I was not
particularly looking forward to this album - "the album that founded and
named the Black Metal scene" is not a label that I would personally take
great pride in receiving, nor experiencing.
The first listen
through, I really, really struggled to find any merit at all. The guitar was
too fuzzy, the singing was both overblown and poor, and there was no real
variety at all, with the songs seeming to merge into one long dirge. However,
after a few rounds, I started to pick out some more impressive moments, such as
the stacatto drumming on Raise the Dead, the intro guitar on Don't Burn the
Witch, and the crude yet engaging narrative underpinning Teacher's Pet.
There are
disappointing moments (the "get your tits out" break down on
Teacher's Pet being one). The guitar is too often overly distorted, the levels
make elements of the band hard to hear, and the subject matter is repetitive.
However, if you appreciate that the band were performing with their tongue in
their cheek, and no small talent, it makes the album a much easier one to
enjoy.
It's hard to listen
to this sort of album with modern ears and fully appreciate its impact,
especially when you are fairly familiar with the Metal genre. With repeated
listens, you can hear the embryonic sounds of Iron Maiden, Metallica, and
certainly Black Sabbath and the Black Label Society. I'm not going to listen to
it many more times, but I don't doubt I'll hear echoes of it in many other
albums.
Chloe's
album rating: 4
Chloe's
favourite track: 9. Countess Bathory
Olly's
album rating: 4
Olly's
favourite track: 1. Black Metal
Next week is 774.
Snivilisation by Orbital.
No comments:
Post a Comment