Monthly Metal Mixtape: July 2021

I don’t know about anybody else, but I always find myself listening to less metal during the summer. There’s just something about the hotter weather and the brighter sun that just feels something contradictory. Regardless, dig into some of these for a variation on your summertime jams.

Feminazgûl – No Dawn for Men (2020, Self-Released)

• Trying something different this time – instead of long, rambling paragraphs, we’re going rapid fire bullet points.
• First off, in the pantheon of awesome names for black metal bands, Feminazgûl definitely deserves a place. A portmanteau of feminazi and nazgûl is brilliant, especially with lyrical themes focusing on feminism, anti-fascism, and Tolkien.
• In a wonderfully fun coincidence, Margaret Killjoy, who handles virtually all of the instruments here, is also an author, whose work I stumbled upon at work in what can only be referred to as a revelatory discovery. Her Danielle Cain stories are short novellas about anarcho-squatters hunting demons. It’s fantastic.
• Musically, there’s a lot more mid-paced work going on here. The opener “Illa, Mother of Death” kind of has this slow, industrial-feeling pace, with these ren-faire-esque atmospherics going on in the background, thanks to the mournful accordion. “I Pity the Immortal” has this martial paced drumming. Mid-paced with underlying atmosphere is their thing.
• Vocalist Laura Beach has an absolutely throat ruining rasp, and it really shines on tracks like “The Rot in the Field Is Holy” or “Bury the Antlers With the Stag.” Speaking of “Bury the Antlers With the Stag,” this is the most ripping black metal track here, it’s fast-paced and it kicks ass.
• Instrumental “Look Not to Erebor” is the most blatantly Tolkien thing, borrowing some soundscapes. While “Forgiver, I Am Not Yours” is this hazy/foggy interlude piece. It’s a neat change of pace.
• For good measure, “To the Throat” and “In the Shadow of Dead Gods” are both re-recordings from their demo. “To the Throat” in particular shows them excelling at that mid-paced, long form black metal. – Steve O

Hellhammer – Satanic Rites (1983, Prowling Death Records)

I loved Celtic Frost growing up but I never got into Hellhammer until about 10 years ago. Maybe I wasn’t in the right mindset to appreciate it back then. I love them now though; along with any band that clearly worships them. That love is perhaps less tied to Hellhammer itself and more in how bands took their defining traits and made a career of it. It’s so strange to me that they received mixed reviews when their first demos were being sent out. They obviously inspired people who were more in tune to black metal and other extreme genres but there was a lot of critical backlash. Even Celtic Frost got some negative press back when they were starting because of the perceived re-branding of Hellhammer as Celtic Frost. And while there are similarities, Frost is more polished; more refined in its portrayal of chaos. Frost represented a shift in another direction; an evolution of what they were doing in Hellhammer. Regardless, this is a classic 1st wave black metal album; shit production, sloppy, raw. Clearly indebted to Venom but with a strong Sabbath influence as well. It makes for a great bridge between punk and metal. Satanic Rites wouldn’t seem out of place next to a Varukers record. More and more I realize the similarities of 1st wave black metal and UK82. Similar tone and riffs. Atonal bending on guitar after a few repetitions of the riff. The drumming frequently employs the d-beat technique and is not afraid to play in a manner that goes outside the norm; punctuating important passages in an almost tribal fashion. Jorg Neubart walked so that Dale Crover could fly. You also see the use of atypical song structure. However, the most important similarity between 1st wave black metal and UK82 is the rejection of tradition and the embracing of chaos and darkness. Black metal obviously went more extreme in its celebration of chaos and darkness. Branching out from those similarities, Hellhammer (like all black metal bands from this time) steered headlong into satanic themes and imagery. They cultivated a dark and sometimes strange atmosphere with dirge-like breakdowns that are indebted to Sabbath. It is in these moments where this album really shines. Satanic Rites is the best of both worlds in regard to punk and metal. It’s funny how metal demos make perfect punk albums. – Cry Baby Hank

Mystic Storm – From the Ancient Chaos (2020, Self-Released)

“How is this so good?!” is an exclamation that came out of me repeatedly as I threw on for the first time this self-released full-length debut from this basically unknown band from St. Petersburg, Russia. Mystic Storm have struck gold with an incredibly rock solid foray into eclectic thrash and melodic heavy metal sounds with just a dash of influences across the metal spectrum. This album is a riff-fest and a masterclass in songwriting that strings together those riffs in a way that is incredibly engaging. Tension builds and releases through variations and tempo shifts. Variety is the spice of life between songs with unmistakable Mercyful Fate-esque darkness to them or the almost folk metal adjacent Clang of Swords with appropriately placed medieval battle sound effects. The band is great at blazing speed and they are great when they slow down. Immediately headbangable and immediately recognizable as something great for the history-knowing metalhead who understands where these sounds originated in traditional heavy metal, thrash, proto black metal and the like. Nothing here is really truly new feeling, but it all just hits so great. Their vocalist Anna has great delivery that ties everything together varying from your typical heavy thrash fiery singing to perfectly placed shrieks and growls. Sarah at Banger TV is an absolute wizard at finding these heavy metal obscurities the world over so I’m always glad when I throw on her videos and find stuff like this. It just rules so hard—some of the best traditional thrashy heavy metal stuff I’ve heard in a long time. – Mike Tri