During the last Metal Month I looked into three albums from Virgin Steele which were linked by a common theme, these being “The marriage of Heaven and Hell” trilogy, as it were. This year I want to step away from Power Metal and go completely the other direction, choosing a band which many may blink at and wonder why I would do such a thing, knowing my personal tastes. There are a few reasons for this, most of which revolve around it being difficult, insofar as I tried, to get three albums that have something to do with each other, outside of the power/progressive metal area, and I didn't want to be too predictable. I originally was going to do the first three Manowar albums, but I had already reviewed “Hail to England” and used “Battle hymns”, so that didn't leave much that I knew.
I quite honestly don't know what links these albums, but as I said when I started this section, the link could be as simple as all the albums being by the same band. I think though the idea here is that the trilogy chosen here shows a clear and interesting progression through the different influences on the band and the subgenres they pass through during the course of a mere two years. It's said that their sound altered radically during that time, so I'm interested to see how it did change. I've never heard, nor heard of this band before, but no doubt Batty will be chuckling evilly to himself that I don't know what I've let myself in for. Be that as it may, let's step towards the gates to Hell, shall we, and see if anyone's home.
First spell --- Gehenna --- 1994 (Head Not Found)
Not an album but an EP, this still has five tracks and while none are monsters they all clock in around the six-minute mark, bar one, so it still runs an impressive half-hour plus. Formed in 1993 by guitarist Sanrabb and vocalist Dolgar, Gehenna have an odd take on their Satanist leanings. Unlike Watain, who professes to believe implicitly in a dark force known as Satan and pours bitter scorn on bands who claim the tag Black Metal while being nothing close to Satanists, Sanrabb explains that they see Satan more as a non-physical force, and scoff at the idea some people have that he would serve them, or indeed they he, as they say Satan hates every living being. And yet they sing about him. But to quote Sanrabb; “The thing is, it's (their lyrics) not purely based on Satanic beliefs or politics or whatever. Because we don't want to deal in propaganda for this or that. […] It's about music, it is - as I said - a medium for our thoughts and feelings. It is also ever-changing.”
Sanrabb does not believe in conducting Satanic rituals, real or otherwise, as he wisely says “absolutely nothing good will come of it.” It would appear that while they believe in Satan --- or at least, an ultimate evil in the universe --- they have no interest in calling it forth, and use Satan as merely a vehicle for their lyrics. To that end, they prefer not to be labelled as Black Metal --- or indeed, to have any label thrust upon them --- so we will have to see whether or not they have been unfairly or misguidedly branded.
There's certainly a sepulchral feel to the opening track, “The shivering voice of the ghost”, with a church organ taking the intro solo before some guitar wends its way into the proceedings, then the tempo ups and Sarcana on the keys runs off a very progressive metal riff --- hold on just one moment: did I say keyboards? On a Black Metal album? It would seem so, and therefore weight is already lent to the argument that Gehenna cannot fall under the same Black Metal banner as other bands with which they are grouped. The vocal from Dolgar is certainly what you would expect of a Black Metal singer: dark, growly, scary, almost indecipherable, but this jars sharply with the intricate keyboards of Sarcana and the frankly restrained guitars of Sanrabb, while Dirge Rep and Svartalv lay down the softest, relatively, rhythm I've ever heard on an album that purports to be from this subgenre. In fact, were it not for the vocals I would not even consider labelling this album --- at least, on the basis of this track --- as anything close to Black Metal.
It has a real hook in it too, and though there are no guitar solos and it's driven almost exclusively on Sarcana's keyboard melody, it's still heavy enough to qualify as proper metal. Just not Black. It's a great start for me, who was expecting something much harsher and rawer, and as we move into “Unearthly loose palace” that almost progressive/new wave keyboard continues to ply its trade, making this so much more a listenable album than I had thought it would be. The tempo, too, is far lower than you would expect from Black Metal, which usually, at least in the examples I've heard, is either crushingly slow or necksnappingly fast. Sanrabb's guitars start to make something more of an impression now, though again it's the keys that really hold court. Some great choral vocals coming in now (presumably on the synth) and a superbly evocative guitar solo from Sanrabb as the song begins to lose some momentum, but none of its quality, as it slows down.
It may be that Gehenna are not considered true Black Metal, but if they are, or can fit into that description, then this is the best Black Metal album I've ever heard, and if there are others of this ilk it could change my mind about the whole subgenre. I get the feeling though that they're more a blend of styles, with gothic, elements of death and black, and progressive and symphonic metal all in there, going to make something that is very much more than the sum of its parts. “Angelwings and ravenclaws”, the shortest track on the album, sound more like a new-wave song, the knd of thing you might hear if you allied metal guitar to Depeche Mode or OMD or Visage. Quite stunning really. Harder and a little more aggressive is “The conquering of Histir”, with a driving drumbeat from Dirge Rep and an almost incongruous keyboard sound that is close to pan pipes running through the tale of, it would seem, the end of days, a popular subject of course with those who fly the Black Metal flag.
Very dramatic, with an almost reflective midsection that rides as usual on Sarcana's expert keyboard lines, and very very listenable. “Morningstar”, the final track, is the only one that makes me think that maybe we're going to hear some “basic” Black Metal, with a grindy, slow, doomy beginning, but even that kicks up very quickly into a good riffing style and bops along on yet another bubbly keyboard line. At least the lyric is Black Metal 101:
”Before the sun, a star sends its light /Set your ritual.........right/ Streams of torment/ Streams of blood/ Fear for your flesh /Fear for your soul, your spirit .” But the lyric is almost belied by the uptempo, rocky, almost happy metal that underpins it. Really, if you ignore Dolgar, you can imagine this as any sort of prog/power/symphonic or any other subgenre metal you want. It really is the most listenable Black Metal album --- or an album masquerading as Black Metal --- that I have ever heard.
TRACKLISTING
1.The shivering voice of the ghost
2. Unearthly loose palace
3. Angelwings and ravenclaws
4. The conquering of Hirsir
5. Morningstar
On the reissued album there are a lot more tracks --- an additional nine --- but as I usually shy from including bonus tracks, and as there are so many of them here, with still two full albums to review and the sands of time slowly draining away on me, I'm going to put them on hold here. If I have time I will come back to them, but if not I'll leave this in the way it was originally intended, as a five-track EP, a record that has, quite unexpectedly, blown me away and made me want to hear more.
And here
is more.
Seen through the veils of darkness (The second spell) ---- Gehenna --- 1995 (Cacophonous Records)
I suppose now the question is, if Gehenna's sound changed so radically over the next two albums, am I in for a more Black Metal experience with this second one --- their first proper album, as opposed to an EP? Will the symphonic, even melodic elements be dropped in favour of a harder, more stripped-down approach? Well, let's see: Sarcana still does his keyboards and organs, so no worries there, and even Dirge Rep is bringing in ... tambourine? So is it possible we're going to be leaning further away from pure Black Metal, as opposed to towards it?
Well, opener “Lord of flies” opens with the sort of guitar that sounds like a train approaching, and the music is definitely harder now, more on the metal side of things, with fast, furious drumming and Dolgar's by-now familiar growling scream. I don't hear the keys much in the mix if at all, though now I do, with a sort of violin or cello sound, the frenetic rhythm slowing down into something of a pagan waltz, the drums cutting back too for a short while. But then it kicks back up again, so that it's swinging from one extreme to the other. Little hard to get your head around, I feel. Certainly a big step away from the pure melody of “First spell”. Whether it's progression or regression I'll reserve judgement on for now.
That sort of tuneful melody returns in part for “Shairak Kinnummh”, which has touches of Viking Metal about it, Sarcana's keys coming a little more to the fore now. The song has become much faster though, and is now more in line with what most people would probably recognise as Black Metal, of a sort anyway. There's still a sense of progressive metal in there though, mostly through the keyswork, especially the organ. There's a guest slot for Garm, vocalist for Sunn O))) as well as Ulver on “Vinterikket”, but to be honest they both sound the same to my untrained Black Metal ear. It's certainly a faster, thrashier song though, with energy and power. Kind of a chanted vocal in it too. Ends suddenly, then we're into “A witch is born”, which has a kind of Sabbath/Electric Wizard vibe to it and pulls back from the overall Black Metal direction in which the last few tracks have been going.
Still very guitar-driven though, so it's Sanrabb who takes control, unlike the EP, where his keyboard buddy called the shots. Oddly, I can actually make out most of what Dolgar is singing here, and yet he doesn't seem to have changed his style al that much: am I getting used to this kind of vocal, I wonder? Better able to interpret it? Or is it because I looked at the lyric sheet and can now transpose that to what I'm hearing? Either way, it makes the experience a little less frustrating. The title track is another hammering guitar tune, but with Sarcana adding his own touches on the keys, the tune itself slowing in the midsection then picking up again. Sounds like some nice rippling piano there, while “The mystical play of shadows” and “The eyes of the sun” are the two shortest tracks on the album, paving the way for the longest. The former is a fast, guitar-driven song with a lot of keyboard flourishes, and in fact contains the first guitar solo I've heard from these guys.
“The eyes of the sun” on the other hand is something of a return to the more melodic sound of the EP, slower and more dramatic with a lot of Sarcana's keyboard work, though there's some disturbing screaming --- sounds female --- near the end, like someone's being murdered. That takes us to the penultimate, and longest track, which kicks off with a real indie rock vibe on the guitar. I'm not kidding! This sounds sort of REM and trips along nicely but doesn't batter you down. “A myth...” runs for just shy of nine minutes, so I'm expecting it to change over the course of its run. And it does, but not that much. Gets a bit kind of I guess you could say rompy in the fourth minute and then falls right back to ambient territory with lush synth and effects, a whispered vocal from Dolgar and a real sense of waiting for something to happen.
Rather nice little bassline from Svartalv (whose name I have just now worked out means “Dark Elf”: cool!) and then it happens. Big scream, the drums explode into life and Sanrabb lets loose on the guitar as the song heads into its seventh minute, even throwing in a shot of reggae along the way. Piano from Sarcana joins the tune as we move into the final minute and it really starts to rock. The closer then keeps the tempo sort of mid-paced but pushes poor old Sarcana out of the picture really as Sanrabb takes the song. Apparently he sings on this one too, but again I don't hear any difference.
TRACKLISTING
1. Lord of flies
2. Shairak Kinnummh
3. Vinterriket
4. A witch is born
5. Through the veils of darkness
6. The mystical play of shadows
7. The eye of the sun
8. A myth...
9. Dark poems author
While there's not what I'd call a cosmic shift here, this second offering is very much different from Gehenna's EP. The melody and structure is still there but there's more of an emphasis, generally, on harder, tighter riffs and as I say Sarcana is only called upon when needed, where on “First spell” he more or less ran the show. No change in the vocals department: despite there being three different singers used on this album I heard no discernible difference. I can see why people say the band evolved though, and I'm interested to see how, or if, this evolution continued on into their second album.
So let's find out.