Most people who have read underground 'zines for a few years will have heard of Moonblood. They are a legendary band, period. 'Blut & Krieg' was their first LP, recorded in early 1996, and was limited to 333 hand-numbered copies. The packaging is very fitting, with the front cover (drawn by one of the fellows from Funeral Frost) depicting a heathen assault on christian temples...

The opening track, 'In a Bloody Night of Fullmoon' (the album opens with an intro, 'Midnight' actually), brings to mind 'Det som en gang var' from Burzum's 'Hvis lyset tar oss' in many ways. It's slow paced, with a trance like guitar/keyboard riff that will have you scratching your head wondering 'where have I heard that one before'. It has that undeniable Moonblood touch though...

Of course there's numerous tracks that represent the Moonblood style (raw and traditional black metal, but with powerful melodies), such as 'In a Bloody Night of Fullmoon'. Gaamalzagoth has always been, and will always be one of my favorite vocalists. His distinct delivery is clear, but manages to stay somewhere between a scream and rasp, which works nicely of course.

"...and snow covered the lifeless bodies" starts out in the same way as their track 'Moonstruck' does, but instead of moving into a high energy riff, stays doomy and bleak throughout. "Blut & Krieg" kicks off the B side with the same feeling, with some light keyboards in the background that have that amazing 80s Sci-fi feeling to them. Black, black stuff...

"Under the Cold Fullmoon" finishes off the album, and after a slight bass rumbling blasts into a fast paced and freezing guitar/drum/vocal assault. That nasty feeling in my gut resurfaces, reassuring me that Moonblood are one of the few bands out there capable of translating black metal emotions into music.

An exceptional and TRULY underground band.

© 2000 brand