I have returned with part two of this trek through the world of black metal in 1994! Part one showcased bands from Norway, the UK, and Sweden with some of their earliest material — good and bad, but mostly good — and I’ll bet you can guess what band from Norway will be getting another album this time around. These three albums once again showcase the relatively wide variety of music being created within the black metal world at this time. I gave enough of an intro spiel last time, so let’s go right ahead and take a deeper look at some more kvlt klassics from 1994.
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As 1994 was blessed with two Enslaved full-lengths, you bet I’m going to cover both of them. Whereas Vikingligr veldi is a hypnotically repetitive, more atmospheric slab of classic black metal, Frost is something much more chaotic and forward-thrust, but no less pagan and icy (it’s right there in the title!) Recorded once again with Pytten at Grieghallen just a few months after the release of Vikingligr, Frost would stand in stark contrast to the warm darkness of its predecessor with more frantic blasts, ferocious vocals, and a much thinner production. But what stands out most of all to me on the album is Ivar Bjørnson’s guitar playing, of course — some of the riff and chord choices are just plain wacky, and the not-infrequent pinch harmonics really add to the weirdness as well. Enslaved has never been a particularly melodic band, but there’s a level of discordance found throughout Frost that I don’t think has exactly been replicated since (as far as entire albums go, at least). That first blast-accompanied riff in “Loke” and most of “Gylfaginning” are just a couple examples; I don’t think too many others in the Norwegian scene were playing around with chords quite like this, and Ivar was only 16 when the album came out! I may be the most biased person in the world towards Enslaved, but the age at which Ivar and the group as a whole were crafting such intricate music still astounds me.
While it was a label that the band would later wholeheartedly reject, there were two words prominently displayed on the liner notes of Frost that are arguably contentious within the metal world to this day: “viking metal.” The intentions of the band were declarative, but of course the genre tag stuck. I’m a defender of the term myself — as a black metal subgenre rooted in Hammerheart and Twilight of the Gods as Rate Your Music describes at least, and not just a band with Norse mythology/viking lyrics (*cough* Amon Amarth *cough*) — because there’s just something different about the way that the keyboards, layered acoustic guitars, and pounding Quorthon-inspired riffs come together on an album such as this. True to the album’s title, the twinkling keys of the title track instrumental evoke something cold and ancient; he may be known for his riffs but Ivar was certainly the right keyboardist for the time (as his work with Borknagar and Gorgoroth can allude to as well). Thematically the band went further into the depths of Norse mythology, and even recorded their first folk-inspired song in “Yggdrasil”; thankfully the music and lyrics speak for themselves in this regard, as the booklet photos the band took don’t exactly scream respect for the viking age.
A little off-kilter, perhaps, but nevertheless a legendary slab of old cold black metal that wasn’t afraid to make bold choices; Frost was another monumental step in the Enslaved saga, granting them both respect within the black metal scene and European/North American tours that brought their music to far distant shores. This would be the last release with Trym Torson on drums, yet he gives a hell of a performance here (he would do well for himself in a little Norwegian band called Emperor). I can’t stand the trve kvlt elitism of “old Enslaved is the only good Enslaved,” but I’ll be damned if I don’t want to see a lot more songs from this era performed live with the current lineup — just listen to “Fenris” from their Cinematic Tour 2020. The atmospheric “Svarte vidder” or more progressive “Isöders dronning” would benefit tremendously from the expanded sound and incredible musicianship of those who now play alongside Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson. Vikingligr veldi might just edge out Frost for me overall, but that’s absolutely not a slight towards this album. Enslaved went two-for-two in 1994, forever cementing their place as one of the greats in the world of black metal.
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We take our second (and last) break from Scandinavia to another peninsula on the southern side of Europe, that of Italy. Mortuary Drape formed back in 1986, but after a series of demos and an EP wouldn’t release debut All the Witches Dance until sometime in 1994 — I’m putting this album smack dab in the middle of this whole series because I can’t find any info on when it actually came out. Mortuary Drape may not have been burning churches or committing murder like their their northern brethren, but their occult cred was arguably no less; the album cover is rumored to be a real corpse dug up by the band. I’ve heard their name thrown out before in relation to Predatory Light (whose 2022 release Death and the Twilight Hours is one of my favorite albums of this decade), so I had to see what the fuss was all about. I’m on record as being indifferent-to-critical of much first wave black metal, and knowing that they had a sound more in that vein — where the line between thrash and what we now call black metal was more blurred — had me feeling a little apprehensive. Thankfully this album had a lot more going for it than I expected.
Intro “My Soul” sets the stage with soft clean guitars, spooky synths, and Latin spoken word to really emphasize the occult atmosphere; non-metal intro tracks are a dime a dozen in black metal, but rarely do they go on for six minutes! Mortuary Drape totally make it work though, as it slowly builds up to “Primordial” (the two tracks were combined in early issues of the album). This track is much more standard early black thrash fare, easily sounding like anything off of Bathory’s self-titled and the like. “Astral Bewitchment” is where things really kick into high gear, slowing things down a bit but adding more variety into the riffing; what begins to set it (and the rest of All the Witches Dance) apart is the highly melodic soloing which adds so much character to the rest of the sound. Here is where the Predatory Light comparisons really stand out, though on Death and the Twilight Hours these melodic lines are in fact the riffs. “Funeral Chant” and “Tregenda (Dance in Shroud)” throw in more of the clean, atmospheric guitars found in the intro and it really adds to the creepy, occult nature of the sound; the latter song especially makes it easy to visualize a circle of occultists dancing around a Satanic altar.
As if the melodic solos and crunchy, oft-changing guitar riffs weren’t enough, one of the other major highlights of All the Witches Dance is the tremendous bass performance. Not just the playing itself, but its very prominent role in the mix — think Hell Awaits or early Sadus. First wave-style black metal may not be what I typically go for, but this album has made me a believer… probably because it reminds me more of Ritual. than Welcome to Hell. If you are a fan of early black metal and aren’t acquainted with Mortuary Drape, you absolutely owe it to yourself to give All the Witches Dance a listen; it may have come out a bit later than the aforementioned pioneers, but deserves to be held in high regard amongst other classics of the genre.
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The last album in part two of this journey through 1994 is another one that’s (regrettably) new to me: the EP First Spell by Gehenna, the first in their ‘Spells’ trilogy that would be followed up with full-lengths in 1995 and 1996. Gehenna had always stayed under my radar for one reason or another; I was always under the impression that they were yet another mid-tier Norwegian black metal act. When I saw this release described as both melodic and symphonic black metal I had to see what I’d missed out on, as I love both subgenres individually — when combined in just the right way, it can amount to some of my all-time favorite black metal. Lo and behold, as soon as the spooky keyboards kicked in on opening track “The Shivering Voice of the Ghost” I knew I had found exactly what I was looking for. Pretty cheesy and over the top? Absolutely. But this is black metal, a genre perfectly ripe for a band that can hit that sweet spot between ridiculous and comedic.
I love blast beats and tremolo-picked chords as much as any other black metal fan, but you won’t find any of that on First Spell. This EP is entirely mid-tempo and subdued, with a very gloomy, gothic atmosphere. Keyboards are the main melodic component, with the guitars serving more as a rhythmic instrument progressing the keys from one chord to the next rather than the riff-based instrument we typically saw in black metal at this time. The keys themselves are pretty varied in both style and sound — weaving melodic lines on the aforementioned opener and closer “Morningstar” versus held chords on “Conquering of Hirsir”; sonically they’re everything from the normal symphony to something like Mario collecting coins at hyperspeed on “Angelwings and Ravenclaws.”
First Spell might not be the most exciting or dynamic album among this entire set of nine, but it’s a solid 25 minutes of mid-tempo black metal that relishes in a perfect atmosphere for autumn gloom and spooky Halloween nights. My only regret is not discovering it sooner.
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Two-thirds of the way done! And overall more consistent than last time, even if Frost is the only album from this segment that I’d say is one of my favorites. I’m certainly glad to have checked out the other two at least, as Mortuary Drape seems to have finally been a band that cracked through my first wave shell with some great riffs and fantastic bass playing; I’ll surely be checking out more of their material, as I’ve heard nothing but praise heaped upon their following albums Secret Sudaria and Tolling 13 Knell. Check back soon for the final installment in this series, which will conclude this banner year for Norwegian black metal with… you guessed it… three Norwegian black metal albums.
— Colin
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