Stormheit

Branikald are part of the notoriously sketchy Blazebirth Hall scene. Mainman Kaldrad operates in Forest. Although Kaldrad's political views are clear, Branikald deals in non-political subjects such as depression, nature, and the esoteric. The music is hypnotic and evocative, not unlike Forest. Stormheit was Branikald's first release, maybe their best. You decide.

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Sputum Lunae

Sputum Lunae were a short lived NSBM/dark ambient band from Quebec. The defunct Autistiartili Records released this very limited tape (100 copies) in 2001, titled Quo Usque Tamdem Abutere Patientia Nostra? It displays Sputum Lunae's more mellow side with three tracks of creepy, solemn organ. This one will most likely bore anyone looking for the harsh scraping black noise usually associated with the Quebecois haters, others may opt to dim the lights and enjoy this with some fine wine and misanthropy.

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Southern Elite Circle

Like the BMIA, the Black Twilight Circle, and Blazebirth Hall, The Southern Elite Circle is yet another alliance of like-minded Black Metal bands that share members and hail from a particular region, this time Argentina. Oddly enough the bands associated with the SEC promote a nationalist socialist agenda that may offend some of you more sensitive readers. This lengthy compilation showcases the bands with each band delivering two tracks. First up is the extremely harsh Argenraza (who were featured on the Hearse here.) Argentum's acoustic guitar and flute folk metal track "La Tierra Blanco" sounds pretty tame after Argenraza, and their second track "Jose Antonio" is a corny darkwave number with lazy samples of some speech, presumably by canonized Spanish Fascist, Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera. Campo de Mayo's first track is rather bland generic Black Metal, but their second is a more primitive sounding repetitive piece that is far more interesting. Furor's first track is just layers of hypnotic guitars, it works much better than the second track, which is rather base poorly recorded Black Metal. Nachtgeblut are clearly the most proficient band of the group, but this doesn't mean they are the most enjoyable. They turn in a rather plain Black Metal song and a hokey keyboard piece. Permafrost has cool guitar tones and simple robotic riffs, at first the obvious drum machine and generic vocals were a distraction but I found myself liking the band by the end of their two songs. The compilation wraps up with Ulfhethnar who aren't terribly original but their no frills blasting chaotic Black Metal is enjoyable just the same. Argenraza and Permafrost are the real standouts here, but from front to back the Southern Elite Circle compilation is a dynamic and consistently interesting listen, even if the bands aren't spectacular on their own.

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Forest

Here is the self-titled debut from one of the Blazebirth Hall's most important bands (for more on Blazebirth Hall go here) Originally formed in 1994 by Blazebirth bros Ulv Gegner, Dagorath, and Kaldrad, the band didn't release this hypnotic gem until 1996. Soon after, Dagorath left Blazebirth Hall and abandoned their staunch right wing ideals. It has been rumored that he is now dead, perhaps even rubbed out for doing so. Violence and death struck Forest once again in 2005 when Ulv was murdered under mysterious circumstances. Forest carries on as the concern of Kaldrad, the remaining original member. If you have experienced Blazebirth Hall, you know what to expect, everyone else is in for a treat of hypnotic, ethereal, Russian Black Metal. Distant, cold, and otherworldly. This album is colossal.

Пуща

Ceremonies

Alastor are a one-man NSBM band from Greece. Its sole member, Saturno also operates the equally spiteful Agarthia and is also a member of Ravenbanner, a sort of all-star band of Hellenic haters. Repetitive crude blastbeats rumble under grainy guitars, the choppy screamed vocals are overblown and way too loud in the mix making this another bit of kvlt outsider Black Metal for you to chew on.

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Arianrhod

Arianrhod was a short lived raw Quebecois Black Metal band that self released one and only demo, 2001's La Reine Blanche. Despite the foofy cover and intro, Arianrhod rip into some hateful filthy scrape. Not unlike the uneasy French Canadian Black Metal of Malveillance and Akitsa that we have come to love.

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Total Conquest of the Southern Hemisphere

Argenraza are nationalist Black Metal band from Argentina of all places. I'm not sure how they incorporate their Third Reich fetish into their own South American national myth, but whatever, the music is harsh, scraping, and chaotic. This demo is titled Primera Conquista Total Del Hemisfero Sur and it was released in 2004.

Aqui

Roots

Kataxu were a Polish Black Metal band. Though often lumped in with the NSBM scene, they had more of an esoteric slant to their cold misanthropic art. Kataxu weren't afraid to slather their sound in huge washes of hokey keys and distant guitars. Tremendous and expansive while also being grainy and nostalgic. Roots Thunder is one of the most coveted tapes in my collection.

Korzenie

Blood of Our Forefathers

Gontyna Kry is perhaps one of my all time favorite lo-fi Black Metal bands. The bands origin date as far back as 1993 in Poland, but now the band has been reduced to its core member, Warterz, who now resides in the UK. If you have been reading, you are aware of the band's sketchy nationalist agenda, but this site isn't about politics, good versus evil, morality, race, or religion. This site is about bringing you strange, important, interesting, and unsung music. So with that said, here is Gontyna Kry's 2001 epic Krew Naszych Ojcow. The beauty of Gontyna Kry's releases are they always different from each other, readers expecting the dreamy distant shimmer of Welowie might be surprised by Krew Naszych Ojcow. The material here ranges from keyboard-heavy Black Metal to odd spoken word ambient pieces. Not as lo-fi and fucked up as their other work, Krew Naszych Ojcow has a more traditional approach. Fantastic.

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Nidhöggsburg

Nidhöggsburg was a short lived project Hendrik Möbus, founder of the infamous teenage German Black Metal band Absurd. Upon his release from prison for the murder of a classmate, Möbus released this crazy fucked up cassette called (D)rache wird toben!. This has to be the strangest, most poorly recorded bit of Third Reich fetishist Black Metal ever and that includes that stupid Command tape we all got a boner over a ways back. In fact, this is so fucking wonky it reminds me of Corneus and those other twisted one man Saarland Black Metal bands that have been popping up on the hearse. Yeah, like all things pertaining to Absurd, this bears some controversial political associations that might make you scared or sad or fill you with a sudden self-righteous indignation if you are sensitive.

Achtung!

A New Age

Three of Brazil's wonkiest and most intolerant one-man NSBM bands are featured here on Chaos To Unleash A New Age. Evil, S.A.R., and Thallium have all been featured on the Hearse, all are among my favorite purveyors of South American retardo-black-misanthrope-metal. This 3-way hatefest has exclusive tracks from the bands (including a Brutal Attack cover from S.A.R., and a Graveland cover by Thallium.) The usual Cosmic Hearse caveat about being sensitive to fucked up ideologies applies here.

Hate!

Sadorass

More Black Metal flavored lo-fi and primitive. This time it comes courtesy of Sadorass from the Lower Saxony region of Germany. Sadorass is made up of two mysterious entities known only as S and F.B. In the Chill of the Dark Forgotten Forest was the band's first demo, released in 1996. The German lyrics delve into typical Black Metal subject matter such as winter nights, swords, and hate. So amateurish and wonky, the way we like our Black Metal here at the hearse. Even better is how this band's name makes John Gossard titter like a little girl.

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Vorväter

I just realized that I have yet to do a proper post on one of my favorite NSBM bands, Germany's Bilskirnir. So here I present Bilskirnir's limited fourth demo Vorväter. An unrepentant hardline white nationalist named Widar is Bilskirnir's sole member. But even more interesting than Widar's far right politics is his penchant for almost pop-punk hooks. They creep up often in Bilskirnir's sizable catalog. At times Bilskirnir reminds me of what could have been if the original Absurd line up took their primal Teutonic death punk to the next level of basement misanthropy, and kind of like Graveland if Darken listened to more Oi and Street Punk. Since this early demo, Bilskirnir has cranked out consistently choice releases that you might want to avoid if you are particularly sensitive to racism, nationalism, aryanism, pan-europeanism, heathenism, paganism, odinism or any other isms that don't agree with whatever isms you are wrapping yourself in these days.

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Oskal

The first half Oskal's demo, Stahlkrieg, is so muddy and obscure it resembles more of a power electronics noise project than a Russian Black Metal band. The second half of the tape has more structure but still suffers from poor production. The tape sounds as if it's eroding and there's a consistent buzz like a bad chord throughout. If you have been following this blog closely, you know that the worse the fidelity, the more I am likely to gush over it.

ненависть

S.A.R.

S.A.R. stands for Southern Aryan Response, so right away you know the agenda. The southern part refers to this band's origins in Brazil. Now while I can't condone the political views of S.A.R., I can totally condone their ridiculously gorked and dim-witted Black/Thrash mess. So if you're a fan of the wonky Black Metal that makes it on The Hearse, and you aren't spooked by unsavory politics, then this is for you. This self titled, self released tape came out in 2001, and it's deliciously bad-good.

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Stella Polaris

Another fantastic release from the now defunct Autistiartili Records, this limited tape (150 copies) by the band Stella Polaris contains some warped, super lo-fi, punkish, Black Metal akin to their countrymen, Akitsa and Malveillance. Thematically, Stella Polaris seem to adhere to the same Third Reich fetishism as bands like Command and Sombre Chemin, so again I issue a warning to those who are sensitive to these kinds of political agendas.

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Nuisance

Malveillance's third release was the Nuisance tape, it was released in 2004 by Blasphemous Underground Productions. Limited to a scant 222 copies. You all didn't really respond much too my last Malveillance post, but fuck it, I'm going to beat you over the head with this stuff until you get on board. I love this band.

Haine

There Is No Authority But Yourself

Do yourself a favor, if you should ever come across anything released by the defunct Canadien Black Metal label Autistiartili Records, pick it up. Before calling it a night, the label released some of the best CDs and tapes of raw, lo-fi, hateful Black Metal from the likes of Branikald, Akitsa, Sturm, Verivala, The Shadow Order, Draugurz, Evil, Volkurah, Sputum Lunae, Kristallnacht, and Stella Polaris.

The label was founded by F. the sole member of the band Malveillance. Que La Morte Vous Emporte (Autist 008) Malveillance's second offering was released on CD in 2003 in a limited run of 500. It is a harsh, buzzing, assault of mid-tempo, punkish Black Metal. Imagine a nastier Akitsa (if that is even possible). The very sparse layout of the insert reveals little more than the quote: "THERE IS NO AUTHORITY BUT YOURSELF. MALVEILLANCE-RAW ANTI-ZIONIST BLACK METAL." Later on F. would shed NS trappings in favor of a more crust punk aesthetic and sound, as well as a weird obsession with playing Ramones covers. Strangeness.

Voici

Among Ruins And Dark Battlefields

Durch Ruinen und Dustere Kriegsfelder is the title of the split CD of two of France's most hardline NSBM bands, Sombre Chemin and Ornaments of Sin. I picked this up for Sombre Chemin. Their fuzzy, melodic dirges remind me of Akitsa's more reflective work. Sombre Chemin are avid Third Reich fetishists, but they seem to be coming from a rather despondent place, as if they are saddened by the fact that the Thousand Year Empire barely lasted a dozen. While Sombre Chemin lament what could have been, Ornaments of Sin just seem bent on being mean. Ornaments of Sin are attracted to the more brutal and sadistic nature of fascism, and this is reflected in their songs. They are more rocking in their approach, even a bit punk in a way. While I appreciate Ornaments' gut-level malevolence, Sombre Chemin wins for being far more elegant in their themes, and far more sonically bizarre. You might feel otherwise. You might also be sensitive to this kind of glorification of fascist ideals, but I don't really give a fuck.

Voici

Triumf Of Complete And Utter Darkness

Here's an excellent international Black Metal comp released by Desastrious Records out of Texas in 2002. Many of the bands here are clearly NS, but not all. The CD was limited to 500 copies and comes with a well-done booklet in which each band has a page for lyrics, pictures of members with corpsepaint with medieval weaponry, or whatever Third Reich imagery that makes their pale peters reach out and say "Sieg Heil!" A few extra horns up for some choice cover art that looks as if it might have been done by an inmate of a state prison, and the cryptic ESL message on the insert stating A MUSIC OF ELITE FOR ELITE'S MINDS. Standout tracks come from Triumvirat Xul, Bilskirnir, Ecclesia Satani, and Nos Vrolok. The tracklist:

Intro-Nordwind (Germany)

And Die In Silence-Nordwind (Germany)

Fullmoon Rites-Graven (Germany)

Condemnation-Secrets Of The Moon (Germany)

The Secret Doctrine-Triumvirat Xul (Germany)

Schneewuste-Nordreich (Germany)

Nordland Erwache-Holocaustus (Germany)

Sonnenwende-Bilskirnir (Germany)

Arisches Blut-Aryan Blood (Germany)

Bereit-Sieg Oder Tod (Germany)

The Evil Corner-Ecclesia Satani (Poland)

Bloed En Ere-Elfenbloed (Belgium)

Total Krieg-Kwelhekse (Belgium)

Poussiere D'Etoiles-Nuit Noire (France)

La Quintessence Des Ages-Walpurgis (France)

Army Of The Black Death-Bellum (USA)

Cunts-Seemingly, Salivating-Nos Vrolok (USA)

Open Your Eyes-Infernal Hatred (USA)

Abating Life (Outro)-Azrael (USA)

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