Had to take a break to knock out my contributions to AOTY season, but I’m back with the final installment of my journey through black metal albums celebrating their 30th anniversaries! The first two installments took us all over Europe, but as stated previously 1994 was truly the year one nation’s black metal reigned supreme; this last trio of albums are all Norwegian bands, and all based out of Bergen as well. Let’s see how they hold up 30 years later.
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Gorgoroth is a band perhaps more infamous for their various controversies over the years rather than their strictly musical contributions to the world of black metal. Gaahl’s tenure in the band that coincided with his two assault convictions and included the infamous “Black Mass Krakow” show, the battle between guitarist/founder Infernus and Gaahl/King ov Hell over the rights to the band’s name, and more recently Infernus’ hospitalization following an assault by “some fat little insignificant”; the metal tabloids seem to have totally forgotten he was convicted of gross negligent rape in 2006. And of course we can’t forget Gaahl’s infamous “……Satan” moment in Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey either. But like the following two bands in this segment, they too released their debut album late in 1994.
Pentagram is probably the most straightforward album in this entire series; it might as well be a YouTube video titled “29 Minutes of Norwegian Black Metal Riffs”. This is no frills black metal that alternates between first wave inspired thrashiness and the riffing pioneered by Euronymous, with blasts galore and plenty of evil tri-tone chords; albeit missing a lot of the more interesting songwriting choices found on De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. “Longer” tracks such as “Ritual” throw in some of the lilting 6/8 that goes well with extended trem-picked lines, but otherwise this is about as standard as black metal gets. Closer “Måneskyggens slave” — the longest track at just under six minutes — is probably the best on the album, finally taking the time to develop and progress through multiple sections before a raging blast-and-trem finale. Ultimately the most noteworthy aspect of Pentagram is the hissing cat vocal performance of Hat (“hate” in Norwegian, unfortunately not very intimidating for English speakers); elske or hat it, his screeches are pure venom that elevates the rest of the sound.
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If ever you wondered what the missing link between Bathory’s viking-era albums and Enslaved’s early material might sound like, then Hades has you covered with debut full-length …Again Shall Be. Hades (renamed Hades Almighty in 1998) is another band not without controversy themselves — founder and guitarist Jørn Inge Tunsberg spent two years in prison for the arson of the old Åsane Church in Bergen along with Varg Vikernes in 1992 — but thankfully had the musical chops to back it up. With its dense guitars and warm, prominent bass, …Again Shall Be sounds extremely similar to Vikingligr veldi — all thanks to legendary producer Pytten, of course. But while that Enslaved debut is a ferocious, blast beat-driven affair, Hades prefer a mid-paced tempo that echoes the bookending tracks on Blood Fire Death or Vikingligr‘s closing track “Norvegr.”
Right from the overture “Pagan Triumph,” …Again Shall Be invokes the legendary ’88-’91 material of Quorthon with thunderous drums, clean “whoa-oh” vocals, and a pagan sense of melody in the guitar riffs — aside from the occasional acoustic passage, not one bit of folk instrumentation is to be found here, however. Keyboards are present and give an unsettling quality to tracks such as “The Spirit of an Ancient Past” but are often minimal (especially when compared to the two Enslaved releases from 1994 that I covered previously), save for the glorious melody on highlight “Be-Witched.” With its emphasis on slower tempos and overall more subtle nature — as opposed to a furious blast-fest like many of its contemporaries — …Again Shall Be may not be the most exciting or celebrated release in the early Norwegian scene, but is an essential listen for lovers of Bathory and epic, mythologically-focused black metal.
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This final album from 1994 comes from a band that wasn’t involved with any of the nefarious acts of the early Norwegian black metal scene, but may harbor the most blasphemous anecdote of all… Ancient founder Aphazel converted to Christianity in 2009. 15 years prior the band released their debut full-length Svartalvheim; I bought it on Bandcamp almost three years ago, but never listened until now. While not a bad release overall, it’s a bit frustrating for a few reasons… in particular, baffling production choices. According to Encyclopedia Metallum the album has never been remastered, so it’s always been this way I guess. After an intro track, the first song “Trumps of an Archangel” is a fairly standard buzzsaw guitar take on black metal of the time. But the seamless transition to “Huldradans” is made jarring by a complete change in both the guitar tone as well as the loudness of the bass (which gains a sound similar to early Cryptopsy); the guitar tone is a lot sharper, and better overall at least. This track lays the groundwork for the best of the album overall with its more melodic riffing and acoustic guitar breaks.
While not too consistent overall, Svartalvheim does have one standout track: the nine minute epic “Paa evig vandring.” Flute-like keyboards and acoustic guitar alternate with Bathory-esque stomping black metal in the initial minutes, followed later by an atmospheric section comprised of angelic choral vocals, organ, bells, and shimmering sound effects. Going back to the frustrating mixing choices, the loud, early tech death-style bass is absent on this song. The subsequent track “Ved trolltjern” is similarly a total departure from black metal, being only acoustic guitar and synths alongside blackened rasps. While not as celebrated as those that followed, the experimentation on this album foreshadows what would soon come from acts such as Ulver, Arcturus, and Fleurety.
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And there we have it, another year in black metal down! This last trio of albums were easily the least exciting of all, but that’s what I get for purposefully avoiding some of the classics that everyone already knows so well. At least I got to talk about Enslaved twice! Thanks for sticking with me through all three parts, and I’m sure to be back next year as there were another slew of incredible albums released not just in Norway (okay, still mostly in Norway), but all over Europe. Until then, stay kvlt and have a grim new year.
— Colin
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