Frozen by Icewinds - Grim Black Metal and MDF Report Part Three

You charge through the tundra, but the sun-zero temps is getting to you. First to go are your fingers. They are blackened stumps for the wolves to chew upon. Then your toes. then your nose. Finally, a light in the distance! You stumble through the waist deep snow and knock on the door of the cabin. Corpse painted youths answer the door. You see bones and signs of occult ritual behind them. As you enter the doorway, you feel the axe sever your spine. The black metal necro fiends are ready to feed. Welcome to Norway, motherfucker. It's Metal Night!

First off we heard one of the most devastating black metal albums of all time, Immortal's Pure Holocaust. With thunderous percussion and tremolo swirls does this album dominate the mighty frostlands, nay, I say all the lands that touch ice and sun!!!!! Immortal have a knack for making a three piece, actually a two piece at this time, sound like an invading army of ghouls. And, oh my, is it fast; the tempos are quite rigid and disciplined. This is the sound of the Nordic work ethic destroying Protestants and burning their churches to the ground for Odin. These boys work hard......FOR EVIL!!!! Winner of the bloody night, by a pubic hair.

Gorgoroth's Destroyer, Or How Tom Philosophize With A Hammer, ripped through the speakers with the force of a 1000 galloping hell horses, the self titled first track nearly falling about into noise

before being held in by a wicked riff half way through. These fiends seek no quarter in their quest for the evilest sounds possible. The second and third tracks, Open The Gates and The Devil The Sinner And His Journey, were less rabidly confrontation and more composed, laying bare the cold sonic architecture. This album seems to have as many guest stars as The Tonight Show. Gaahl, the world's most frightening gay man, make an appearance on the first track, as well as necro-fiends Frost and Pest. Overall, a pleasingly grave violating album for the discriminating pervert.

Speaking of Gaahl, the last album we heard was his pre-Gorgoroth/God Seed project Gaalskag. This is simple punk inspired second wave black metal in the early Bathory vein with noise and industrial

bits scattered to and fro. You may want to turn the bass up, as this is a very trebly affair. Avantgard credentials are firmly established here, along with cvlt status. Violates many graves. Rapes many nuns and priests. Satan laughing, spreads his wings.

MDF Report - Day Three

I awoke in the motel with Necro Baby staring blankly from the opposite bed. The final day of Deathfest had come. So far I had seen some pretty sweet bands, but this was the day I signed on for. Mentally, I was preparing for the onslaught of heat and fatigue that was to come by stretching and slathering on sun lotion. I skipped the Kafkaesque breakfast corral for fear that my sanity would drain completely before I ever saw a band. Once again, I made the journey to the heart of monument city

and once again got hopelessly lost searching for this minotaur of metal. When I finally did locate my parking lot the gates were about to open and I rushed out to the freeway underpass, thinking I would

be amoung the first in line, but when I rounded the corner I was disappointed to see the line already stretching over a city block and growing by the second. The time when the gate was supposed to be open passed, then another hour and still I was not really any closer to the front. Time dragged on as we inched agonizingly closer to the fenced egress. I could hear Speedwolf's first tune rumbling fourth from the tent near the entrance. By this time the line was stretching out further than the eye could see, snaking out from the shadow of Interstate 84 into the early afternoon sun. By the beginning of the second song, I was in. Rushing under the canopy where the band was playing to a packed house, I was treated to the first succulent morsel of the day. I was recently introduced to this band by Lars the Berserker and their live set completely exceeded my expectations. The rhythm section was seriously on point, providing a devastatingly simple platform for the Lemmy-worship vocals and 80's style speed metal guitar riffs. Best wake up call I've ever had.

The carnage continued with Cruciamentum , who played some great old school death metal. They started out strong with a blistering version of my favorite track, Fallen In Disease from their Engulfed in Desolation EP. It could have been just my enthusisam for this particular day of the concert, but I thought they were the best straight DM band that played. I was having fun, but my job was about to

get much harder. Across the way, Glorior Belli was starting up, but the Czech death/grind band Contrastic was about to storm the tent. I made my way first to see the the blackened Frenchmen peddle their unholy wares, a hybrid of stoner and black metal (two genres that almost never find common ground.) After the sting of having to miss Aosoth, the raw sounds emanating form the back stage were a soothing balm to my ears. I watched three songs then rushed over to the other side of the grounds where Contrastic were spazzin' out with fury. "Are you ready for our disco metal?" Asked vocalist Putti to the half empty tent. The sparse crowd was a bummer, because this band was really cool, but it was also a blessing as I finally got a chance to rest my dogs for a moment before heading back over to catch the end of Glorior Belli.

I was really excited to see Midnight after sampling some of their tracks on Youtube before my trip and I hope this won't be the last time I cross paths with their filthy blackened thrash. The executioner hoods are a nice touch but this is no gimmick band. You could say they are a newer Venom knockoff and you would be partially right, but these Ohio lads do it with class and a great sounding black metal edge. I would love to see these guys hit GR on their next tour. Pagan Altar is not a band I'm really

familiar with but I really enjoyed their old fashioned 80's style hymns to the elder ones. This band knows how to work the dynamics. Their performance was a time machine and if you closed your eyes, you might even imagine yourself at a 70's hard rock festival with them warming up for Rainbow. As they announced the last song, the crowd began drifting to the middle stage for Sacred Reich. Being one of the only older bands to survive with an intact lineup, I was pretty interesd to see them. They thrashed through tunes from The American Way, Ignorance and the Surf Nicaragua EP. I would have appreciated at least one more song from the oldest days, but it was pretty cool nonetheless.

Manilla Road was at the top of the list of reasons why I came out there in the first place so I grabbed a beer and sandwiched myself into a good spot. A smile spread over my face and the horns were in the air for the next hour as Mark Shelton and crew treated the audience to a good selection of the

band's back catalog, including blazing versions of the two songs I really wanted to hear, The Riddle Master and Lost in Necropolis. I could have listened to them all night, but I felt like i had to check out Integrity over at the tent. Slipping out during the middle of Manilla Road, I popped my head into the tent and got an earful of intense occult hardcore that drew me further and further in, but I just couldn't stay, I had to finish up the set with the Shark and his boys. After two excellent songs from the second Ohio band of the day, I hurried back to catch the last of MR's explosive set. Anticipation had been building all day for Sleep and they were now about to take the stage. The crowd gathered around the main stage in impressive numbers, and the kings of Sabbath worship fired up the spaceship. Now, I don't dislike Sleep, but they have never really done much for me so I hung at the back of the crowd as waves of distortion swept across the ravaged masses. Good set, but somewhat lost on me. 

Soon after the smoke from Sleep's set cleared, the crowd was split in two again as Ascension brought their darkly beautiful style of orthodox black metal across the stage in the tent and doom legends Pentagram lashed the spectators at the opposite end of the festival. Again I rushed back and fourth

between the two, catching The Ghoul and All Your Sins with Liebling and his conglomeration before looking in on the Germans, who played the entirety of thier 2010 album, Consolamentum. I was weary, beaten down and tired but Venom was to be the final band and I intended to check them out at any cost. The show was already running late because Sleep went over on their slot by 20 minutes, so by the time Venom appeared, it was already almost a half hour past their start time. They played every song I wanted to hear though, and everyone was pumped to hear their encore, but the sound got shut off on them. There was violence in the air as some random person got on the mic and told us the show was over. Soon enough, the crowd did what you might expect and tore down the fence, allowing everyone to leave at once. A melee ensued with several security guys surrounded by hundreds of angry metalheads. As I walked out into the frigid spring night cops streamed in from every direction. I leaned against a fencepost and closed my eyes, trying to soak up this moment for all it was worth before the long trek home. 

Until next week, cursed crusaders







Horns

Sorg in the Mourge - The Titans Fight the Gatemaster and We Jam Gorgoroth

 Fucking Gorgoroth, man!

After coming back from the dead, Demon Scourge and myself overdosed on power metal, in a drunken attempt to regain our heroic mojo. After a while, we got bored, and I said, "Fuck that shit! I wanna hear something evil!" So we chose the most evil band we could think of ...... true cvlt Norwegian black metal innovators Gorgoroth.

Notorious in the past few years for the soap opera antics of the Gaalh vs. Infernus name name dispute, after the dust settled, only original founder Infernus remained at the helm. Despite the fine albums Gorgoroth has released in the 00's, the foundation of the band's legacy remains in their first three albums; three slices of ice cold true cvlt Norwegian black metal. That's what we listened to while Satan chortled greedily in anticipation of our charred and blackened immortal souls.

 Saga of the Gatemaster part 13.1 - Awaken the Gaurdian

I opened my eyes as if after a long slumber, but I knew I had not been sleeping.  Sound and light burst upon me in an intense crashing of sensations. The physical and spiritual pain of being stuffed back into a body is excruciating but fortunately, only lasts a few moments. Everywhere around me I heard the sounds of blasting heavy metal. I had finally been called home. A glance at my surroundings revealed that I, along with Bloodmace, Hellmaster, Master Raknar, and Lady DeathCrush were at the bottom of a rocky pit. The music floated down from above us, guiding the spirits of each warrior into its temporal shell. For a few moments there was nothing but silence as we stared at one another in disbelief, but each battle blasted soul knew what we had been called to do. Bloodmace brandishes his weapon as he spits his words at me “So, not even death can stop our battle! Prepare to die fool!” his deadly club swishes past my head. I grasp my sword and prepare to retaliate but the battle is once again interrupted, this time by a shout from the intrepid Master Raknar “Oh shit, get ready people, the Gatemaster is fucking Here!”

First, we heard Gorgoroth's 1994 debut, Pentagram. This is a goddamn fucking righteous slab of black metal, a masterful opening statement. Highly recognized as one of black metal's greatest albums, this album does not disappoint. There are layered sheets of white noise, frenzied tremolo guitar work, and a variety of tempos with an emphasis on fucking fast fucking fuck. Not a lot of experimentation or overt weirdness in the songcraft; this is more of a refinement, an exploration of the essence of black metal. One of the traits that the band has kept throughout the years is the sense of mystique. It started here. There is a special vibe to these songs, a blood curdling one. This is the music of villains and monsters. Winner, in my book.

Saga of the Gatemaster part 13.2 - Anarchy Divine  

Our feud forgotten for the moment, Bloodmace and I turn in the direction of Raknar’s gaze.  From the precipice above, the hideous stone head of the dreaded guardian of the outer dimensions appears. Its beak-like mouth juts fourth from the sleek head, its crystal eyes gleaming from either side.  It hops down from the tall sides of the crater where we are trapped, its powerful legs propelling it down the steep wall. Twice as tall as any of us and formed of rock, it stood upright and lashed out at us with its two sets of small arms and razor sharp beak. Lady DeathCrush waves her hands and with a loud crack, the thing falls for a moment. Bloodmace rushes it from behind and smashes his signature weapon into the massive backbone of the enforcer of temporal boundaries. Enraged, the Gatemaster slashes at Bloodmace with granite claws. I also jump into the fray, deflecting a blow from our unhallowed foe. There seems to be no way to kill this monster. Hellmaster pushes me out of the way as the dimensional defender smashes place where I stood with an impossibly heavy tail that splits the ground near where we stand. Just as we were about to be sent back to the realm of chaos and dreams, the sound of the old hymn “Unstoppable Force”  can be heard echoing down the walls that imprison us. There is life above. Whoever called us, for good or evil ends, was about to show themselves.

 The next album, Antichrist, is somewhat less successful, but still expands on the basic evil premise, The sheets of white noise are toned down for a slightly thicker mid level tone. The balls out viciousness that was so endearing about the first album is toned down somewhat, though the sound and song craft have opened up. Best tunes are the title track and the epic closer, Sorg, a slow paced, epic viking metal track, not unlike what Enslaved were doing at the time. Clean vocals, and some tripped out guitar work make this the most memorable song. Demon Scourge and guest were all about this one. Me not so much. I still think this a fucking brilliant album, though.

Third opus, 1997's Under The Sign of Hell, is slight return to pure corpse fucking Satan worship. Sheets of white noise piled upon riffs both dissonant  and melodic. There is a weird elegance underneath the snarl, a real craft and finesse at last fully realized. Too bad they fell upon the re-recording bandwagon years later, a cheap move that bands do when they are out of ideas and need the cash. Leave the classics alone, you fuckers.

The real deal!


The sorry ass 2011 re-recording.........

Words of the Elders

The stars wheel above us, circling endlessly as they mock our mortal triumphs and travails. There in the inky darkness they dance their ballet of days and wind down into nothingness, mirroring our own spiral into death and yet the flame of hope still burns. Deep inside their movements patterns are nested inside one another, working like gears, but all are driven by the same engine. In survival, there is no death. In death there is no rest. The titans of Centon have returned into the bodies that have been conjured by Vorthon, Hell Wraith, Baron Lotar and Lady Steel but following them is the dreaded Gatemaster, guardian of twilight whose job is to capture or destroy beings crossing the threshold into the nether regions.  Let us raise our voices in song that these guardians of light may save their world of Centon, for it is a most important cog in the working of “reality” on this plane and the ordering of the multiverse in general. Let us sing to the eldest trees and dance with the mother wolf in the sacred grove!  Let us raise our swords in defiance of the posers who crowd the once great Jenkabala that all may know that Bloodmace and Demon Scourge have come to claim their due!

Until next week, mosh maniacs

Horns