Ungod: The German War Machine That Flies Under Metalhead Radar

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History is full of paradoxes. Twentieth century Germany provides one of the major mysteries of the modern era: Why haven’t the Germans produced more high-quality black metal?

The country has been a heavy metal-stronghold since Neolithic times with a significantly high metalhead-per-capita rate. Furthermore, Germany has spawned more metal bands than any other country in Europe with abundant native labels, zines and distros supporting them. Yet, when it comes to black metal, there’s not much to write home about. (more…)

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Varg on Burzum’s Recording Process

Varg Vikerenes summarized how he recorded all of the initial Burzum albums in less than a day on a recent youtube Video he uploaded to his ThuleanPerspective channel. Varg admits he prefers rehearsal sounds to studio ones, that recorded Belus like a techno album, some of his most recent albums in GarageBand, and how he is unhappy with the Deathcrush style vocals on Burzum. Want to know about his fast-paced writing process, improvisation, and gear? Let’s find out!

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Cóndor – Sangreal (2016)

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Condor again present a wholesale blending of death metal, classical guitar, folk, and progressive rock influences into epic heavy metal songs rather than pretending instrumental masturbation is intelligent like Dream Theater or that alternative rock with power chord chugging and a couple angular or dissonant riffs is metal like Bolzer. On Sangreal attempt to convey the romanticism behind the Arthurian legend, particularly the grail cycle concerning Percival or Galahad restoring fruit and flower to the desolate Waste Land rendered infertile by the sins of the maimed and emasculated Fisher King.

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Thy Invocation of Hell Reprint

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Malaysian label Afterlife Productions has restored and reprinted Southeast Asia’s first black metal zine, Thy Invocation of Hell. It’s packed with interviews from tons of legendary bands, all conducted in their early and formative years, before wannabe rockstar egos and commercialism took hold. Buy it. From the label’s Facebook page:

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Mayhem De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas North American Tour

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Mayhem are touring North America with a setlist composed of their De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas album in its entirely. Mayhem are playing larger venues in many cities (probably due to the publicity from Necrobutcher’s recent book) so this might be a good opportunity for headbangers to see them play some of their only material worth caring out. Maybe Mayhem will throw in a few tracks from Deathcrush as an encore? Maybe Hellhammer won’t bring out that transparent MIDI kit?

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