Live 4 Metal - Black Metal

Black Metal Index

So what is Black Metal? Is it the blazing guitars and thrashing rage of Venom or Slayer? The dismal production less dirge of Dark Throne or Burzum? Or does your Black Metal need epic keyboards like Emperor or Cradle of Filth. How about a bit of Viking blood to allow Bathory or Enslaved into the pot along with the Death Metal styles of Deicide and Morbid Angel who equally draw upon Occult/ Satanic lyrics to burst your ears apart.

Not so easy to define a genre that through its own evolution has absorbed so many other styles and maybe lost its very soul in the process. To really nail the heart of Black Metal we must drag ourselves over the eighties bands, who at the time were no more than Thrash icons and the very term Black Metal was only a loose pigeon hole for certain acts trading under the Satanic monicker and then they were far and few between.

The real powerhouse behind Black Metal is undoubtedly the Norwegians who in the early nineties exploded upon a stale extreme metal scene with dark tales of murder, church fires and infamous overblown headlines of inner circles and satanic ideology. The right wing Nazi propaganda also reared its head but withdrew just as fast when the smell of financial reward wafted in the air. Of course any logical thinking fan will know the whole sinister goings on in Norway were the juvenile antics of a few rather silly kids not altogether sane and as rebellious as the minority of likewise kids in the Punk explosion of ’76 or the drug influenced freedom seekers of the late sixties.

It was however the music, which should have been the main focus of our attentions, and thankfully the music was new, fresh and utterly mind fucking in the process. I have letters from Dimmu Borgir and Emperor before they made it big dotted with swastikas. They are probably squirming with embarrassment now but when one is young one tends to do silly things don’t you think?

The following list of classic Black Metal albums spans the last two decades and is based on lyrical content as well as damn fine representations of Black Metal, whether they be the roots of the genre or the present incarnation of its evolution.

The Eighties

Venom ; Welcome To Hell [1981]

So here extreme metal was officially born although not many people knew it. The seeds of Black Metal planted by Black Sabbath many moons ago had now risen from the sod and flowered into a trio of insane Geordies intent on mocking the whole metal world. This album was a raw, rough and ghastly experience made all the more invigorating through tracks like, Witching Hour, Welcome to Hell and 1000 Days In Sodom. Welcome to hell indeed. The 7" In League With Satan was also released.

Venom ; Black Metal [1982]

Do you need to be told about this release? Thought not. But for the odd hermit who has spent the last 20 years masturbating in some damp cave this was the Alpha to Omega of Black/ Thrash, call it what you will album of all time. It was the first to break through the stubborn barriers of commercial pap. The first to surmount an unstoppable charge into the stale metal scene and shake the drivel off the pages of the frightened magazines that had not predicted such a vile sounding bugger of an album. Behold. Extreme Metal had decided to stay a while. The 7" Bloodlust with In Nomine Satanas on the flip was released in the same year and neither track appears on this album. This truly was the death knell for the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.

Slayer ; Show No Mercy [1983]

Just when you recovered from Metallica another even more brutal band appears. Slayer and their Black influenced debut had raised the stakes even higher. Faster, more ruthless and more ear destroying. This was maybe too intense for many at the time but for the growing hordes of the new scene this album was like a compelling fix to a brain ripping addiction.

Mercyful Fate ; Melissa [1983]

Dark, menacing Black Metal made all the more unique though the shrill vocals of King Diamond. It just went to show you didn’t need to growl your way into the extreme metal annals of fame. To be honest I have never fully appreciated the love ‘em or hate ’em vocals but the music is just awesome. Lyrically more intelligent and dark than most other bands associated with the occult theme.

Venom ; At War With Satan [1984]

How do you follow an album like, Black Metal? Well Venom didn’t do a bad job with this two sided affair. The first side of the album contained the 25-minute epic title track, which was a concept piece about Satan and his wrong doings with the Lord. The flip side had the usual rip roaring Black Metal thundering one felt on the imposing Black Metal opus but better produced. Sadly the fuse to the power keg was to burn out after this awesome release. The band also released the 7" Manitou in the same year.

Bathory ; Bathory [1984]

Straight out of the abyss came a one-man fireball with a voice to end all voices. Never had such a sinister guttural snarl been set to record and the music wasn’t much appetising neither. Primitive and lacking any subtlety were the best words to sum up this frightful album.

Sodom ; Sign of Evil [1984]

Run for your lives the Germans are here! was the word coming from the embittered thrash trenches. And so it was to be in the form of yet another group of bored teenagers who picked up some instruments and bashed the hell out of them. Sodom for all their perseverance were only good at one thing and that was bash everything ‘till it hurts and then bash it some more. This lp had it all. Hilarious band photos, meaningless music and a thrilling brashness about the songs. It was a new era and this band were very much a part of it.

Hellhammer ; Apocalyptic Raids [1984]

Not as applauded until the advent of Celtic Frost when fans curiosity compelled them to unearth this plodding lp. The music has as much warmth as a dead monk lying naked on a sheet of ice. One must be either a corpse or one sad shit to enjoy the cold droning music of Hellhammer.

Possessed ; Seven Churches [1985]

The Slayeresque guitar work and guttural vocals of Jeff Bacerra coupled with the drum skills of Mike Suss gave this release a superior quality. The Satanic slant on the song titles couldn’t disguise the early Death soul swirling around the frantic material.

Slayer ; Hell Awaits [1985]

The production on this takes away some of the bite the songs should give. The title track is one of Slayers strongest songs and the rest of the album swims in a Satanic atmosphere far from the monster this band would come up with next.

Celtic Frost ; Morbid Tales/ To Mega Therion [1985]

Lurching from the ashes of Black Doom band Hellhammer came the mighty Celtic Frost. Speed was never the order of the day for this band as the creepy desolate funeral anthems just trickled despair into the ears.

Bathory ; The Return [1985]

Recorded whilst drunk goes the rumour. Quorthon certainly followed the debut up with a ragged and tumultuous affair. This had a huge guitar sound and not much else. A simple theme of basic song arrangements and all out raw power was the order of the day here. Pure fucking brilliance I’d say.

Venom ; Possessed [1985]

The fourth album and the rot had set in. The sound had lost its venom so to speak and this release came across as rather hollow. That said it was the last great Venom album. The 7" Satanachrist was also released the same year

Bulldozer ; The Final Separation [1986]

Italian Black Metal in the vein of early Venom and not so well produced. The raw atmosphere and melodic nature of the songs ensured the band cult status but little else. This was the bands second release and the last to be endowed with such dark goings on.

Bathory ; Under the Sign Of The Black Mark [1987]

Strewth!! Here commeth BATHORY and a new age of metal. The Viking slant on the lyrical and musical content raised more than a few eyebrows. Keeping in touch with the past the album contained its fair share of out and out speed workouts but it was the keyboard layered slower songs that would set the future of the band. Never before had this bombastic approach been injected with such evil menace.

Celtic Frost ; Into the Pandemonium [1987]

Some would say a brave if not foolhardy idea to relinquish simplistic doomy music in favour of uncharted gothic sounds, which as it turned out, became a masterstroke of genius. This album took the world by storm with its off the wall arrangements and innovative melodic songs. This was a far cry from the dismal funeral dirge this band virtually patented. Everything about this release was fresh, weird and so far removed from conventional tradition it could have plummeted into metal oblivion or ascended into legend. The later applies and if you haven’t heard it shame on you.

Sabbat ; History of a Time to Come [1987]

English extreme metal had always been in the casualty ward and even today us Brits struggle in the Black and Death genres. This pagan romp across heathen/ occult folk atmospheres and dark songs gave the world the diminutive yet charismatic Martin Walkyier whose vocals set the band apart from the rest.

Mayhem ; Deathcrush [1987]

Not many people knew about this band apart from the lowest wretches of the underground. It is obviously more renowned today but at the time of its release it made little impact on the metal scene. This was the first sign of the mighty Norse invasion yet to come and one could site this primitive dirge as coming too soon in the grand scheme of things.

Bathory ; Blood, Fire, Death [1988]

The bands finest album, which balanced the formidable blasting Black Metal everyone came to expect and the more adventurous Viking metal, threatened on the pervious release. The production was immense, as were the bombastic songs. The title track itself shudders the bones and is a timeless metal classic.

Deliverance; Evil Friendship [1989]

Released on the Metalwork’s label along side other Brit hopefuls Virus and Deathwish, this mysterious act released three Satanic influenced albums. Evil Friendship was the second and by far their most aggressive work. Incorporating keyboards and fast/ slow arrangements the release is very listenable.