Black Metal.

[ASD]

Black Metal existed before Norwegians caught wind of it and changed the way most people identify the genre sonically, you know. Most of the seminal Hellenic black metal bands predate the Norwegians, so obviously their sound stems from a more traditional/80s understanding of the sound.

I know that, but even the first black metal bands still had that tremelo picked, raw sound, with higher pitched screams, even though there was a much stronger thrash influence. To me, Bathory is really the first fully black metal band. I know a lot of people say Mercyful Fate and Venom were the founders, but musically that's just not true. (to me at least)

 

[Lateralus14]

I completely agree about Bathory vs. Mercyful Fate/Venom.

 

[Draehl]

(Deviating from the current strain of conversation for a moment)

Recently have done a good bit of listening to a few bands that have been recced on here and it's really been quite hit or miss, though I'm sure many of you will disagree with me. Deathspell Omega, Windir, Cobalt, Mayhem, Negura Bunget.


Deathspell- Didn't do anything for me. At all. I'm rather surprised given how widely praised they are on here.

Windir- Amazing. Like I said in the band rec forum earlier in the week: damn if they don't capture that folk feel but without going overboard on the folkiness. They're definitely metal through and through.

Cobalt (Gin)- Mostly bad. "Dry Body" is absolutely amazing with "Arsonry" & "A Starved Horror" both being quite badass as well. The rest of the album just grated on my nerves though. /shrug

Mayhem- Gave Chimera & De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas both a listen but really wasn't impressed with either. Not terrible by any stretch, but it doesn't do much for me.

Negura Bunget: Such a shame this band broke up. Om in particular is quite amazing. It's too bad we won't hear any more from Negura :/

 

[challenge_everything]

Not surprising that you would enjoy the more accessible bands the most at this stage. Having said that, Windir and Negura Bunget are my two favourites from that list, but still, the others take more time to grow on you.

 

[no country for old wainds]

@draele: check out nokturnal mortum - goat horns

 

[DameFraMorke]

Buh. How could you not like De Mysteriis? It is, in my opinion, one of the most haunting black metal CDs ever recorded.

As for recs... check out:

Weakling- Dead As Dreams
Ulver-Nattens Madrigal
Dub Buk- Idu Na Wy!
And I'm going to have to second Nokturnal Mortum though I'd get Lunar Poetry and Marble Moon.

 

[Pyro Stick]

I havent been able to get into De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas either. Im def going to try harder though since its so widely praised but i do enjoy Ordo Ad Chao

 

[Einherjar86]

DMDS is no doubt a classic, but Attila's vocals are laughable (in my opinion). Can anyone take those vocals seriously?

 

[DameFraMorke]

Yeah. Well, if you've ever heard Morbid's December Moon- Dead's vocals are very similar to Attila's. I think this is a large part of why he was chosen to do vocals for the album, since it was Dead who was originally supposed to the vox for DMDS.. but obviously he killed himself before they recorded it.

If you have heard December Moon you've no doubt heard the "la la la la" part... which is pretty fucking hilarious in and of itself. Pretty lighthearted for black metal. But still dark. Lots of great black metal bands have ridiculous vocals. It doesn't bother me at all, it adds to it another dimension.

 

[skeptik]

It's only one of the best vocal performances in the history of metal.

edit: Dead and Attila really don't sound all that similar. And Dead's vocals in Morbid were different than in Mayhem. Morbid was a death metal band and required a different approach.

 

[Einherjar86]

No it isn't.

 

[skeptik]

I'll let you know when I value your opinion on classic black metal releases.

 

[Einherjar86]

Okay.

 

[DameFraMorke]

If you want to split hairs then yeah they are obviously different but something about the feeling of their vocals is very similar. And they both have different vocal styles from a lot of other black metal bands.

And his vocals for Mayhem weren't really all that different. Yes, they were better suited to black metal for Mayhem, but it is still very much so him in his work in both bands.

Then again I think Abbath's vocals are very similar to Meyhnach's vocals so feel free to disagree.

Anyway, another great classic black metal album is In the Nightside Eclipse, but it's such an obvious choice I feel silly for even mentioning it.

 

[no country for old wainds]

i really like atillas vocals and don't really see the problem with them. if we were talking about bethlehem or fucking silencer or something then yeah, but atilla's cool.

 

[Einherjar86]

It's fine to have a personal affinity for his vocals, but I just don't like them. He sounds like the emperor from Star Wars.

 

[divine_torture]

Aosoth, though not unique, are very rockin'.

 

[DameFraMorke]

I even love Silencer. Maybe I just have a thing for goofy vocals.

I'll never find Dani Filth's voice tolerable though.

 

[Srontgorrth]

I really enjoy Silencer as well.

 

[Perdition's Light]

It's fine to have a personal affinity for his vocals, but I just don't like them. He sounds like the emperor from Star Wars.

The one I hear most often is Daffy Duck, which definitely marred my enjoyment of the album for about a month when the mental image of Daffy Duck fronting a black metal band would pop into my head every time the vocals on Funeral Fog started.