Zyklon - 2001 - World Ov Worms

Zyklon is the new full-time super group from Norway's most blackened regions, consisting of Emperor members Samoth (guitarist and bass) and drummer Trym, Myrkskog's Destructhor on lead guitar, and Limbonic Art vocalist Daemon. This is hyper-fast, extreme black death metal, not to be contended with from any region or country, as it blitzkriegs the listener with it's all-out sensory attack. Opener "Hammer Revelation" is just that: an over-the-top assault in the vein of old Emperor, Morbid Angel, Immortal, Bolt Thrower, or Behemoth all pushed to new levels of extremity. Resident murderer Bard Faust Eithun has decided to pen the lyrics to the album, and from what can be heard, they aren't too bad, focusing more on the apocalyptic than the overdone blasphemous tomfoolery of old. Razor-sharp production, futuristic samples, and cold, mechanical synths combine to give the whole album a degenerated industrial feel. One gets the feeling that they have entered the post-apocalyptic region somewhere between solitude and hell. Trym sounds back to old form, leaving behind his recent straightforward Emperor style, for the more experimental percussive rhythms of Zyklon with its varying tempos and mechanical persistence. Daemon's vocals sound like a black metal hybrid with old Godflesh/Justin Broadrick vocals, which accentuates the mechanized quality of the music. However, it is Destructhor and Samoth's string work, which holds the foundation of the music together, as layers of churning guitar grind through the listener with Ihshan or Trey Azagthoth-like precision. Once "Transcendental War," the closer, is reached, we are treated to the most savory morsel of all, a guest appearance by the infamous Garm. Bursting forth with boiling guitar, the song grooves into a mid-paced Morbid Angel churn at the four-minute mark, before Garm's sorely missed clean chants soar effortlessly over the music as the chaos winds down to a quiet doom. This aptly subtitled "Battle Between Gods" is a perfect, grim closure to an apocalyptic masterpiece. Those who love the extreme, commit musical suicide with Zyklon.

		1		Hammer Revelation	Destructhor, Eithun, Zamoth	6:23
		2		Deduced to Overkill	Destructor, Eithun, Zamoth	3:16
		3		Chaos Deathcult	Akkerhaugen, Destructor ...	5:59
Composed by: Akkerhaugen, Destructor, Eithun, Zamoth
		4		Storm Detonation	Destructor, Eithun, Zamoth	4:41
		5		Zycloned	Eithun, Trym, Zamoth	5:24
		6		Terrordrome	Destructor, Eithun, Zamoth	3:59
		7		Worm World	Destructor, Eithun, Zamoth	4:15
		8		Transcendental War-Battle Between Gods	Destructor, Eithun, Zamoth	7:19

¡Aquí!

Immortal - 1997 - Blizzard Beasts

Blizzard Beasts, Immortal's third album, sounds like a rush job when compared to the rest of the band's triumphant catalog. The majesty of the group's songwriting is buried in the album's subpar production values, which render the potentially brilliant hyperspeed riffing and drum battery gutless and ineffectual. "Nebular Ravens Winter," "Suns That Sank Below," and "Frostdemonstorm" offer a few decent riffs and solid arrangements, and six-minute epic "Mountains of Might" leans toward the black-metal-by-way-of-German-thrash genius of subsequent albums -- but the rest of the record shows little progression from predecessor Battles in the North. Ultimately, Blizzard Beasts should be chalked up as a transitional album in Immortal's mighty career, being the last to feature guitarist and founding member Demonaz (he quit after a bout with tendonitis); bassist/vocalist Abbath would take over six-string and songwriting duties, ultimately leading the band out of blastbeat hell and across more broad-scoped, epic terrain. Still, it's hard to write off Blizzard Beasts as a failure; the record is brilliant when compared to similar Norwegian black metal acts mired in ludicrous "necro" aesthetics, but it just doesn't match up with Immortal's usual balance of underground credibility with high production and songwriting standards.

		1		Blizzard Beasts	Occulta, Occulta
		2		Nebular Ravens Winter	Occulta, Occulta
		3		Suns That Sank Below	Occulta, Occulta
		4		Battlefields	Occulta, Occulta
		5		Mountains of Might	Occulta, Occulta
		6		Noctambulant	Occulta, Occulta
		7		Winter of the Ages	Occulta, Occulta
		8		Frostdemonstorm	Occulta, Occulta

¡Aquí!

Darkthrone - 2003 - Hate Them

The "hope I die before I get old" philosophy is one which plagues every rock band lucky enough to have a lengthy career; so obviously, coming to grips with this dilemma becomes tougher the more extreme a band's sound. Therefore, in the black metal field -- commonly agreed to be the most extreme style of music on the planet -- the realization that it's often not better to burn out after all, but rather fade away a little further on down the line, can be an especially traumatic experience for both musicians and fans. Norway's Darkthrone clearly finds itself waist-deep in this quandary on its tenth album, 2003's Hate Them. Now far removed from the gang of impressionable teenagers who became as well-known for their questionable affiliation to Norway's notorious black metal "Inner Circle" (and the criminal element therein) as for their astoundingly primitive but equally influential early efforts, Darkthrone's remaining founding duo of Nocturno Culto and Fenriz have come face to face with their inescapable musical and emotional adulthood. Sure, with its staunchly analog-worshipping recording techniques, Hate Them is hardly a "Mutt" Lange production, but the fact that it was supposedly recorded in a mere 26 hours serves as one of the last tenuous links to the group's primeval work. In keeping with Darkthrone's career-spanning credo, formidable black metal rampages like "Rust," "In Honour of Thy Name," and the painfully direct "Fucked Up and Ready to Die" avoid the oppressive orchestration and dizzying speeds preferred by peers like Emperor and Mayhem to remain rooted in the simpler, straightforward arrangements of yore. Further standout moments like "Ytterst I Livet" and "Striving for a Piece of Lucifer" are even more accessible, tempering their menacing titles and demonic subject matter with a series of pounding hard rock riffs which will prove irresistible for any self-respecting headbanger. In other words, what Hate Them lacks in complex substance is handily compensated for by Darkthrone's sheer attitude and blunt force -- something that no amount of technical showboating can possibly defeat. Just how the band will cope with their ongoing march towards reluctant maturity remains to be seen.

		1		Rust	Culto, Fenriz	6:44
		2		Det Svartner Nå	Fenriz	5:38
		3		Fucked Up and Ready to Die	Culto, Fenriz	3:43
		4		Ytterst I Livet	Culto, Fenriz	5:25
		5		Divided We Stand	Fenriz	5:17
		6		Striving for a Piece of Lucifer	Culto, Fenriz	5:30
		7		In Honour of Thy Name	Fenriz	6:28

¡Aquí!

Falkenbach - 1996 - En Their Medh Riki Fara

Falkenbach is the one-man black metal project of multi-instrumentalist Vratyas Vakyas (formerly guitarist with Crimson Gates), who is based in Düsseldorf, Germany, but reportedly hails from Iceland, and subscribes to the genre's more epic style, rife with keyboards, Viking themes, and folk music tendencies (a possible reason for making up those unconfirmed Icelandic roots). Active under the Falkenbach alias since 1995, when no less than three demos suddenly emerged (Laeknishendr, Skinn Av Sverdhi Sol Valtiva, Asynja), Vakyas recorded two albums in 1996's ...En Their Medh Riki Fara and 1997's ...Magni Blandinn Ok Megintiri, before turning his attention to his record label Skaldic Art Productions. He finally revived Falkenbach in 2003 and actually drafted other musicians (vocalist Tyrann, guitarist Hagalaz, and drummer Bolthorn) to help out with third album Ok Nefna Tysbar Ty, but he was back to his solo ways by the release of its follow-up, Heralding the Fireblade, in 2005.

¡Aquí!