SHADES OF BLACK (PART 2): BLODHEMN, SAQRA’S CULT, IMHA TARIKAT, PETHAMOS, HEXENBRETT

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK  6 Responses »
Jan 132019
 

 

In this second Part of this Sunday’s SHADES OF BLACK column I’ve changed course away from the predominantly atmospheric and sometimes folk-inflected music that dominated Part 1 in moody, mystical, and magnificent strains of sound. The selections in this Part are less easily categorized with broad brush strokes, but I guess I’d venture to say they are mainly more “muscular” and savage than what you’ll find in Part 1.

BLODHEMN

I’ve been deplorably late in catching up to the third album by this one-man band based in the black metal hot-bed of Bergen, Norway, but under persistent prodding by my Norwegian friend eiterorm, I finally have. That third album, Mot Ein Evig Ruin, will be released on February 16th by the Dutch label Soulseller Records, and now there are two tracks out in the world — “Dra Te’ Helvete“, which surfaced in October, and more recently “Det Gjekk Ein Faen“. Continue reading »

A SCATTERING OF SOUNDS: BLODHEMN AND INANIMATE EXISTENCE

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Apr 182012
 

Blog-time is still short for yours truly, and likely will be until middle of next week. With one very exciting exception tomorrow, about all I can manage at the moment are posts like this one — collecting new music I’ve heard recently that I think is worth spreading around. In today’s round-up, songs from Blodhemn (Norway), Inanimate Existence (California),

BLODHEMN

Blodhemn started life as a one-man band in 2004, and Invisus (that one man) continues to write the music, provide the vocals, and play all the instruments for Blodhemn’s studio recordings, though he now has a live band recruited from Bergen for stage performances. Blodhemn released an EP in 2010 called Brenn Alle Bruer, and just last week, Blodhemn signed with Indie Recordings for the release of a debut album that has already been recorded.

I’ve heard one song from the forthcoming album, “Djevelen i Menneskeform” (devil in human form), which premiered in late January as a teaser for the album. It’s a style of black metal I’ve really grown to enjoy — a kind of brawling, bottle-throwing, stomp ‘n’ rock music that’s as catchy as it is vicious. I’ve referred to this style of music before as black metal that’s hot instead of cold, though Invisus’ vocals still bring the feel of a searing Nordic ice storm.

Check out “Djevelen i Menneskeform” after the jump and prepare for sore-neck syndrome. Continue reading »