Early Enslaved as well
Jim, the more I think about what you mentioned, this also arises
those albums were made by people who were 100% focused on creating amazing and emotional art.
it's too bad that these same people generally lose that focus, and start to focus on other things (money, popularity)...things which absolutely destroy art.
This is probably also testament to why you're a moderator, as Early Enslaved is the first band of the second wave of the (identifiably) Black Metal genre that pops into my mind that clearly represented Asatru, Heathenism and Nordic antiquity aggressively, undiluted in such a way that other bands dared not to venture into, whether it be due to lack of interest, or fleeting type of flirtation with the aesthetic. Simply popping a Mjollnir into your logo or around your neck, wearing armor and dress akin to the dark-ages period and taking a pseudonym from Scandinavian mythology has always been popular in this culture, but Enslaved wrote propaganda as much as they wrote lyrics. Whatever they say nowadays seems much like explanations away from heated dogma; I have their first DVD and the interview in the special features is less than inspirational. It's also contradictory to their original lyrical expression:
Midgards Eldar
"The call of the Gjallarhorn
Return to the ring of our forefathers gods
The flames of Midgard's fires and ancient mystisism still are
Asgardsreien rides with terror above the village
Mjolner is swung, thunder and lightening!
The landmarks of the Vikings
Wolves and ravens guards the throne"
Svarte Vidder
"The ravens are flying, the one eyed watches
Into the fog, shadows appear
Memories from the first empire covered with gold
Runes scratched in, scratches in by hatred
The hordes of the one eyed are riding once again
Hammer crushes cross
Inverted by the unbound
Dark clouds gather, the light retreats
Burned landscape, where it earlier bloomed
Battle fields for the first
A black empire, eternal winter
Frozen fields, eternal cold
Lightening and thunder commands from the first
Eternal storms, an evil monsoon
A wall of darkness
The voice is calling, the circle completed
The age of wolves
Hunger and despair
Mother earth
Expect your death
Warriors are gathered through the dream
Re-conquering the old norse throne
Under new flags
With the swords held high
The ravens are flying, the one eyed watches
Into the fog, shadows appear
Falling icons in a holy war
Black mountain plateaus the battle is won
The age of wolves
Hunger and despair
Mother earth
Expect your death"
Wotan
"Naked, waste landscape
Vast plains lead to the seashore in the west
A northern wind sweeps over dead bodies
A stranger has entered the domains of the vikings
Die not lying sick, dastardly coward
Draw sword, fight with the war gods
Wotan!
We shall fight until we see Bitrost
We shell fight until Heimdal flows the Gjallarhorm
We shall fight for our domains
We shall fight with the war gods
Wotan!
Die not lying sick, dastardly coward
Draw sword, fight with the war gods
Wotan!"
Clearly, contained in their lyrics is as much propaganda as there is poetry. Enslaved played with spirit, and I believe this is the very same spirit originally mentioned in the OP's drunken rambling. They had a mission to ignite an interest of active participation in ancient practices. When a band is motivated at such a level, I think this motivation becomes the spirit that a band like Enslaved played with, and propelled their mature and advanced writing technique. I think what separated them from others is that they believed they were creating hymns to represent the Gods and the culture they so vigorously believed in, whereas what we can see in other examples is that bands tend to adopt this thematic primarily for the focus of standing out, explaining a lot of the lessening of the spirit.