Wednesday 14 October 2020
Bathory "Octagon" (1995)
Friday 2 October 2020
Bathory "Requiem" (1994)
Having provided immense inspiration for a then blossoming Black Metal scene and moving on to pioneer his own Viking Metal sound, on this seventh outing Bathory pivot to a sound that would of been influential on his own... Thrash Metal! I had to stick with this one for a while because the initial shock of its bare and bestial tone was work for my ears to adjust. A hammered clanking bassline punches through with slabs of low end sound alongside the rattle of a biting drum kit dominated by its vicious snare tone. The distortion guitar may be the one instrument to prevail as Quorthon's throaty snarling shouts wade in a shrill harshness that's rarely persuasive.
Despite its aesthetic obnoxiousness, one does adjust and with that comes an undeniable arsenal of blackened thrash riffs, delivering marching pace and snappy aggression in the spirit of a scene past its prime. With his excellent lead guitar, the songs tend to propel through stomping riffs and battering drum patterns in simple song structures to then be illuminated in blazes of sparkling high end fretwork. Its all paced at a similar intensity, the occasional touch of groove emerges but this is strictly thrash with a darker aesthetic, its solo's delivering a hint of classic Heavy Metal.
With only nine songs of the shorter variety, its thirty three minutes have led to many a spin but despite its obvious merits I cannot get past its rattle and clank. The guitars have a superb engulfing tone but everything around it is a little frazzled causing to much friction. Released a decade earlier Requiem might of been some relic of Thrash Metal but the reality is once the book is written its hard to rewrite those pages. I've given this one a real try, its got quality in writing but lacks a solid execution.
Rating: 5/10
Friday 11 September 2020
Metallica "S&M2" (2020)
Monday 7 September 2020
Metallica "S&M" (1999)
Tuesday 11 August 2020
Bathory "Under The Sign Of The Black Mark" (1987)
Continuing another adventure into the music of my youth, Bathory's third effort was one less acquainted with. It had however solidified a memory as being remarkably decent for the time. Well this has been an absolute treat to get back into! Its been so long the experience was practically fresh to my ears! Coming of the back of the overly ambitious The Return..... It sounds like the moment where the stars align. The group shed their prototype skin and bathe in the blasphemy of self actualized Black Metal! Under The Sign Of The Black Mark is where everything they were trying to do works.
We will however start with the negatives. Not everything is exceptional, although the bulk is. The intro and outro tracks seem utterly pointless as their dusky ambience fails to ignite any atmosphere to lead in the satanic metallic onslaught. The final two proper tracks, 13 Candles and Of Doom, both feel a little lacking with the pile of brilliance before it. They do have there moments with musical shifts but the offerings feel like soft rehashes of the genius in the songs heard beforehand.
They stand in the shadow of brilliant songwriting, which is quite diverse and distinct. The record kicks off with Massacre, a thrashing juggernaut of vicious hate, lashing out from the mark as we are plunged into blast beats and vile screams. Its a straightforward but well executed idea. The following Woman Of Dark Desires is unsuspecting until it lunges into an unusually catchy chorus as Quorthorn cries out with throaty strained screams the name of Elizabeth Bathory. The inclusion of evil organs towards the end, foreshadows more brilliance yet to come our way.
Call From The Grave steadies the pace, a mid tempo track with soaring riff work, toying with some dissonance. The approach to this dark music is expanded as the haunting throaty screams roar with menace over the grave atmosphere conjured. Equilmanthorn hails back to the records opening, another plunge into ruthless pummeling that shifts to a half step riff, then slamming in with another catchy hook in the chorus as Quorthon cries out the title track over and over in memorable fashion.
The song has an incredible guitar solo to see it end on a thrilling climax, which bring me to a point, the lead guitar work which seems to frequent every track is phenomenal. Either creating a Slayer alike barrage of noise or delivering a blaze of evil melodies, everything that was tried before feels mastered here. That includes the screams, the most aggressive and shrill to date yet the temperament and texture is just perfect for what these extremities can achieve in the context of Black Metal.
Enter The Eternal Fire is the last of these incredible songs but for entirely different reasons. An incorporation of atmospheric synth tones and epic mid-tempo setting foreshadows the heritage influenced Bathory sound to come. All in all the record is a stunning maturity in songwriting. The haphazard ideas and sloppy performances of its predecessor blown out of the water. The inclusion of synths lay down foundations for the popular Symphonic element to come in the 90s. I also adore the inclusion of the Funeral Macrbe melody on Call From The Grave. Possibly my favorite moment of many fantastic ones on this truly remarkable and pioneering album.
Rating: 9/10Wednesday 8 July 2020
Lamb Of God "Lamb Of God" (2020)
Sunday 26 January 2020
Bolt Thrower "Mercenary" (1998)
Saturday 25 January 2020
Merauder "Master Killer" (1995)
This is also a dated record, its percussion rattles loosely, guitars carry a meaty amount of low end noise and takes a moment for the ears to adjust. Its a great record to point at as a key link in the formation of Metalcore but no masterpiece. Although it has no stinkers you can't help but feels these songs could of reached a little further. Song structures are simple with not a lot of reshaping moments. The whole plays like an onslaught of riffs and grooves fit to simple structures. Its fun and energizing but rarely pushes beyond itself. Still a fantastic record, I've really enjoyed it!