You Were Here" is not a Pink Floyd. It is middle of the road indie pop. It does not grab me as urgently as the first four songs. There are touches of the more Cure like guitar we heard from the first album. "Tomorrow is more Avril in the tension the guitar creates. It is the most rock song so far. There are some gender issues being explored and lyrically it seems they are going for more a woke theme, but the songs are good enough to flow around the lyrics. The rock guitar has a little more gain to it on "You Don't Own Me" , which is some girl empowerment when it comes to the modern anthemic themes. 

The moodier 80s sounds kinda crop up again on "I Just Needed You" . The guitar going into has hints of Smashing Pumpkins when it comes down to the tone. The vocal is pretty smart and emotive. Her vocals can take a song like "Odd Ones" which is other wise bland and make it something worthwhile and catchy. They close the album with something that sounds more like 90s alt pop . Overall this album is poppier in a teeny bopper way and happier which makes it not as good as "My Mind Makes Noises " in my book, so I will give it a 9.5, as it fall just short of perfect while being a great fun album

Black Metal History Month's Top 66 Black Metal Bands of All Time 56 - 47

We are going further into this darkness with this list of the Top 66 Black Metal Bands of All Time.  Before you get your bullet belt twisted with what is about to go down here. I am not writing commentary with each entry, instead I will cryptically foreshadow the reasoning for where these bands fall. I typically defaulted to Last Fm so this is ranked by most listened to by me. Since it is my blog it only makes sense I can think I am a huge fan of one band but if I never listen to them how good can they really be? There are bands that are supposed classics , and well they did make the list and this is the top 66 black metal bands out of hundreds. If they did not rank as high as you liked well go make your own fucking list or start your own fucking blog. 

There will not be much in the way of Raw or Beastial black metal, because they tend so sound like shit . There are many sub-genres represented here, Atmospheric, progressive , first wave , depressive, post ...so lots of ground is going to be covered. I have also included the country so we will have a clearer picture of who is exporting the best black metal. The tracks chosen are not the best , but the 6th track from my favorite album unless my favorite album does not have six songs and then I am picking the album before that one, if that one doesn't have six songs then I keep going back until I find one that does.  So here ya go 

56- Lychgate 

Country - England

 

55 -Cobalt

Country- America

54-Drudkh

Country- Ukraine

53-Forgotten Tomb

Country - Italy 

52Abigail Williams

Country- America

  

51-Midnight

Country- America

50- Ancient

Country- Norway

49 -the meads of asphodel

Country- England 

48-cultes des ghoules

Country- Poland

47-Marduk

Country- Sweden 

Black Metal History Month's Top 66 black Metal Bands of All Time 66- 57

 

Before you get your bullet belt twisted with what is about to go down here. I am not writing commentary with each entry, instead I will cryptically foreshadow the reasoning for where these bands fall. I typically defaulted to Last Fm so this is ranked by most listened to by me. Since it is my blog it only makes sense I can think I am a huge fan of one band but if I never listen to them how good can they really be? There are bands that are supposed classics , and well they did make the list and this is the top 66 black metal bands out of hundreds. If they did not rank as high as you liked well go make your own fucking list or start your own fucking blog. 

There will not be much in the way of Raw or Beastial black metal, because they tend so sound like shit . There are many sub-genres represented here, Atmospheric, progressive , first wave, depressive...so lots of ground is going to be covered. I have also included the country so we will have a clearer picture of who is exporting the best black metal. The tracks chosen are not the best , but the 6th track from my favorite album unless my favorite album does not have six songs and then I am picking the album before that one, if that one doesn't have six songs then I keep going back until I find one that does.  So here ya go the  Top 66 Black Metal bands of all time. 

66- Summoning

 Country - Austria

65 -Horna

Country- Finland

 

64 Bathory

Country - Sweden

 

63-Enthroned

Country- Belgium

   

 

62- Anaal Nathrakh 

 Country -England

   

61-Melencolia Estatica

 Country- Italy

y

60- Archgoat

Country-  Finland

 

 59- Panopticon

Country- America

   

 58- Venom

Country- England 

 

57-Urgehal

Country- Norway

Rome : "Parlez-vous Hate"

 Long time fans might feel the neo folk project is selling out by not making the kind of bleakly obtuse that put them in line for Death in June's throne. It does seem like these songs were written with breaking through in the America. There is even a song that kind of parodies Bruce Springteen's "Born in the USA" But all the above works for me as it is very hooky and concisely written songs. "Death From Above" has a slight hint of country to it and is more upbeat than what you might expect. This song grew on me and it was also made apparent how the vocals have improved. Is there more of a rock touch to it ? Yes. If you just want a folk album then this might take some getting used to. It should not be hard as this is a great album and we are only a few songs in. 

Things get more martial and darker with "Panzerschokolade". I am not sure how serious this song is if he is singing about having Scooby snacks . The song after this finds him getting back to a more familiar folk sound. This song highlights the changed in production which is much brighter on this album. He sings in his more resonate baritone here. I mean this is what he normally does so he is going to be good at it. It however seems like a step back into his comfort song and I was enjoying the change in direction. Acoustic guitar one again takes it's rightful place on this album for "Toll In the Great Death". It has a more swaying Irish folk sound, though there are also Spanish elements introduced. When we get to "Feral Agents" we are at the kind of risk taking I want here as it seems to pay off more often than not . There is a moodier tone to this one. There is more of a New Model Army feel to "You Owe Me a Whole World" .

That New Model Army feel continues on "Blood For All" which flows in almost a Cure like manner that I like but the lyrics asking where are we on the privilege chain , is heavy handed , despite the fact I can never tell what side of things he falls on, I would rather they just did not come up at all and we were talking about lost love , Satan or drug use. "Alesia"  finds him using his upper register more and it smoothly flows , as does most of the album.  I will give this album a 9.5 , so it might not be perfect, but it might be hjis best and I enjoy his songwriting here.

Black Metal History Month Hulder : " Godslastering: Hymns of a Forlorn Peasantry"

 These guys are getting a lot of props from the metal press these days . This begs the question is the hype worth it ? The first song is pretty good. They care about song writing, but on the second song they clearly locked into a more thrash influenced vision of early black metal. 'Sown in Barren Soil" is some what death metal in it's aggression and the vocal delivery, There is a melodic side to it that balances everything out. It took me two songs before I learned this is a one woman band from Portland. Now the hype makes sense. Also the quality of her androgynous snarl. She would be growling lower if she could. The fourth "song" is not really a song and more of a interlude. 

"Purgations of Bodily Corruption" is a triumphant gallop. Now that I know I am listening for a girls voice I can not unhear it. "Lowland Famine" coasts before going into blast beats. The drumming is pretty simplistic even for black metal. I do like the very organic sound this was recorded with . It is not too raw as most instrument are well mixed and have clarity. Then clean singing on " A Forlorn Peasants Hymn" .is far from the operatic grace of Mykur, but there is that kind of folk metal dynamic. 

The last song finds her indulging  in more triumphant Bathory like ride into battle. We hear more of a varied growl from her after things speed up into a more traditional black metal manner, It's fine and that is something that can be said of the entire album. It sounds good, there are hooks and like I said before they do care about song writing. It is not very middle of the road, I do not feel darkness from, it is like faking the funk. I will give this a 7.5 better than not , but nothing new or ground breaking.

Black Metal History Month - Cara Neir : "Phase Out"

My favorite album by these guys is "Portal to A Better Dead World" . After that one the hard core hints began to become a more prominent force in their music . But having a black metal past makes them a part of the history of the genre so he we are. Things have really changed. They always wrote dynamic songs that took you are a journey now they have added a whole realm of video game sounds. Going a more nerd core than hard core direction. There is still a metal spine to what does down. It is wildly progressive. The oddity over powers the dark sense of evil or hatred black metal should carry. The second song is a written tune the first song just had me like "What the fuck is going on here". I listen to lots of music every week, so If you can make me ask that you have accomplished something. 

Metal made in un-metal ways generally works for me as things like sonic density and darkness hold a great deal of weight for me as far as what I like and what I consider heavy. The sung vocals on "Shady Blades" have more of an indie rock feel. This song is really well written. I know some of you were expecting me to poo poo this since it is not black metal, but you forget I like weird career shifts like Disco Kiss, Glam rock Celtic Frost and Vegas Elvis. "Valkyrie" is not only more metal is is propelled by a very solid groove. There is a more noise rock element to "Floodgates of Doom " . "Four Seasons in a day" is more of an interlude than a song. They take similar elements from this interlude and make a song out of them on "Phasers Set to Relax" which has and almost industrial feel.  

Metal returns for 'Maestro Infernus" but chaos rules the song.. I prefer how it is introduced on "Hypogelum". It has drive and some roots in more traditional metal. They do similar in the last song though there is more hard core to the explosive part but it follows a similar dynamic. I will give this album a 9.5 . It was not what I was expecting , but in fact better and perhaps their best.  

Black Metal History Month : Mare Cognitum : "Solar Paroxysm"

 The fifth album from this project finds a more stripped down and direct approach being taken to this brand of black metal. More in your face . The guitars get aggressive. It does and doesn't sound like traditional black metal. This is what gives the song it's edge. There is a very sonic lushness to the over all sound. Despite the more straight forward approach I might like this even better than what I have heard from this project in the past. Does the song need to me 9 minutes long. Well no but it is done well. The second song picks up from the blast beaten path the first song left on. The only difference being the guitars are more harmonized. This song is not only not as impressive , but begins to bore me a little.  

This is a five song album , but everyone of these songs crosses the ten minute mark. The vocals shift into a lower more death metal like growl on " Terra Requiem". Lyrically I guess there are still some cosmic themes. It slows and becomes more sonically lush. From a song writing perspective very basic, but the sound created makes up for this.  "Luminous Accretion" shifts from a sonic drone like the previous song had to more punchy thrash like riffing with blast beats underneath it. Lots of guitar solos crop up which is not the most common thing in black metal. The drumming is pretty remarkable. If the double bass is real and not programmed. A lot is thrown at you in this one, I am not sure that it is all cohesive. 

The last song "Axtraxia Tunnels"  they lay on the speed to give the feel of more traditional black metal again.  After a few listens it grew on me more. The vocals sit back further into the guitar. There is a sonic wall of sound that I like . For a one man band this is impressive. All of these songs sound good , but not all of them stand out wit ha unique personality that once marked this project. I get being angry and wanting to do something more in your face, and the first song was a fine example of doing that well, it also was a bar the rest of the album did not always touch. I will give this one an 8, I think fans who want more of a black metal sound will be happy.This comes out March 19th on I, Void Hanger Records.    

4.1