Metal Reviews

Ya know, I think you're right.
Everybody is wrong, except him...
saying Prometheus is "real" black metal is, frankly, bizarre.

Granted, early Sodom is raw, but we're talking about demo material here.

Anyone who thinks Prometheus is the truest BM album Emperor have ever made, then they are talking out of their ass, and should listen to people who know better.

Also, just because the early thrash albums of the likes of Slayer and Sodom have bad production, it doesn't mean that they are black metal.

Hey, 316.

Check out metalcrypt's genre descriptions.

Do you mean this side? http://www.metalcrypt.com/

It's the same you can read on every page who wants to describe the metal genres.

And why does nobody really read and understand what I'm writing? I never said that Prometheus is the truest Emperor albums! BUT it is as Black as for example Satyricons Age of Nero - only with more Blast Beats.

And what about this definition, from aboves very page:



Maybe we make a little Black Metal test on Godspeed on the Devils Thunder:

fast tremolo riffing: I'm no really expert in guitar playing, but I think that (if it is what I think) is to find on Godspeed...and so i think: check

blasting drums: ABSOLUTELY...CHECK!

satanic lyrics: "Satanic, enigmatic, his black magic was ecstatic"...the content is, so check!

High-pitched shriek: Not always like in the early COF days, BUT it's there. And other bands like Darkthrone or Satyricon have also not a high pitched but more lower tone style vocals. So check!

4 points, all fulfilled.

And is Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder Black Metal? When the definition of metalcrypt is correct, then YES!

Obsessed by Cruelty, The Final Sign of Evil...even Fenriz said in an interview that this is Old School Black Metal.

And yes, Slayers Show No Mercy can be declared as one of the first Black Metal albums, because 1983, the definition of Black Metal was just raw heavy/thrash metal with satanic lyrics. And not Blast Beats, nice melodies, keyboards and such things.

Whereas the later Darkthrone sound is not so much different from the first Hellhammer or Sodom Demos. For example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38qKaxI1bQ4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLBsimzh ... re=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEc5b79TsE0

It's not the bad production, it's the satanic content, image and lyrics. That's the difference between early Slayer and early Metallica - even if the actual music is nearly similar. But that's the same with Venom and Motörhead. But early Sodom, compared to Slayer had also more evil singing. Tom Angelripper could easily sing in every Black Metal band and noone would complain about it.

But Sodom and Slayer changed to normal Thrash Metal - and Darkthrone too (sure, their Debut wasn't Black Metal at all).

Listen to old Emperor, and then tell me that later Emperor is Black Metal. There's a world of difference, just as there is between early Sodom and, say, Wold.

As for Darkthrone's debut, listen to it again; there's a lot of hints as to their later sound, even if the sound is more technical. Whatever it is, you can't call it pure Death Metal. Or Thrash Metal, Darkthrone were never Thrash, ffs. Black Metal's about more than 'evil singing'.

Oh, man....

This has gone waaaaay to far.



...and it makes me .

What the fuck? Soulside Journey is IMHO PURE (nearly technical!) Death Metal and nothing else. And the hint is there, because Black Metal also used Death riffs.

And I don't mean that Darkthrone changed to Thrash, but they first changed from Death to norwegian Black Metal. And then with The cult of goliath to some underground punk/thrash/black n roll mix. Whereas they always had an old school touch in some songs.

I know old emperor with the fuzzy sound, but I know also later Emperor and songs like "Curse You all Men" or "Empty" had everything what Black Metal is about. I mean, I would never think, that late Emperor could not be Black Metal, only because they sounded a little bit different to their old albums. Or what about Darkthrones Hate them or Plaquewielder or Sardonic Wrath? They sounded very different compared to e.g. Under a Funeral moon, but they are still Black Metal - or not? Or what about Dimmu Borgir? Metalcrypt says that they are Black Metal. And they never played the very raw style of other bands. And that is, why I think that COF are also BM - just melodic or gothic or symphonic BUT Black Metal, because they have all elements what are essential for BM music. The only difference between COF and "Trve Norwegian Black Metal", that COF aren't as half as boring as most of the true stuff.

Well! I'm sure metalcrypt and sargon are referring to the old dimmu borgir...

What the fuck are you on about?

Listen to Soulside Journey, then listen to A Blaze. The riffs, man, the riffs, the atmosphere that each sludgy chug blasts out! The ABITNS is more Celtic Frosty, but otherwise there's not much difference, more in the drumming than the guitars. The later stuff, well, Hate Them and Under A Funeral Moon are pretty similar with the only real difference being production, Darkthrone only changed their style in a fairly big way on The Cult Is Alive to this current Punk thing, but the roots of it were always there.

As for Emperor, you listen to Cosmic Keys To My Creations And Times and then tell me that Empty is what Black Metal is all about. It's very different.

Dimmu are a completely different point... more Black Metal than Cradle, yes, but they're playing from a different musical palette. There's very little TNBM in CoF, much more in DB.

As for your last point, then, well, personal taste is personal taste, but it certainly suggests a lack of patience at the very least.

if I listen to Soulside and then to A Blaze...that are two different worlds. On this side a good produced technical normal Death Metal album with normal DM lyrics, vocals and riffs, on the other side a cold, clanking, very bad produced, satanic thing, which has sure some death riffs, but the whole atmosphere, the whole sound, the whole attitude is different.



And so is Sardonic Wrath and Transilvanian Hunger. Or The Age of Nero and Nemisis. Or Godspeed on the devils Thunder, or Cruelty and the beast compared to early Emperor.

But the core is more or less the same: Blast beats, cruel vocals, evil content, even the riffing is again like on earlier days.



But that's my point: Does Black Metal necessarily needs to be "True Norwegian" style, to be called Black Metal?

Is there only TNBM and everything else is no Black Metal?



But for example, as more true Darkthrone went, as more boring was the music. On Transilvanian Hunger, nearly every song has only one riff, played over and over again. And then, the people complained about Metallica on St. Anger.

Soulside isn't 'good produced' by any stretch of the imagination. It's less necro than ABITNS, sure. But being better produced than that doesn't make it a 'good produced' album.


This applies well here. And I disagree with the rest, clearly.

Sardonic Wrath and Transilvanian Hunger are not as different as In The Nightside Eclipse and Prometheus, ffs, which could be a different band. GOTDT isn't that different from CATB, and there's a fuckload of difference between old Emperor and old Cradle, who were quite DM in the demo days.

It doesn't need to be TNBM to be BM, but if you want to call it 'True' Black Metal as opposed to Progressive or Jazzy or whateverthefuck then it needs to be pretty damn 'true' musically. Which (late) Dimmu, late Emperor, etc aren't.

And your last point made my head explode and makes me want to flame you. Comparing TH to St Anger is stupid! Crap-Thrash vs TNBM, atmosphere vs idiocity... where to begin?

Damn, threads like these paint metalfans as pathetic nerds. (Sadly true). Most people can not write a sentence without insults and the word gay at least five times. (why the fascination and obsession?).

Cudos to metalwarrior for keeping a fairly civilized tone and well written posts. (but the last part about st.anger and dt was of course an insult to the universe and mankind itself).

It seems everyone (including me) invents true blackmetal and blackmetal all by themself purely from their imagination without any real facts (as there are none to be found in real life).

But perhaps we can all agree on true blackmetal being about Vampires like in transylvanian hunger.

I don't think you know the meaning of Tremolo riffing, 316.

Haha, yeah right... nerds?
Claiming that that Slayer, Sodom and Destruction are black metal... claiming that Prometheus is as black as metal can get and I quote: "Prometheus is as black as it's possible to be black in metal"... claiming that Cradle of Filth is black metal, indeed more than Darkthrones later efforts... these things are false, and make W316 look like he doesn't know a damn thing about metal, despite all the namedropping.
"Cudos" (sic)? For what? babbling on and on about something he is obviously clueless about? Instead of trying everybodies patience, he should be reading and learning. Kudos to the rest for not dragging him over the fire, as would be fitting.

Wrong; everybody does not invent or define true black metal by their own standards, I mean, damn, that is so patently absurd, I don't even know where to begin.

Right, because the lyrical content alone of Transyvanian Hunger defines true black metal...

My man, I wouldn't even bother, he is obviouisly not getting it. You can try to sort it out if you wish, but, myself, my patience is run dry.
Methinks he just likes being contentious. I mean, fuckinghell, Slayer black metal? Now I've seen everything.