It does all sound like a big joke. You have a two day music fest in hipster infested Brooklyn, NY. It's billed as an anti-fascist extreme metal festival. Mostly all of the bands are complete unknowns. And it's promoter is a former tour slut turned corrupt journalist turned far left political activist. Yeah to most fans of extreme metal it all sounds funny but to your typical SJW (aka: social justice warrior) as well as a few laughable metal music sites, it's serious.
Welcome to the closed minded world of Black Flags Over Brooklyn 2019. The fest, which took place on January 25th and 26th at some place called The Brooklyn Bazaar, was not billed as an all inclusive show where everyone was welcome. On the contrary it was an exclusive show for people who follow radical left wing ideologies as well as identity politics. Oh yeah they're also anti-fascist as one of the fest's merch items (what every metal fan craves) tote bags printed with the gothic-font phrase “Fuck NSBM”. I became aware of this "fest" by way of a friend's Facebook posting of a show review link by that bastion of all things metal, Rolling Stone. At first I had a good laugh over it and why not. This is basically a culture of hipster-dom which has more ties to anarcho-punk than metal. They promote bigotry disguised as identity politics. They ally themselves with the domestic terror group Antifa. And they're obviously offended by everything about metal. Which is why I think it's funny when these people use the phrase "take our scene back"! Excuse me but it was never "your scene".
This fest is the creation of the one and only Kim Kelly. She's not really a household name amongst your average metal fan. But for people who you could call metal nerds aka: avid readers of everything metal (I guess that means me) she has an infamous history.
(Kim Kelly) Long before she was indoctrinated by the far left and became de facto renaissance woman of the new hipster fascism movement. Kelly was known as a privileged trust fund baby from Philadelphia who in her youth slept her way into the metal scene. Whoa now don't get mad at me. I'm just going on what I've read from people who were around her at the time who's information has not been debunked. She then went from being a band slut / groupie to show promotions, a merch girl and journalism. As for that last career choice Kelly is most known for penning elaborate metal hoaxes including fabricated stories about Iranian and Chinese metal acts. Now just to be fair to Kelly she's recently come clean about her past and admitted that, before she became indoctrinated in political correctness, far left ideology and identity politics, she listened to and supported musical acts that she "would never in a million years condone or give a platform to now." OK fine because I, as well as many other people, have some common ground in that idea. But the difference is that we laugh it off but for Kelly, she has turned her dislike into something resembling religious fervor. And as the saying goes, There is no greater prude than a reformed whore. As it says in the sidebar of this blog: Extreme Metal or Music is generally a form which is accepted by 1% of all of the music loving public. It is elitist in every way and that's important to those of us who call ourselves fans. The 99% of people who will not like it are Not Supposed To. The music wasn't made for them, "the masses". It's music that's for those who take things to that "other" level. There is nothing hip or fad about it. In fact I treat those two notions very harshly. Just to add to that, Extreme metal contains a lot of material that is uncomfortable or potentially offensive to some people. If it bothers you then fine, mock it, laugh at it or simply don't listen to it. That's called Freedom of Choice. Unfortunately for people like Kim Kelly and her ilk, as well as the nobodys who played this goddamn hiptard congregation and the sparse crowd that actually attended (not only was attendance underwhelming but reports say it wasn't as diverse as it's promoters would have liked. Mostly white men showed up, oh no) giving people choices is not good enough. These people want you all to see the errors of your ways, repent, convert or else. You know if there's one thing metal fans don't respond to well its being subjected to a lecture about the morality of their music tastes by a bunch of losers who don't even like metal. Ya know it's bad enough that half the world thinks metal fans are nothing more than a bunch of devil worshiping reprobates. It's worse when actual hipster reprobates think they're metal.
(where's the support? where's the crowd?) As far as anyone criticizing this event, Kelly's attitude has already been made clear. In one write up to this event she said "If reactionary jagoffs are crying about in some piss-stained corner of the internet, good. That means we're doing something right." Fine you have your right to an opinion but what is that "something you're doing right?" Maybe it's fabricating a non existent crisis in order to legitimize your bigotry as well as your political motivation. Just because we see Kelly and her ilk as buffoons, losers and shit for brains idiots doesn't mean we don't take them for granted. In fact we take them seriously and debate them in order to show the world that they truly are buffoons, losers and shit for brains idiots.
So let's look at their main claim. They hate NSBM (National Socialist black metal). They also believe that there's a worldwide rise of violent white supremacy and fascism. And that metal should not be allowed to become a breeding ground for right-wing extremism. Now frankly you'd have to be a fear mongering nut job who sees a William Luther Pierce accolade behind every corner to believe that farce. Sure in the mid to late 90s NSBM was popular but not in the way these people think. I also believe it's ironic that for a group-think of people butt-hurt over national socialism probably support national socialists like US Senator Bernie Sanders or newly elected Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But getting back to the NSBM thing, no there is not a rise in popularity as if you think it's all about nazism which NSBM was not all about. Sure these people can sight a few examples of people acting foolish or saying something. Still that does not make a movement of white supremacy and fascism. The reason why Kelly and her ilk believe this to be so is because they see anyone who disagrees with their left-wing extremism as a fascist. That's painting a whole lot of people with a broad brush which by the way is the definition of bigotry. But that would be lost on her if you tried to explain it. That and the fact that fanatics always turn into the ones they hate.
(the face of the resistance. Yeah sure we're scared.) But I continue, having some sort of pride in yourself or your national identity to them is fascism unless you are part of a so-called marginalized group aka: anyone who is not a straight white male. Once again that's another form of bigotry which Kelly and her ilk, which includes self loathing white men, like to push. Ya know for a group of people who hate bigotry they certainly act like a bunch of bigots. As far as their other complaints or perceived offenses well they all look like the same shit being put out by your typical left wing crybabies who are perpetually offended. My simple answer to you all is just leave. We don't need people who have no problem glossing over their own past imperfections but act puritanical towards others. Go Fuck Yourselves!
ILS - Pain Don't Hurt Pogo Records The band name is pronounced "ilz" which I find to be interesting since musically they're like a very bad hangover. A few months ago I was feeling nostalgic. I was looking through a box of old cassette tapes and pulled out some stuff with a bunch of Touch & Go and Amphetamine Reptile records releases on them as well as other stuff. We use to call that stuff Noise Rock. In hindsight that was pretty stupid because the music in general wasn't noise. A lot of those bands were either pushing the boundaries of punk rock or de-evolving rock music.
So welcome to the wonderful world of ILS and their five song aptly titled Pain Don't Hurt EP. This Portland four piece has a love for the past but are firmly proto metal sounding in order to appeal to modern day crazies. As far as the past aesthetics go they know that you have to keep that bass up front and throbbing. The drum work needs to snap at you like a back handed slap. The guitars have to just meander around with some focus but sound as if they have none. Vocals on here are a mix of psychotic screams and devil may care clean yet obnoxious speak singing. Ya know a decade ago I pretty much left the whole punk rock thing mainly because well they left me. Be that as it may here's a band that gives me hope for the modern day punk scene. Although as memory serves me when bands from back in the day were playing this style of music you had plenty of hardcore types who trashed em for breaking the so-called punk rules. ILS are rule-breakers and as we all know rulebreakers rule. https://pogorecords.bandcamp.com/ https://pogorecords.bandcamp.com/album/ils-pain-dont-hurt-pogo-126 https://www.facebook.com/ilspdx/
TELUMEHTAR - The Well Hidden Marly Production What always SUCKS in January is when I get stuff in for review but the bands or promo people don't have anything for me to link to. But hey I did find the video above. If you think I'm pissed off then you should listen to this album which at this time of night is fuel to my anger. TELUMEHTAR, who hail from France, are a pissed off sounding black metal act. One of their songs, "The Grey Wolf" reminds me of myself or Clint Eastwood's character in the movie Gran Torino. Yeah I'm old, mean and I'm armed. Oh yeah I'm pissed! But lets move onward. So The Well is the second release by this French one man BM act who started out in 2007. TELUMEHTAR is basically multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Lord Telumehtar. After checking out his prior release, 2009's Black full length, I'm glued to the fact that this guy is still pissed off but yet has better production these days. Tremolo picked madness aside, oh bullshit this is intense hate times ten. Something or someone pissed off this guy to go over the edge or creative spell to give us all an angry and yet atmospheric, mid-way through this release, piece of emotional breakdown. The more I listen to this the more I envision a man on fire crawling and screaming but with a message. Fuck it I don't know French but musically the full long hate, the atrocious atmosphere being produced and the raw projection instituted shows that this is a piece of work which will knock you over to another park. http://hidden-marly.org/ https://telumehtar.bandcamp.com/releases
WOLF COUNSEL - Destination Void Endless Winter (above is an older video since there's nothing to represent their new material out at this time) There use to be a band from my neck of the woods called HOUR OF 13. They were flat out classic sounding doom with clean vocals. So as the saying goes nothing good ever lasts, the two musicians involved parted ways and HOUR OF 13 were no more. I've got all of their CDs but ya know you wish for something new to pop up which is similar and can get your fandom excited again. So I am excited to hear WOLF COUNSEL who fill a void. The band hails from Switzerland where I keep my money. They started out in 2014 and since then have been busy fuckers. This is their fourth full length which means I really need to go back and check out all their previous stuff. You really don't hear classic doom like this any more. Mainly you get plenty of death doom and stuff from hipsters in New York City (New York City?) WOLF COUNSEL bring about memories of bands like GATES OF SLUMBER, GRAND MAGUS and the a fore mentioned HOUR OF 13. We're talking that whole low and slow style with a course run steadily while a few cool leads cut through the gloom. The vocals, which I mentioned earlier are cleanly sung, are an integral part of the overall effect this style of doom puts forth. All in all this release by WOLF COUNSEL has made 2019 a great fuckin year for me. http://endless-winter.org/ https://www.facebook.com/thewolfcounsel
THE RIVEN - Self Titled The Sign Records File this one under the tagline; it's not extreme metal but I like it and know something about it. Way back in the mid 1990s, yeah I know the dark ages, there was a important movement within the underground punk rock scene. You had bands who wanted to bring back the rock to punk rock. Along with that came bands who injected plenty of good o'l hard rock and soul sounds which made for some cool energetic music. Another aspect was when bands would have a female vocalist who had a soulful and bluesy sound that hearkened back to the famed female vocalists of the 60's. In the 90s some of my fave bands producing this style of music were the BOTSWANAS, the BELLRAYS and THE DTs. And I'm just naming a few. Fast forward to the here and now where we have THE RIVEN a four piece act hailing from Stockholm, Sweden. No surprise there since for decades now the Swedes have been taking a pure Americana form of rock music, retro-fitting it and then handing it back to us here in the states. Hey kudos to them because here in America nobody gives a shit about this type of music anymore as far as a popularity standpoint. Sure there are some fans but the best a band like this could do here in the states is get some free drinks from the bar after their set in some dive club. I listen to this release and hear plenty of material which in another point in time could've been on the AOR radio. Unfortunately what gets played on modern day radio is repetitive classic rock, utter garbage TV talent show inspired pop and rap music. Now as I step down from my soapbox let me explain what is so cool about the band and this their self titled debut full length. First off you have a balanced mix of mid tempo blues based rockers as well as some soulful ballads. And then as in their song "Finnish Woods" you get a bit of both. What makes a music style like this click is when the guitars, bass, drums all are distinct and clear in the mix. That allows the vocals to become almost an instrument in themselves. Guitarist Arnau Diaz, bassist Max Ternebring and drummer Olof Axegard, you guys nail it. Which brings us to vocalist Totta Ekebergh. Whether she's up front forcefully rocking out on songs like "The Serpent", "Edge of Time" and "Shadow Man". Or drawing the listener in with a soulful, sultry voice on cuts like the bluesy "Far Beyond" or the Janis Joplin styled "I Remember". The bottom line is that she is amazing to sit back and hear. But of course without a great band of musicians with some cool bass lines, fantastic leads and perfect drum work it would be different. Thankfully that's not the case. There's something to admire in every song on here. So hey I know I'm bias but seriously in my not so humble opinion this is one of the best releases you will hear in 2019. That's if you have that wide range of rock music appreciation. By the way if you like this, and frankly who wouldn't, then check out this band's early EP. http://thesignrecords.com/ https://www.facebook.com/TheRivenMusic https://theriven.bandcamp.com/album/the-riven https://theriven.bandcamp.com/album/blackbird
VEILBURNER - A Sire To The Ghouls Of Lunacy Transcending Obscurity Records
If you're a regular reader of SFM666 (and frankly who isn't) you'll know that whenever I see words like progressive or experimental in a promo I kinda shy away from em. It's not that I'm a complete extreme music genre traditionalist aka: a stick in the mud. Well OK I am to a point. Mainly it's because I've had my share of post-extreme metal genre stalwarts of the past completely disappoint me with their shape shifting ways. No name dropping is needed but you can guess as far as black or death metal goes who I'm speaking of. So when this came in with the genre tag of experimental blackened death metal I held my breath and pushed play expecting the worst. I mean seriously the only reason I gave this a chance was because it came from Transcending Obscurity Records who in the past have never dissapointed me at all. But...... So anyways I was glad that giving this a chance was worthwhile. When one thinks of blackened death you pretty much have a two sided idea of what to expect. VEILBURNER introduces a third option. Musically, on this the band's fourth full length, expect to be hit with a soundscape of alienation, darkness and harsh desolation. Add to that a wanting to be recognized amidst a harsh environment which overcomes your identity. If that's too much for ya then how bout some prog-death metal aesthetics with touches of avant garde Euro black metal ala TAAKE. You can add to that a minimal dose of 70's prog action which is slightly less than what ENSLAVED has succumbed to. Hell I can easily say this is not far off from some stuff ABSU has done mixed with touches of FUNERAL MIST. Like I mentioned earlier this is the fourth full length by VEILBURNER who hail from a state I once called home, Pennsylvania. The band, which started out in 2014, is a duo consisting of multi-instrumentalist Mephisto Deleterio and a vocalist with a wide variety of invocations named Chrisom Infernium. At first I thought A Sire to the Ghouls of Lunacy might be a concept album and it could well be with it's fluid sense of painfully executed songs reminding me of the levels of hell. In the end it's absolute perfection. It's not an album but a listening experience. https://tometal.com/ https://veilburner.bandcamp.com/album/a-sire-to-the-ghouls-of-lunacy-experimental-black-death-metal https://www.facebook.com/veilburner/
MALEVOLENT CREATION - The 13th Beast Century Media Records Over the years I can honestly say that my opinion of MALEVOLENT CREATION's musical output has not been stellar. On a high note their first two releases, 1991's The 10 Commandments and Retribution released the following year, are damm good. I highly recommend you find them if you do not own them already. But after that it seemed the magic died and they just coasted along. I once made the analogy that if the big four bands of Florida's death metal legacy were wheels on a car then MALEVOLENT CREATION would be the spare tire. Now of course after those releases the band had a never ending revolving door band line-up which did not help them one bit. Their sole original member, guitarist Phil Fasciana, just found replacements when needed. Even vocalist Brett Hoffmann, who sadly passed away last year, left the band twice during their heyday. So for a while (aka: over a decade) they kinda disappeared from the radar. Then in 2010 MALEVOLENT CREATION came out with Invidious Dominion and it was a return to their early death thrash style. I thought it was a fantastic album. I highly recommend it. And then it all went to hell again. Another lackluster release in 2015, Dead Man's Path. And then the death of vocalist Brett Hoffmann last year. So here we have The 13th Beast and the band having a restart. Yes other than mainstay, guitarist Phil Fasciana, this is yet another new line-up different from their last full length. Starting off with new vocalist / guitarist Lee Wollenschlaeger, the guy has a good death metal voice. At times he reminds you of Hoffmann minus the hideous snarl or the devilish contempt. Wollenschlaeger, on a whole, sounds monotonous in his delivery. As far as the music goes it's brutal as needed, the riffs are all competent sounding as far as mid to late 90's death metal 101 goes. The rhythm section battles it's way onward. The bottom line is that the new 2019 version of MALEVOLENT CREATION does hit the ground running on The 13th Beast. Unfortunately they're running backwards. https://www.centurymedia.com/ https://www.facebook.com/malevolentcreation
UNENDLICH - Thanatophobia Horror Pain Gore Death Productions Actually it was just a few weeks ago in December when I did a write up for this band's EP, Misanthropic Sedition. I liked their music and distinctly remember writing that I was looking forward to a new full length by them in 2019. Well all I can say is that was quick. By the way UNENDLICH is a two piece act out from Baltimore, Maryland. The band consists of multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Michael Connors and drummer Anthony Rouse. Musically, this is pretty much where their last release left off. UNENDLICH have a kinship with one part of their sound Swedish melodic blackened death meets Norway's symphonic black metal pedigree. Along with that they toss in plenty of atmospherics, acoustic elements, varied styles of vocalizations and strangely some doom laden melodies as well as full on thrash. Ya know I have to say Jon Nodtveidt's legacy is alive and well played in Baltimore, Maryland. By no means are UNENDLICH a DISSECTION copycat band. We already have plenty of those out there. Basically what this duo has done is take a legacy of influence and make it their own in 2019. Very few bands circulating amongst blackened circles are capable of pulling this dynamic off. If there is one downfall to this release it's that there's not enough depth to the production. It's not explosive enough but other than that it's a fantastic release. http://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/ https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/thanatophobia https://www.facebook.com/Unendlich.us
MEKA - Ending My Life to Destroy Yours Redefining Darkness Records Alright a three song demo (?) from a Ohio band who I have no info about. They're so kvlt that they don't even have a Facebook page. OK joking aside I have to say the title of this is cool. It's one that you would've expected from Greece's black metal haters of humanity DODSFERD. But like I said MEKA hail from Ohio or more precisely Toledo, the bowels of to be far more exact. Musically the tagline on this is " filthy, noisy, blackened metal". OK but lets not forget there's plenty of brooding sludge metal rhythms as well as touches of industrial atmospherics. To top it all off you've got a maniac screamer as well as sickening guitar leads that'll make the weak vomit profusely. The bottom line here is that what you have here is a cauldron over a hot flame filled to the brim with a savory blackened goo. Original? Hell no but the potential is there for something exciting. http://www.redefiningdarkness.com/ https://redefiningdarknessrecords.bandcamp.com/album/m-ka-ending-my-life-to-destroy-yours
ZOHAMAH - Spreading My Ashes Redefining Darkness Records
Normally I don't get many releases from Israel but like I always tell people. Doing SFM666 is a never ending education in metal and bands from around the world. With that truth said, this is the debut full length by the band ZOHAMAH. From what I gather this act started out as a one man project. That one man multi-instrumentalist is H.M. otherwise known as Hezi Menashe. Although I'm told that Hezi has since gathered together a full band to "spread their dark message to the world". Good luck with that endeavor. By the way that dark message involves doom metal. More to the point the sound on Spreading My Ashes is blackened doom. We're talking about dark contemplative melodies with an emphasis on the slow heavy cycle of riffs with some blast beat runs. The vocals are harsh yet gruff style screams which are set back behind the thunderous sound. In a way it's close to the depressive vibe one would get when listening to certain styles of black metal.
CAUSTIC VOMIT - Festering Odes to Deformity Redefining Darkness Records
I believe I've told this story before but it does bare repeating especially in this case. Many years ago I attended an art exhibit with a girl I was with at the time and her friends (if you know what I mean). She was basically trying to show off that she had some culture. I got dragged along with a promise that there was going to be free beer and wine. Anyways while she and her snobbish wannabe sophisticated friends were waxing adjectives in their plight to describe various pieces of abstract art. I was over in a corner drinking a can of beer and looking at a simple painting depicting a farmer out in a field at work. Well since I was lagging behind the group they all came up behind me to gaze at what I was transfixed upon. And of course they were coming up with all these various scenarios on what the painting was trying to say. Finally I just turned around and told them it's "harvesting potatoes". I then pointed out everything in the painting that showed exactly what the farmer was doing much to their bewilderment. The bottom line here is that you really don't have to pour on a lot of excess in order to show or explain something is good. Simplicity does work wonders. Case in point, here we have the three song demo by the band CAUSTIC VOMIT. This new four piece act hails from Russia but if you listen to their three cuts on here you'd think death doom circa 1991 from the US or I don't know, Finland? You could probably fool someone into believing this was actually some long lost recording, even comes as a cassette, until they looked it up. The three cuts on here are long grimy filth ridden pure death doom. Name dropping predecessors is unnecessary, you understand. Secondly simplicity doesn't mean boring. These songs display a genuine dynamic in style and composition beyond the mere meanderings of youth or copying of the past. There's a sense of dread which runs out of each cut. Crushing riffs slither along, psychotic solos slice off chunks, an unintelligible voice bellows as the percussion continues a torturous pace of slow/fast pounding. Next up let's see what you can do with a full length. http://www.redefiningdarkness.com/ https://redefiningdarknessrecords.bandcamp.com/album/caustic-vomit-festering-odes-to-deformity
THE BURZUM REISSUE CHRONICLES Satanath Records Part Three of Three The Russian label Satanath Records has recently re-released the whole BURZUM catalog which is for sale in Russia but is licensed from Byelobog Productions. This is a perfect opportunity for yours truly to go through and write a few things about BURZUM. I have written about some releases, aka: the first ones when Varg Vikernes was released from prison. I make no apologies about it. I am and will always be a fan of BURZUM. But I am objective to a point. You see I always strive to the importance that it's always about the music. Now for you ignorant ones, BURZUM was the one man Norwegian black metal project started in 1991 by Varg Vikernes. He is still one of the most influential musicians in black metal's history, especially for one man black metal acts across the globe. On the other side of the coin Vikernes was convicted for the murder of Oystein Aarseth aka: Euronymous of MAYHEM. He was also convicted of arson and served fourteen years in prison. Now for you truly ignorant ones, if you hate Vikernes for his crimes then fine, move on. If you have some sort of grudge against him then let me remind you. Unless you are over forty-five, Norwegian and a friend or family member of the Aarseths then you just need to shut the fuck up. I am a huge MAYHEM fan as well and you know what? I just live my own life and enjoy the music. So as far as my looking at all of these releases well it'll be short, sweet, informative, opinionated as well as fun. Besides it's January, it's cold and windy outside right now and we're expecting freezing rain or even snow in the coming days. So what else is there to do then listen to BURZUM's whole catalog, let's get into it.
BURZUM - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss My favorite BURZUM album you ask? Yeah well it is one I like a lot for a number of reasons. First off this was my first experience with listening to BURZUM on CD. Just listen to "Det som en gang var". You've got this minimalist drum pattern, a hornet nest's guitar sound, haunting keyboards and of course Varg's wretched screams. What could be more inviting?
The second thing is that on Hvis Lyset Tar Oss you've got four distinct cuts that don't overlap as far as style and atmosphere. You've got the trance inducing melodies, the thrash and raw rip your head off stuff, the atmospheric piece as well as the ambient endeavor. This was Varg on a plate for a listener to feast upon which is what I did at that time. Third is that if you listen to what came before and what came afterward then you see Hvis Lyset Tar Oss as a very progressive effort by Varg.
BURZUM - Det Som Engang Var The sophomore full length by BURZUM is where Varg really embraced his potential to create a climate of eerie, harsh and ambient sounds. The opening instrumental "Den Onde Kysten" has this creepy atmosphere as if you're literally entering that D&D fortress like structure depicted on the front cover. From that point onward it's an exploration of said dwelling in a musical sense. Sound-wise you have this dirge like guitar riffs coming across like a very pissed off nest of hornets. Varg's variations of vocals whether it be ghostly chants and whispers, painful wails or those fucking high pitched screams. The bass lines coming across at times like thunder while in other cases sound like giant boots marching towards you. Turn out the lights, turn up the volume and prepare to be freaked the fuck out. https://satanath.bandcamp.com/album/sat223-burzum-det-som-engang-var-re-release-2018
BURZUM - Self Titled LP / Aske EP And so it begins per say. This reissue of Varg's first two releases is simply raw black metal at it's finest. Break out a sweater because it's about to get chilly to say the least. Unlike other reissues of this, like the one I got, this contains both versions of "A Lost Forgotten Sad Spirit". But as far as this one goes it's still a fine piece of work. Varg's first attack upon the psyche of metal music fans. Please don't pester me about the demos OK? As with that you get Varg's horrific screams, that maniacal guitar tone which could drive anyone insane, some keyboard interludes and minimalist drumming. Obviously Varg would go onto better things and in a short time as well. Still cuts like "Feeble Screams from Forests", "Ea, Lord of the Depths", "Spell of Destruction" and "A Lost Forgotten Sad Spirit" will always some timeless favorites for yours truly. https://satanath.bandcamp.com/album/sat222-burzum-burzum-aske-re-release-2018
BURZUM - 12 CD Box Set So how do I end the BURZUM CHRONICLES? By talking about a BURZUM Box Set. For less than the price of an original Deathlike Silence copy of the Aske EP (and no not that Macedonian bootleg you bought over the internet to impress your hipster buds at Pitchfork) you could pick up this BURZUM Box Set. Go to the link below. http://satanath.com/
THE BURZUM REISSUE CHRONICLES Satanath Records Part Two of Three The Russian label Satanath Records has recently re-released the whole BURZUM catalog which is for sale in Russia but is licensed from Byelobog Productions. This is a perfect opportunity for yours truly to go through and write a few things about BURZUM. I have written about some releases, aka: the first ones when Varg Vikernes was released from prison. I make no apologies about it. I am and will always be a fan of BURZUM. But I am objective to a point. You see I always strive to the importance that it's always about the music. Now for you ignorant ones, BURZUM was the one man Norwegian black metal project started in 1991 by Varg Vikernes. He is still one of the most influential musicians in black metal's history, especially for one man black metal acts across the globe. On the other side of the coin Vikernes was convicted for the murder of Oystein Aarseth aka: Euronymous of MAYHEM. He was also convicted of arson and served fourteen years in prison. Now for you truly ignorant ones, if you hate Vikernes for his crimes then fine, move on. If you have some sort of grudge against him then let me remind you. Unless you are over forty-five, Norwegian and a friend or family member of the Aarseths then you just need to shut the fuck up. I am a huge MAYHEM fan as well and you know what? I just live my own life and enjoy the music. So as far as my looking at all of these releases well it'll be short, sweet, informative, opinionated as well as fun. Besides it's January, it's cold and windy outside right now and we're expecting freezing rain or even snow in the coming days. So what else is there to do then listen to BURZUM's whole catalog, let's get into it.
BURZUM - Hlioskjalf I've said it before and I'll say it again. The only thing good about this release is it's cover artwork. Hlioskjalf was Varg's second recording from prison. The only reason I own a copy of this (as well as it's predecessor Dauoi Baldrs) is because years ago I found both for sale in a music store's used metal section. I had known at the time what to expect but still it was BURZUM so I laid down the cash. By the way they were both over priced to say the least. Anyway getting back to the matter at hand, Hlioskjalf was Varg's full blown attempt at producing a neo-classical / ambient piece of work. There was no black metal influences involved here. On the contrary this was New Age music Varg. Now with that said I'll give Hlioskjalf some respect. The man finally was allowed a decent keyboard in order to compose this work. I always found it worthy to fall asleep to. That's not a swipe since peaceful, tranquil sounds are easy to allow relaxation. https://satanath.bandcamp.com/album/sat227-burzum-hli-skj-lf-re-release-2018
BURZUM - Dauoi Baldrs Years later I still cannot fully get into this, Varg's first work from prison and performed solely on a poor keyboard of some sort. But I've come to respect it because it is a very haunting atmospheric folk saga being played out. Aside from the music the packaging is fantastic with artwork by Tanya Stene along with the words to help get you to an understanding of what Varg was conveying. For all the people who slag this release you need to understand something. You're a musician, an incarcerated artist wanting to create and you have limited resources. Varg made due and that's all you can say about this piece of work. https://satanath.bandcamp.com/album/sat226-burzum-dau-i-baldrs-re-release-2018
BURZUM - Filosofem For years now I've seen writers in the metal media calling this release from 1996 to be Varg's best. I never agreed with that assessment for my own reasons. Yes it is a great album but lets be honest. The first three tracks are great, OK they're fantastic. The latter three can be boring but hey if you liked em then you had better not complain about Varg's prison bound material. Filosofem is the BURZUM album that launched the careers of a dozen atmospheric or depressive black metal imitators and influenced a hundred more artists. Funny thing is that when Varg finally got out of prison those imitators quickly stopped stealing from the guy. It was like "Oh look Varg's back. I think I'll play country music now." For all of you newcomers I'll say this. Filosofem is a great album but it's not the first album by BURZUM's pre-prison era which you should check out. In fact it's the last album. https://satanath.bandcamp.com/album/sat225-burzum-filosofem-re-release-2018
THE BURZUM REISSUE CHRONICLES Satanath Records Part One of Three The Russian label Satanath Records has recently re-released most of the BURZUM catalog which is for sale in Russia but is licensed from Byelobog Productions. By the way Satanath Records are a great label and they'll send you one too. So this is a perfect opportunity for yours truly to go through and write a few things about BURZUM. I have written about some releases, aka: the first ones when Varg Vikernes was released from prison. I make no apologies about it. I am and will always be a fan of BURZUM. But I am objective to a point. You see I always strive to the importance that it's always about the music. Now for you ignorant ones, BURZUM was the one man Norwegian black metal project started in 1991 by Varg Vikernes. He is still one of the most influential musicians in black metal's history, especially for one man black metal acts across the globe. On the other side of the coin Vikernes was convicted for the murder of Oystein Aarseth aka: Euronymous of MAYHEM. He was also convicted of arson and served fourteen years in prison. Now for you truly ignorant ones, if you hate Vikernes for his crimes then fine, move on. If you have some sort of grudge against him then let me remind you. Unless you are over forty-five, Norwegian and a friend or family member of the Aarseths then you just need to shut the fuck up. I am a huge MAYHEM fan as well and you know what? I just live my own life and enjoy the music. So as far as my looking at all of these releases well it'll be short, sweet, informative, opinionated as well as fun. Besides it's January, it's cold and windy outside right now and we're expecting freezing rain or even snow in the coming days. So what else is there to do then listen to BURZUM's whole catalog, let's get into it.
BURZUM - The Ways of Yore This is the eleventh album by BURZUM which was released in 2014. I didn't hear it until 2015 and let me say I'm not a fan it at all. By this time in his career Varg had given up on metal and moved onto ambient medieval folk. Most of this is synth generated earth fart type of stuff. There's a few cuts where we're treated slightly by some tremolo picked riffs. There's plenty of acoustic moments displayed. Varg is in total spoken word mode here. Frankly WARDRUNA did it better. But in the end as a fan I thought this was a let down. Unless you're into ambient sounds of medieval yore then you'll like this one. Supposedly this was Varg's last release but hey you never know with this guy. In the end it's all medieval folk Varg trying his best. https://satanath.bandcamp.com/album/sat233-burzum-the-ways-of-yore-re-release-2018
BURZUM - Sol austan, Mani vestan I never heard this album until this week and I had my reasons. Released in 2013, I had heard it was completely ambient synth type of stuff and it is. To make an even more blatant point. This release makes Varg's in jail Casio keyboard stuff seem good. This was just synth rock for bored stoners and hipsters pining for a future where socialist boredom and un-creativity is the norm. A friend of mine once told me she had to take a lit cigarette and burn herself every few songs in order to keep awake while playing this. I'm not up to scarification. After every third cut I'd just push pause, strip down naked and walk outside into the frigid cold for a few minutes. That worked as far as waking up but I ended up with a pinkish hue. I did find it good to fall asleep to. https://satanath.bandcamp.com/album/sat232-burzum-s-l-austan-m-ni-vestan-re-release-2018
BURZUM - Umskiptar This was the ninth studio album for BURZUM and the fourth since Varg was released from prison. It's also a underrated folk metal classic. Umskiptar is the final work upon which Varg was building with earlier post prison releases. Whether it's the sheet metal riffs of the more melodic blackened cuts, the psych elements, the atmospheric and beautiful ambiance put forth through the keys, repetitive drumming and of course Varg's shifting vocal style. It's all here for anyone to enjoy and be mesmerized. https://satanath.bandcamp.com/album/sat231-burzum-umskiptar-re-release-2018
BURZUM - From the Depths of Darkness Here's one that I did review back in 2011 on the lost SFM666 site (aka: The Archives). At that time I thought it was great for a variety of reasons. The skinny on this one was simple. Varg picked a handful of cuts from his first two full length releases (the Self Titled debut and Det Som Engang Var) re-recorded them, added some ambient intro pieces, tweaked the vocals and enhanced the production a little. For me it was no big deal simply because they're his songs. If he feels he could've done them better then by all means go ahead.
In the end I thought it was not heresy as some other dipshits in the metal media opined. Actually in an era where old releases get remastered constantly (with mixed results in my opinion) and are promoted by these same metal media dipshits. It just showed off their hypocrisy. Maybe that's why I considered this to be good. While a few years prior they were promoting that hipster's guide to BURZUM best of album put out by Back in Black or was it Candlelight? Yeah I had written about that one as well. LOL!!! Yes this is a must have. https://satanath.bandcamp.com/album/sat230-burzum-from-the-depths-of-darkness-re-release-2018
BURZUM - Fallen Also in 2011 Varg unleashed upon us all his second post prison release Fallen. This release was as beautiful musically as it's cover suggested. To just paraphrase all of what I said about this one that year in my review, this had it all. You heard ambiance, pagan folk, plenty of frantic tremolo picking, repetitive melodic riffs, Varg using clean vocals, his aged harsh rasp as well as those whispers. Fallen starts off slowly but a quarter of the way in is where the excitement starts and I kinda liked that then as I do today. It was not the type of release for the superficial hip crowd in 2011. Instead it turned out to be the perfect release for those who had followed Varg's musical career. This was the real follow-up of 1996's Filosofem. https://satanath.bandcamp.com/album/sat229-burzum-fallen-re-release-2018
BURZUM - Belus Varg's first release since being let out of prison. 2010's Belus was not the shocker nor predictable piece of work that many people believed it would be. For the most part at least it washed away the sins of his prison bound Casio keyboard recordings. As I said back in my 2010 review of this, Belus is part Hvis Lyset Tar Oss and part Filosofern. I also called it the true follow-up to Filosofern. I changed my mind once I heard Fallen a year later. Still it was simply a decent return to the final days of Black Metal’s Second Wave but with a more mature and determined composer at the helm. The sad thing about it was that sure Varg had returned from where he left off. And yet you had over a decade of imitators who have been overwhelmingly influenced by BURZUM. Not all of course but some of those artists released damm good music in Varg's absence. That's not a slight at all against Belus but on a whole there was no huge fanfare for the return of the white king. This release would be the last outing for Varg as far as his creating straight up atmospheric black metal goes. https://satanath.bandcamp.com/album/sat228-burzum-belus-re-release-2018
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Attention
In Jan. 2020 some not so nice person(s), who obviously don't care for Metal, decided to complain to a social media platform about something I posted. That got me banned from posting links there under the former blog title Scumfeast Metal 666. Fine I just changed the name to what you see now. Hey I'm still here and, under our present day situation, will be more extreme then before.
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Extreme Metal or Music is generally a form which is accepted by 1% of all of the music loving public. It is elitist in every way and that's important to those of us who call ourselves fans. The 99% of people who will not like it are Not Supposed To. The music wasn't made for them, "the masses". It's music that's for those who take things to that "other" level. There is nothing hip or fad about it. In fact I treat those two notions very harshly.
