My buddy Nathan sent me this link to a Black/Doom Metal ballet company that’s performing here in New York City next month. Ballet to extreme Metal… I don’t know, but I suppose it’s about time. I do like most of the bands (except for Arsis, they blow).

I’m mulling over whether I have the attention span and willingness to get a ticket and see it. I suppose it’s not something that’s going to sell out, so I have some time.

KFC is using Black Metal to promote one of their sandwiches. Hilarious and a bit retarded at the same time. I assume this commercial had to have been aimed at the European market. The band name, “Helvetica”, is a great touch.

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Since when is Black Metal with naked, fat old ladies in corpsepaint not a good time?

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I really dig Carpathian Forest.

While I was in San Francisco last week, post Hawaii, I went out to a club in the mission district to see the Japanese Punk/Comic/Costume band Peelander-Z one evening. After a couple lame-ass and tired bands finished their sets and the main act went on stage in their costumes, I took a mess of photos of what was a decidedly rowdy concert. Peelander-Z are hilarious and judging from the exuberant and violent actions of the crowd at the club, everyone loves them.

After I got back to New York, I hit BB Kings to see the Death Metal band, Daath and Swedish Black Metal bands, Naglfar and Dark Funeral. I noticed that there was more than a healthy population of South American guys under five feet in height and wearing corpsepaint in the crowd. I liked Daath a lot. I have a few Naglfar albums, which I think are pretty good, but for their first American show, they were fairly underwhelming. Adequate, would be a good descriptor. Dark Funeral was interesting to see live. They’re pretty old and fat for corpsepaint and all the leather bondage shit they wear. They’re a good band, but they look fucking stupid. I don’t really consider them real Black Metal, more like a hybrid with Death Metal. I like them, but they’re not exactly high on my list of top bands. The whole grim and cold Black Metal act falls flat on their beer guts and their lead singer seems like a bit of a douchebag as far as stage presence goes. Still, they were good. Embarrassing looking, but good. Photos of the concert can be found here.

A couple nights ago I dragged my still semi-sick ass out to BB King’s on 42nd Street to see a few bands. The main headliner was Nile, who I didn’t know too much about. Mainly I was there to see ChthoniC, the Melodic Black Metal band from Taiwan. Since it was primarily a Death Metal show, graphic band tees were in full effect, there was a hell of a lot of hair, as well as an extremely large representation in the crowd from the South American continent. Rock hard, my Spanish amigos. Eighty-percent of the metal acts on this planet would tank if it wasn’t for your die-hard loyalty to head-banging.

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More tunes from Emusic. This time, it’s metal (big change there)! Specifically some fucking Black Metal madness! I’ve been a fan of Black Metal for a good while. I love it, especially the old shit like Burzum and Darkthrone. Seeing Immortal reunited live at BB Kings about a month ago was one of the most fucking unbelievable head-banging moments of my life (not to mention eardrum damaging). Black Metal is the shit. That said, here are some good albums I’ve nabbed off of Emusic lately:

Carpathian Forest is one of my all-time favorite Black Metal bands. Lead singer, Nattefrost has two solo albums out, “Blood and Vomit” being the first. For some reason, Emusic has the artist’s name misspelled in their database (I even emailed them, geek that I am), so it’s kind of buried. If you can get into raw, fast and lo-fi Black Metal (which, admittedly, not everyone can do), then this is one of those must-have albums. There’s pissing, vomiting (enough to make you fast-forward if you’re eating), plenty of songs about Hell, Satan, whores and fucking. It’s an all-around offensive masterpiece. Music to sexually abuse the elderly with. Get that shit, slap on some black leather, spikes and some corpsepaint and go burn something down!
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Last night, I saw the Norwegian Black Metal band, Immortal live at B.B. Kings here in New York City. It was awesome, though I would have liked to hear more songs from my favorite album of theirs and some fire breathing would have been pretty cool (I’m guessing the fire codes won’t allow it here). There were plenty of spikes, corpsepaint, smoke machines and an audience near entirely in black clothing. I managed to get up in front of the stage and the show was loud enough to make the fabric of my jeans shake against my leg. I left the show completely wrecked, wandered down to 34th and threw my ass on a train to Brooklyn. I went to bed with my ears ringing.

This morning, I feel like my eardrums have been punched in. I’m old and already have below optimal hearing, so I think from now on, I’m going to wear ear filters. I’ve heard good things about these ones and i think I’ll give them a whirl. I just wish they weren’t so dorky looking.

Plenty of show photos can be seen here.

1349 was not a band I immediately liked upon first hearing. As time went on I came to appreciate them, grabbing all their albums. Unlike Burzum, Immortal, Darkthrone, Gorgoroth and a lot of the other second wave Black Metal bands I love, 1349 has a very blitzkrieg and unruly style. It’s fast, raw and chaotic Black Metal.

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What is perhaps my all-time favorite Black Metal band, Gorgoroth, has finally made their first music video. The song is “Carving A Giant”, off the album they released last year. A bit late, but nearly all of them were in prison at the time so it had to wait, I guess. The video’s an attempt at recreating their infamous 2004 concert in Poland that resulted in blasphemy charges and the police seizing all video of the event, which was being filmed for a DVD (three years later, the band has still not received the footage from the police).

Awesome. Gorgoroth are hardcore, motherfuckers. Gaahl rules. Here’s a link in case the above embedded video isn’t coming through for you.

Here’s links to (what I consider) an overall awesome, (yet at times questionable, but definitely more than partially real and totally fucked) 5-part documentary about one of my all-time favorite Norwegian Black Metal bands, Gorgoroth and it’s oft-incarcerated singer, Gaahl. If cheesy at first, the last two episodes are the serious shit. Gorgoroth is a major bad-ass band. They have an excellent presence, philosophy, atmosphere, sound and image. I have all their albums—you should too.

True Norwegian Black Metal - part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5