Marduk "Nightwing" Osmose Productions (1998)

"Nightwing" was the fourth album by Marduk that I got to know and besides "World Funeral" it is my favourite up to date. It was the first time that I found an album of a Black Metal band truely epic and hymnic without them using a keyboard or an orchestra. They are using just three instruments and with them they are creating an evil, dark atmosphere that graps you by the throat and holds you there until the end of the last track.

The first four tracks (actually tracks two to four, because track one is only an intro) are the generic "Satan... grwuff... evil... kill god... sacrifice virgin"-stuff one would expect from a Black Metal band, but (just if the last words sounded kind of negative) those songs are great. They are executed perfectly with great guitar-riffing, precise drumming, a bass that one can more feel than hear and Legions godlike vocals. (Kind of strange in this context, isn't it?)

Chapter I - Dictionnaire Infernal

No. Title Length

1. "Preludium" 2:09

2. "Bloodtide (XXX)" 6:43

3. "Of Hells Fire" 5:22

4. "Slay the Nazarene" 3:48

5. "Nightwing" 7:34

Chapter II - The Warlord of Wallachia

No. Title Length

6. "Dreams of Blood and Iron" 6:19

7. "Dracole Wayda" 4:07

8. "Kaziklu Bey (The Lord Impaler)" 4:02

9. "Deme Quaden Thyrane" 5:06

10. "Anno Domini 1476" 2:13 

But then the whole concept of the album changes when the hymnic riff of "Nightwing" comes out of the boxes and evolves into Legions great memorable scream "Nightwing, fly across the sky". From this point on there's no more "Satan... grwuff... (you know what I mean)"-stuff. The new main-character of Marduks unholy opera is Vlad the Impaler. Hold on, before you say "Aww, shit, only melo-black-pussies deal with this vampire-stuff", because this is not about vampires, this is about the Kaziklu Bey, the romanian national hero, not the guy created by Bram Stoker. The six tracks tell the story of Vlad and his war against the turks to his death in 1476. The musical style stays the same during this part of the album (except the last rack, "Anno Domini 1476", that sounds a bit like a march with distorted guitars), the lyrics change to (well written - something one can not always expect from swedish bands) tales of war and bloodshed during the 15th century. So even if there are two "parts" of this album, it sounds very homogene. And let me tell you: it sounds great. 

On Nightwing, the theme is blood, divided in two parts: The first in the satanic ways customary of Marduk's lyrics, but the second part tells the history of Vlad 'Tepes' Drakul, the Impaler of Wallachia who fought against the Ottoman invasion on Europe, giving continuity to the history started on "Deme Quaden Thyrane", a track from their third studio album, Opus Nocturne, and continued with "Dracul Va Domni Din Nou In Transylvania" from Heaven Shall Burn... When We Are Gathered. "Deme Quaden Thyrane" appears also here, rearranged, with Legion's vocals and a little change in the lyrics at the end. The final song of the album, "Anno Domini 1476", ends with a sample from the fascist march "La Lupta Muncitori" ("The Legionary Worker's march") by the Romanian Iron Guard, a violently anti-semitic and pro-Nazi organization whose aim was to exterminate the Jews and socialists in the country and took part in the Holocaust during the second world war. 

The link

At The Gates "Slaughter Of The Soul"

Slaughter of the Soul is the fourth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band At the Gates, released on October 3, 1995. It was their last album before their eleven-year breakup from 1996 to 2007. Slaughter of the Soul is considered a landmark in melodic death metal and played a major role in popularizing the Gothenburg scene, alongside The Jester Race by In Flames and The Gallery by Dark Tranquillity.[1] The album was recorded and mixed in Studio Fredman, early 1995.

All lyrics written by Lindberg; all music composed by Björler, Björler, except where noted.

Slaughter of the Soul is masterfully crafted in design, both technically and lyrically, And through sheer talent At The Gates managed to create, or at least contribute to a new genre of music, melodic metal core. A hybrid of melodic death metal fused with elements of metal core, Without this album, bands such as Avenged Sevenfold, Killswitch Engage as well as Unearth and many more simply would not exist today if not for Slaughter of the Soul. 

Slaughter Of The Soul is fantastic from start to finish and does not let off the throttle. It contains some of At The Gates best tracks and arguably some of the best tracks ever written in metal. Blinded By Fear, Slaughter Of The Soul, Under A Serpent Sun and Cold are some of the stand out tracks from the album. The album has also managed to stand the test of time and is amazing even in to date. Without giving too much of the album away I do wish to tell you about two of the tracks off this album, Blinded By Fear and the title track Slaughter Of The Soul. 

Blinded By Fear starts off incredibly fast and doesn’t slow down. Anders Bjoler and Martin Larssons work on the guitars make it impossible for you to not bang your head to. With the blistering fast pace tempo they set, It is quite impressive that Adrian Erlandsson is able to keep up the pace and blast away. Last but not least you have to admire how remarkable Tomas Lindberg’s screaming is, He makes you feel the rage in his voice and makes you want to scream alongside him, while making it sound majestic as hell. Slaughter Of The Soul is a whole other beast to tackle. While the track does have a similar style to Blinded By Fear it varies enough to make it truly remarkable and stand out, which is exactly what you expect from the title track. Unlike Blinded By Fear where you feel synonymous with the fast paced drumming and the rhythm of the guitarists it’s the vocals that truly stand out. The screaming is at another level, Its so raw and anger filled, yet at the same time its graceful and poetic. It’s a hard feeling to explain, which is why I recommend you listen to it yourself. 

At the end of the day Slaughter Of The Soul has everything a metal fan could desire. Amazing riffs, blistering solos, Pounding drums as well as screams to scare everyone on your block. If you have been living under a rock and haven’t heard this album I desperately urge you to give it a listen. It is widely regarded as one of the best albums out of any genre of music ever produced, It deserves that honor because every track is perfect. All in all, I would highly suggest listening to Slaughter Of The Soul.

Track listing 

01. Blinded By Fear

02. Slaughter Of The Soul

03. Cold

04. Under A Serpent Sun

05. Into The Dead Sky

06. Suicide Nation

07. World Of Lies

08. Unto Others

09. Nausea

10. Need

11. The Flames Of The End

Archgoat "Angelcunt (Tales of Desecration) EP 1993

The best Black Metal EPs of all time are (in no certain order) - Beherit “Werewolf, Semen & Blood”, Mystifier “The Evil Ascension Returns”, Mayhem “Deathcrush”, Abhorer “Upheaval of Blasphemy”, Mortuary Drape “Into The Drape”, Samael “Medieval Prophecy”, Impaled Nazarene “Goat Perversion” and of course, Archgoat ‘Tales of Desecration”. (Honorable mention goes to the “recent” Impurity “Guests of The Infernal Pit” EP).

Track list: 

Side A

1. Intro (Invocation) 01:05  

2. Rise of the Black Moon 02:38  

3. Death and Necromancy 03:03  

4. Soulflay 02:35  

Side B

5. Black Messiah 02:38  

6. Jesus Spawn 01:09  

7. Outro (The Prophecy) 00:25  

Every time I hear Tales of Desecration, I ask myself the same fucking question: “Why the hell did this AWESOME band not release a full length??” I mean no disrespect to other Finnish cults like Beherit and Impaled Nazarene, but Archgoat are in my humble opinion faaaar ahead of their Finnish brethren in the songwriting department. Listen to the song “Rise of the Black Moon” for a lesson in (superbly-arranged) affiliation to DARKNESS. What aura… absolutely simple, manic riffs, made cathartic by Ritual Butcherer’s unique guitar tone. (Does he really get that from an Ibanez?? I could’ve sworn it’s a Gibson!). 

Line up: 

Lord Angelslayer Bass, Vocals

Ritual Butcherer Guitars

Blood Desecrator Drums   

I’ve tried and I haven’t been able to find any flaws with this EP; this is non-trendy, non-conformist, sewage-dwelling Black Metal in every possible angle that one can think of. The production is almost perfect… perhaps the drums could’ve been a little more prominent in the mix but it’s not so absent that it takes away a single ounce of evil from the total assault. Vocals are, well… let’s just say that this lineage of vocals haven’t been heard since the nun-molesting, cult Canadian horde Blasphemy! (Not to mention the fact this EP was released when Norsk Arisk Moon Forest Dracula Vampire “Black” Metal vocals were hotter than shiiiiiiiittt!!) 

Tales of Desecration is genuinely disturbing piece of work of that showcases Archgoat at their best. I am aware that this great band has made a return with a new EP after 13 years of silence… we can but hope that they will bless us with an album.

Vargrav "Netherstorm" werewolf records (2018)

V-Khaoz said in an interview that the name of the band comes from the union of the words varg (wolf) and grav (grave). According to him, “Vargrav is the rest where a bestial wisdom lurks only to rise again.”

The name is also a palindrome with 7 letters. The number 7 is the number of complement. A number of time and space, representing wisdom, perfection, balance and immortality. "Netherstorm" album released date 26 January 2018.


Vargrav is the project of sole member V-KhaoZ, a Finn who’s been involved in more bands than I can count. This is one of the more recent ones, with “Netherstorm” being the debut and released in the dying days of 2017. Vargrav sits firmly in the “symphonic” black metal category, but before you wrinkle your nose in disgust, hold up. Keyboards in black metal is cause for apprehension for many, and for good reason – the abuse of keyboards in black metal has reached absurd levels in the past, with bands being content to drown everything in synth and thinking “lol we’re Emperor!” These bands, of course, completely missing the point of what made early Emperor so brilliant to begin with.

Enter Vargrav, who athletically dodge this bullet; “Netherstorm” likens to “Nightside”-era Emperor and fully understands that it was the god damned riffs that made that album what it was, with the keyboards used for emphasis rather than direction. So, with that said, Vargrav is symphonic black metal, but done tastefully – nay, properly. Vargrav honours pioneering bands in this style, and successfully pulls off an album that would be in good company with second wave luminaries like early Emperor, Limbonic Art or Obtained Enslavement.

“Netherstorm” cranks out five tracks (plus an outro) of majestic black metal heavy on ambience. An icy guitar tone is able to remain full and vibrant as it weaves through epic, fantastical riffs backed by furious drumming. Vargrav deliver their opus dynamically and with emotional diversity – keyboards constantly lurk around, subtly adding to the grandiosity of the song and occasionally taking the forefront for dramatic flair, but no matter what they’re doing, they’re never allowed to take over the song from the towering, memorable riffs. Tracks like ‘Limbo of Abysmal Void’ puts epic riffage at the forefront and are perfects example of how to incorporate keyboards to complement the black metal storm rather than compete with it for attention. Special mention to the dreamlike ‘Obedient, Tolerant, Ensnared,’ which is a brilliant and sorrowful end piece that hearkens back to Gehenna’s fantastic black metal era.

“Netherstorm” works extremely well on practically every level and it’s one of the best albums I’ve heard in this style in recent memory. I’ll be following them closely and can’t wait for their next chapter. Highly recommended.

Track list is:
Disc 1 (12" 33⅓ RPM) - Netherstorm
Side A
1. Netherstorm 08:34
2. Shadowed Secrets Unmasked 07:23
3. Limbo of Abysmal Void 06:00
Side B
4. Ethereal Visions of a Monumental Cataclysm 07:10
5. Obidient Intolerant Ensnared 10:27
6. In Divine Embrace of the Dying Light 03:45
  43:19

Disc 2 (7" 45 RPM) - The Glory Of Eternal Night
Side A
1. The Glory of Eternal Night 06:09
Side B
2. Ancient Queen (Emperor cover) 03:51