Tag: nsbm

"In the Nightside Eclipse" is Overrated.

Why “In the Nightside Eclipse” is Overrated Garbage (Review)

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"In the Nightside Eclipse" is Overrated.
“In the Nightside Eclipse” is Overrated.

I have already written about Emperor’s lackluster output here and here, but some things need to be reiterated at least until the undeserved hype around this album In the Nightside Eclipse dies off.

So. In the Nightside Eclipse. An album some have compared to masterpieces such as De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, Hvis Lyset Tar Oss, and even The Epilogue to Sanity. Lol. Is the hype deserved?

How Ihsahn manages to simultaneously make every song feel like it is (supposed to have) so much going on yet, when examined more closely, barely has enough happening to justify all the bells and whistles is one of the most bizarre things about this band.

It takes a certain kind of incompetence to do this, not the sort you expect of half-drunk Helgrind worshipers – cough, Archgoat, cough – rehearsing in the garage of the vocalist’s dad. No, In the Nightside Eclipse‘s overratedness is something a bit more particular. Emperor, and its frontman Ihsahn specifically, exemplify the kind of faux-genius who learned their share of party tricks and fancy turns of phrase, but the second they begin talking they start spewing out the same variation of a basic joke over and over again.

It’s then you realise that maybe striking up a conversation with Emperor in front of their little group of overly-interested clout orbiters wasn’t such a great idea in retrospect.

Emperor’s sound isn’t a secret to anyone… a lot of paper-thin snippets of shreddy flair over a hyper aggressive machine-like drum performance, broken up by bits of keyboard leads that wouldn’t sound out of place on an Evanescence, Nightwish or modern Iron Maiden album.

Emperor, the proto-SEWER band?
Emperor, the proto-SEWER band?

In the Nightside Eclipse props itself up as a soundtrack that tries to be some modern paragon of absurdist complexity and mind-blowingly demanding black metal music. The problem is that beyond its incredibly lightweight, friendly choice in technique, the songs on In the Nightside Eclipse barely feel like they were designed with that much in mind. Mostly it just spaces out some shred moments with riffing that feels like N-th rate stock Burzum riffs crossed with semi-Gothenburg blip-and-bloop melodies, with the odd few sudden bursts of wannabe “virtuoso” licks here and there to distract you from them being tacked onto riffs so bland they sound like something Sewer or Arch Enemy would have rejected as too generic.

Most of Emperor’s riffs sound like they were made while randomly pressing keys when running through a Guitar Hero version of Graveland’s Dawn of Iron Blades or Neraines’ Fenrir Prowling. Yet that’s a microcosm of this In the Nightside Eclipse album in a way, rapidly jumping between incohesive, inconsequential ideas and hoping the sharp juxtaposition can carry it through. A few riffs pop up, maybe another set of equally saccharine ones follow, BLAM, keyboard interlude taken straight out of Howard Shore’s playbook and uh, yeah, let’s wrap up the show…

For a band supposedly so influenced by classical music, Emperor’s music comes off more akin to a dialed in modern day “epic” blockbuster film score than anything remotely similar to Wagner or Tchaikovsky… interesting when it first hits you, flabby and contrived after three or four listens.

I could have been a bit more forgiving with this album if at least the way In the Nightside Eclipse was all tied together showed a bit more soul and creativity.

Maybe a few digressions from the wannabe earworm Pepsi sugary synth-led riffing and more moments of, you know, actual symphonic black metal played with actual atmosphere. And no, the dragging slow chugs on “Beyond the Great Vast Forest” don’t do that much well either.

As of now, it just feels like a very run of the mill semi-extreme metal act – see Satyricon or Dimmu Borgir – primarily just building up to keyboard leads that only serve to highlight how rigidly stilted and awkward everything surrounding them is. Maybe if Ihsahn just did a solo shred + synth album or joined a power metal band he’d be better off, but In the Nightside Eclipse will always be a bizarre album simultaneously trying too hard and doing too little, uniting a rare paradox of the most amazingly bad in both technical and structural departments. Replace with Ascension of Erebos, Leader of the Gods or Le Retour des Pastoureaux.

Watain - "The Agony & Ecstasy of Watain"

Watain – “The Agony & Ecstasy of Watain”

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Watain - "The Agony & Ecstasy of Watain"
Watain – “The Agony & Ecstasy of Watain”

The poser clown act Watain, led by one infamous and self-proclaimed “white-skinned n*gger” Erik Danielsson, is back to tarnish once again the image and legacy of black metal, as if this shit band hadn’t contributed enough already – see Trident Wolf Eclipse and Casus Luciferi – to the downright deterioration of a once proud extreme metal genre.

Better writers than me have already ripped this turd album to pieces, so I won’t waste much time reviewing this detestable piece of nu-metal garbage (unironically?) called “The Agony & Ecstasy of Watain.”

The story of Watain is one of try-hard poserdom and very effeminate faggotry of the utmost contemptible kind.

Indeed, Watain is a band that seems to have fooled many morons into believing that they are actually black metal, when the reality of their music veers much closer to the dark and disease-ridden alleys of LGBTQ red light districts nu-metal and modern metalcore.

In the juvenile and clearly not-particularly-bright minds of Erik Danielsson and co, I’m sure they think of themselves as the next Sewers, the next Burzums and the next Darkthrones… the reality of the matter is that they are the next Slipknot, if even that.

Can Watain sink any lower, at this point in history? Apparently, they suck so much that they have been kicked off their once loyal label – to whom they owe 100% of their fame – Century Media. Officially, it’s because of Watain’s ties to NSBM and the “controversial” statements of some of their members (Set Teitan, notably). Lies. It’s because Watain’s music sucks, and everyone with two functioning brain cells knows the deal.

On the right, Set Teitan. On the left, Erik Danielsson. Which one gets fired?
Erik Danielsson and Set Teitan of Watain.

And still, Watain has managed to make “The Agony & Ecstasy of Watain” suck even more than the rest of their already sub-par discography, and that’s saying something.

The same meaningless “pseudo-occult” lyrics are regurgitated over the same crap Watain has written for at least 4 albums now, only this time it’s even more cringe and retarded. Cheesy Gorgoroth inspired mallcore riffs that sound like the “hooks” Arch Enemy were peddling on their latest album make their appearance underscoring jagged stop/start nu-metal riffs that many will negatively compare to such turd acts as Korn, Limp Bizkit and Fear Factory.

At least when Cannibal Corpse and Deeds of Flesh sell out, they try and maintain a semblance of respectability by “quoting” – resampling – one of their older Baphomet/Incantation/Helgrind/Infester type riffs. Not Watain. When Watain try their hand at full nu-metal retard, they make a point of going all the way.

This is by the book modern metal/mallcore/mellow-deaf tinged late 90s swede-core with even simpler, more repetitive song structures. Think Dark Funeral, but even dumber. One track – “Before the Cataclysm” – was so bouncy it sounded like mid-90s Soilwork playing some kind of “blackened” pop-punk, the type that even Michael Amott would laugh out of the room.

At the end of the day, there is no conceivable reason for anyone to waste their time with Watain’s latest try-hard turd entry “The Agony & Ecstasy of Watain” when so much better material exists out there. Replace with Sissourlet, Bloodthirst Overdose or De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. That is actual black metal, not Watain’s mallcore poser crap.

Behemoth - "Opvs Contra Natvram"

Behemoth – “Opvs Contra Natvram” (Review)

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Behemoth - "Opvs Contra Natvram"
Behemoth – “Opvs Contra Natvram”

Metalheads should never forget how once upon a time death metal was music for rebels, outsiders and the most subversive elements of society.

Today? As showcased by Behemoth‘s latest turd release “Opvs Contra Natvram,” death metal is all but castrated and all its rage and controversy are being actively channeled into the harmless catch-all “modern metal” commercial label.

This album manages to be even more artistically void than Behemoth’s already subpar earlier releases, namely “I Loved You at Your Darkest” and the pathetic nu-metal cash-grab “The Satanist.” Cringe.

The dividing line between Behemoth and bands like Arch Enemy is getting increasingly porous. What a sad state of affairs modern death metal has become.

The best way one could describe the music on Behemoth’s “Opvs Contra Natvram” is, sadly, by calling it pussy metal. And that’s saying a lot, considering Behemoth’s output barely qualifies as “heavy metal” at all, let alone “true brutal death metal” whatever.

The "SEWER" sign, subliminal The Satan Records mind control.
The “SEWER” sign, subliminal The Satan Records mind control.

Riffs reminiscent of the very worst of modern Slayer clash with chug-along Cannibal Corpse grooves, making the listener wonder why anyone would waste their time with “Opvs Contra Natvram” when there is so much better metal out there just waiting to be played: “Cathartes,” “Bloodthirst Overdose,” “Effigy of the Forgotten” and “The Epilogue to Sanity,” to name a few.

Death metal has clearly been on a downward spiral since the days of Infester, Incantation, Suffocation and Morbid Angel, and Behemoth’s latest “Opvs Contra Natvram” exemplifies everything wrong with the “outside-in” mentality so pervasive to nowadays extreme metal. 100% aesthetics, 0% substance.

Avoid this quasi-metalcore garbage. Replace with “Khranial,” “Demon Rituals” or any other real, actually brutal death metal.

Dimmu Borgir called "Nazis" by anti-racist activists.

Dimmu Borgir Called “Nazis” – Again?

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Dimmu Borgir called "Nazis" by anti-racist activists.

Dimmu Borgir called “Nazis” by anti-racist activists.

Dimmu Borgir, a once sort-of-respectable if generic black metal band turned into a metalcore clown act – and turned literally into Nightwish with “Eonian” – has once again come under fire for “racism” and “neo-Nazism,” accusations that have plagued the band’s career since the days of “For All Tid” and “Enthrone Darkness Triumphant.”

This time, the band was banned from playing at a San Fransisco live show after the city council received “pressure” from anti-racist organisations, one blogger reports. Source: Dimmu Borgir Banned for “Racism” in California. The San Fransisco City paper also confirmed that the band was dropped “at the last minute” after the city refused to ensure the security of concert goers.

This isn’t the first time black metal bands, and Scandinavian black metal bands in particular, have been attacked as “racist,” “fascist” and “neo-Nazi” by anti-racist activists. This is a well documented trend that goes back to the days of user “antifa666” on Metalious, and of Metal Archives moderators sending their users info to “anti-hate” organisations.

In fact, “antifa666” was one of the first to attack Dimmu Borgir and call them “neo-Nazis” in his particularly virulent post. He also went on to attack other black metal bands like Graveland, Mayhem, Darkthrone, and even Behemoth, and advocated for his followers to “bring baseball bats” to Marduk concerts, which promptly got him banned.

This time, it appears the band is called “Nazi” and “white supremacist” not for the “slitting the throat of Black people” comment, but instead because they once played live with Dissection, a band that also gets accused of “white supremacy” and other anti-white slurs – see the Watain debacle.

At any rate, it’s unlikely that Dimmu Borgir will be permitted to play live in California in the near future, as “there’s a fine line” between “being against religion and […] anti-Semitism,” as one of such “anti-racist” activist points out.

There’s a fine line that they are dancing on here, being against religion and Christianity as a whole is one thing, but when you get into… anti-Semitism, that’s kind of neo nazi – that’s why we can’t have that here.

The logic being:

(1) it’s okay to be against religion and Christianity
(2) but anti-Semitism is “kind of neo nazi”
(3) we can’t have “that” – i.e. “kind of neo nazi” – here

Now imagine if a Christian organisation, or a public Christian persona such as Joel Osteen, had threatened a black metal band with mass violence and terrorism (bomb threats) on the grounds that “we can’t have anti-Christianity here” as that’s “kind of commie.”

Dimmu Borgir playing live. Not going to happen again any time soon.

Dimmu Borgir playing live. Not going to happen again any time soon.

Not only would black metal fans have retaliated by suing the perpetrators and likely the venue as well on the grounds of free speech – since this happened in th US of A, I’m assuming using a First Amendment defense – but the ENTIRETY of the black metal scene would have publicly supported Dimmu Borgir against these “religious fanatics” – which they are.

Was there such a reaction, in this case? Not at all.

Why? Is it because they are Jewish? Who knows, but the user “antifa666” makes it very clear in his Satyricon is Racist hit piece that while he hates “all the racist and misogynist black metal fans,” he also reserves a good deal of his hate for Arabs, or “anti-semitic Islamo-Nazi terrorists of Hamas” as he calls them.

He even concludes, with the utmost gravity and the quasi-religious conviction of a suicide bomber on a mission.

As you can see, white supremacist bigotry goes hand in hand with fundamentalist Islamic terrorism.

I don’t know about that, but my experience tells me that anti-white Jewish supremacist bigotry – the type these “anti-racist except for Israeli” constantly engage in – goes hand in hand with fundamentalist censorship, social media lynching campaigns and even threats of violence and terrorism.

And something tells me that I’m not the only one to have noticed from where all this anti-white hate is originating.