Burzum "Demo I" (1991)

With the coldest wintery months of the year upon us, the isolating weather apt for a nostalgic journey into the heart of Black Metal's most notorious musician, Varg Vikerness. A musical genius, yet Nazi with abhorrent views convicted of arson and murder of fellow Mayhem band mate Euronymous. In the naivety of youth, these tales of church burning seemed like mythical acts of anti christian rebellion, however I was deep into the music before being deterred by the realities of its author. This is the first cassette Varg handed to his would be victim, wanting a way in on the niche elitist scene. Its cover, which includes one of his crimes, is from a pressing on Helvete Records released some time later. The original sleeve is said to be long lost for now.

These three dusky tracks, muddied by low fidelity, play like a stream of rumblings, resembling simple linear melodies and basic rhythm through its eerie, groaning distortion fuzz. In patches, one can barely hear the rough drums but the snare and kick manage to jolt this wall of sound, maintaining its pace. Remastered recordings do a great job of bringing out the double base kicks and cymbals. I'm captivated by a curiosity as to how knowing these songs taints the experience. Would fresh ears hear the brilliance in these wistful tunes that toy with metallic might and nightly dissonance?

 

The fidelity downplays it magic yet emphasizes the strange mood Varg has conjured from his Pagan and D&D influences. Lost Wisdom and Spell Of Destruction both jostle with hard grooves and eerie, esoteric melodies in such a mesmerizing way. Personality is vivid, the vision punctuated by a third synth track, which we now retroactively call Dungeon Synth. With this song you can really hear the lonely adventures into shadowy realms filled by mythical creatures. Audio quality aside, its clear that Varg started writing music with a firm footing in a majestic direction.

Rating: 6/10

Entombed "Clandestine" (1991)

 

Here lies a classic from the early years of youthful Metal discovery that I fortuitously happened upon, a shadowy, venomous breed of dark, scowling heavy. Hailing from Sweden, the tuneful stains of an emerging melodic death metal lingers as whiffs of sinister melody trail this wild ride of ponderous riffs and pounding percussion.

The darkly atmosphere is Clandestine's key distinction. No atypical "meat and potatoes" grind of punching brutality. With a pair of unusual, bristling distortion guitars, a fuzzy menace bleeds a tonality that propels its arsenal of hard hitting riffs into a grimacing aura. Danger and death lurk around the corners of its intense sways.

Swinging from cunning grooves to axe grinding malevolence the music hurls with nonlinear momentum, jumping through iterations, finding pertinent moments to build suspense and roar with tuneful fire. Lead guitars erupt with brief flickers of chaos to guide its path, occasionally unraveling into open breaks, evil and atmospheric.

The drums clatter away with individuality, laying foundations for head banging beats whilst steering the ship with bespoke fills and rhythmic articulations to perk the ears in an embrace of its rough sincerity. Out front Nicke Andersson bellows and howls with a raw guttural cadence, stuck somewhere between Death and Thrash Metal.

Early on he punctuates apt moments with deep shouts amplified by timely reverb. Its gritty and menacing, shaping up a character that surpassing genre norms. So to do sprinklings of esoteric synth shape up this covenant of plundered spoils. Both melody and rhythm boldly embark on equal footing, shaping a consistent brood of songs.

Shadowy, conspiring, sequestered, a devious mood truly clandestine. Its a classic from my early journey of discoveries that's held magic over the years. My only critique? Perhaps it tires as its final couple of tracks lack the moments to break up a riff grind that kept the first half of the record so memorable. Imperfect, as is all art!

Rating: 9.5/10