Friday, March 12, 2010
Music news Spring bleak
Posted by Adrian Barrera on Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 3:00 PM
Black metal and hardcore punk have been annoyingly flirting with each other for years. Recently, however, a new generation of Tolkien inspired cretins are ready to take the relationship to the next level.
Though typically conjuring up images of frosty forests, corpse paint and those ridiculously branchy Norse band names, black metal actually shares many sonic similarities with hardcore. Hallmarks of both of these violent styles include brutal lyrics, agonized vocals, no-fidelity production and relentless tempos. With a subculture that is constantly referring to itself as "true," BM's emphasis on honesty — somewhat ironic considering all the face painting and chain mail — fits in well with the DIY aesthetic of the punk community.
Think you’re ready to dip your toe in the freezing putrid lake of raw Dark Metal? You wouldn't go into the sewer without a flash light, would you? Let's take a look at some of the finer examples, both past and present. I'll be your Gandalf...
Darkthrone, Transilvanian Hunger — Entry level raw black metal. This is arguably the finest example of true/cold darkness.
Ildjarn, 1992-1995 — Remember those one-man-band street performers with the banjos and the crazy cymbals they play with their feet? This is the opposite of that. Drum machines, ice cold keyboards, brutal washed out guitar violence, and that trademark shriek. Seems like a nice guy.
Bone Awl, Meaning Less, Leaning Mess — These guys skew more to the punk side with their Oi oompa-oompa drums and crusty guitars.
Grinning Death's Head, No Afterlife — If you can get past the really thin, boom box production, you'll discover a bunch of challenging, textured darkness from this Alpharetta, Ga. two-piece.
Test your skills out with this black metal or Ikea furniture quiz:
MÖRKER
CIRITH GORGOR
GOSA VÄDD
EMPEROR
HIMINBJORG
RINGSKÄR
ASPLENIUM
AMESTIGON
FALKENBACH
TROFAST
ENGER
NACHTFALKE
(GOSA VÄDD, ASPLENIUM, MÖRKER, TROFAST, ENGER, RINGSKÄR are all names of Ikea products)
You decide who's the truest. I'll leave that to the experts. Stay Cold.
Comments (7)
Showing 1-7 of 7
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Great...more whiny anonymous Internet commenters, and with nothing to really say. (Zinged!)
no idea who these bands are but your "black metal or IKEA furniture" quiz is pretty funny.
This article brings the lolz cuz black metal is teh funny. See, cold, cuz that's what the songs are ABOUT! Article stinks, Gabe Vodicka's weak comeback stinks worse. All of you stick to Vampire Weekend please.
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