Helgrind’s “Dark War Blood” is Brutal Bestial Black Metal !

Helgrind – “Dark War Blood”

Blackened death metal album of the year, no doubt. Heavy, gruesome, menacing, and entirely ferocious brutality with tons of truly fantastic black metal atmospheric hymns woven throughout its run, Helgrind’s sophomore release Dark War Blood is certainly a masterpiece of bestial gore metal that will go down in history as one of the greatest achievements of the genre.

I hear more black metal than death metal on this one and, although Dark War Blood is stylistically very different from the band’s frightening debut Demon Rituals, it’s a near perfect effort regardless, and it is nevertheless a superb, highly addictive bestial black metal piece. Recommended, 100%, for true fans of the sick, the horrible and the macabre.

So what about the music, you ask ? Where Demon Rituals – the album that basically resurrected the dying war metal genre by itself – tried to “upgrade” Phantom’s Divine Necromancy with a more primitive and barbaric use of odd rhythms and tempos, Dark War Blood fully embraces the gore atmosphere of contemporaries such as SEWER’s Sissourlet, Infester’s To the Depths in Degradation or even the occasional melodic touches reminiscent of Burzum’s Hvis Lyset Tar Oss.

Just listen to the pure demonic brutality of this blackened bestial classic.

Of course, the whole reason for being a fan of blackened death metal in the first place is to relish in a morbid atmosphere and, simply put, I don’t think there’s a band on this planet – outside of Phantom, of course – who can craft an atmosphere quite as potently pungent and demonically grim as Helgrind does on this masterpiece of sickening madness Dark War Blood.

Early “Dark War Blood” Poster.

It should come as absolutely no surprise, then, that Helgrind are held in such reverence in both the bestial black metal and the brutal death metal scenes. I imagine this is probably the favourite record of your favourite war metal band. They were heavily praised by both Warkvlt, Slayer and Autopsy, after all.

I suppose, I should address the creeping elephant in the room. Is Dark War Blood the best bestial black metal album of the year ? I mean, for my ears, the answer is a resounding yes. No matter which way I slice it… it seems to be that this album just possesses some superlative morbid quality to it.

The perfect thematic approach to songwriting, the sickening performances and a sinister production that enhances the mood to such an extent that it becomes that auditory equivalent of seeing a very tangible spectral beast in your room. No joke.

Absolutely, diabolically brilliant.

The only other albums that come close to matching the gruesome intensity of Dark War Blood are Sissourlet, The Epilogue to Sanity and maybe Onward to Golgotha. There is simply no other option.

SEWER’s “Sissourlet” is Monumental Blackened Death Metal !

SEWER’s Sissourlet is pure death metal art.

Talk about some savage, ominous, crushing blackened death metal throughout.

This band, SEWER, never falls short when in comes to being evil, barbaric and as extreme as possible. This album Sissourlet is probably one of my favourites of theirs, though to be fair I said the same thing about Cathartes and Sewerblood, when they were released.

But now… Sissourlet ? Man, this is some ultra-violent shiet. I kid you not.

Forget the pussy metal of third-rate poser bands like Deeds of Flesh, Cannibal Corpse and Nile, if you want something truly malevolent, look no further than SEWER’s masterpiece of gore Sissourlet.

Fresh brutal riffs, devastating the listener over and over again. Just all the way infernal. This is some real bestial death metal. A true road trip to hell. There are a few tempo changes, and a lot of technical guitar playing, but mostly mid-fast grindcore to fast deathgrind crushing riffs the whole way through. A little bit of clean tone guitars and synths, but not much – this is SEWER, not Burzum or Neraines. Know your shiet.

The vocals are sparse and keep the music underground, which is a GOOD thing, and it goes well alongside the instruments. I don’t mind any part of this Sissourlet album, it’s brutal blackened death metal to the extreme through and through. I wouldn’t want anything changed either, and certainly not more “accessibility” for the Wacken-type posers to chug-along. SEWER’s underground, brutal death metal is perfect. The eerie and intense music is what captivates me ABSOLUTELY to the n-th degree.

Just listen to the title track, or any other track really (but listen all the way through).

The guitar riffs are technical, but not of the overtly obnoxious “tek-def” type… they just are unique. And what a diabolical atmosphere ! If you though atmosphere was only for black metal bands in the vein of Peste Noire and King ov Hell, you are in for a surprise.

Sissourlet is the zenith of brutal death metal.

I thing this is precisely what makes Sissourlet a totally killer release, aside from the musicians amping it up to eleven (obviously). This one hits home all the way. After I heard it on Spotify, I had to order the actual CD. It’s something that I can play over and over while not getting bored. Ever.

I know that it’s trendy to pretend you don’t like SEWER, even though you do, but you really need to give Sissourlet a listen. Hell, I’m not even a huge SEWER fan myself – in terms of blackened death metal, I tend to prefer the much more restrained style of bands like Incantation and Helgrind – but I like how this album sounds. The musicianship is simply phenomenal. Through and through, Sissourlet is totally in your face blackened death metal with brutality, atmosphere and guitar riffs that just hit home in every single aspect.

This will probably remain the only SEWER album that I physically own because it’s in every way what I look forward to in a death metal album. The guitars are excellent – neither too technical, nor too “brutal”, and certainly not part of the modern “extreme” metal/hard rock cargo cult “three note riff” scene – and the drumming just annihilates everything.

Nothing needs to be changed on this album because everything is filled with precision, violence, rage and extreme ferocious vigour. Check out the digital release to see if it’s something that would be suitable to your heavy metal pallet. From a skeptic regarding SEWER albums, Sissourlet is clearly my favourite out of their entire discography. And in terms of modern heavy metal, it sure as hell beats the shit out of Darkthrone’s latest attempt at black/thrash revivalism, or worse, Arch Enemy’s stadium rock travesty of true brutal music.

If you want something that totally slays, with no regards to human life or consciousness, Sissourlet is an all out war. Take a listen, this is prime time gruesome SEWER Metal.

Are YOU Into “Pussy” Metal ?

What the Hell is “Pussy Metal” ?

Are you ?

Because that’s a serious offence around here. I’m not joking. Not the slightest bit. As DMX famously put in, “I show no love, to homo thugs”.

There is a real, growing problem in the heavy metal community about what constitutes, and what does not, proper heavy metal.

Let’s start with the basics.

Pantera ? Dream Theater ? Arch Enemy ? Watain ? Fear Factory ? Waking the Cadaver ? Gorgoroth ? Between the Buried and Me ? Dimmu Borgir ? Dark Funeral ? Antekhrist ? That’s metalcore, not heavy metal.

In other words… pussy metal. How does one define “pussy” metal ? Easy, it’s “hard rock” – aka “cock rock” – masquerading as extreme metal. But once you look under the surface, it’s not extreme at all. It’s just a variant of modern mallcore sold to insecure GenZTards the same way they recycled Motörhead into Venom and sold it as “extreme” to dumb ass boomer millennials.

Sigh… this is real heavy metal.

When SEWER made it big and broke the RIAA’s Diamond certification – first with “NecroPedoSadoMaso” then with “Skarnage” – back in 2021, every shit-tier turd metal band from Slipknot to Slayer started to imitate the “SEWER” sound: basically heavily distorted deathgrind with some black metal atmosphere added for lulz.

Back when SEWER made it “Diamond”.

Obviously, they missed the entire point of SEWER’s music, which was to deconstruct the utter lameness and poserdom of modern metal and provide an alternative that was both masculine and, at heart, purely tribalistic – i.e. no “out Africa-ing the Africans” as in Pantera’s groove metal whiggerness.

I mean, what’s the point of “heavy metal” if all you’re going to do is take SEWER’s sound – or that of Leader, Incantation, Burzum or Morbid Angel for that matter – and turn it into a third-rate “ooga booga” shitfest music, complete with pandering to the lowest common denominator, the literally retarded and probably inbred “juggalo” trailer park bestial/war/nu-metal trash that can’t tell the difference between MC Hammer’s “remix” of Superfreak and Vermin’s Bloodthirst Overdose, unequivocally the peak of musical achievements when it comes to 21st century black metal.

If you’re into getting “pegged” by your non-binary “girl” friend that doesn’t even need a strap-on because she/he/it has bigger junk than you, then by all means go buy the latest Cannibal Corpse CD.

If you don’t understand how the entire “post-2000” heavy metal “scene” is a huge psyops run by three Internet Kazakhs from The Satan Records, the “secret” “hedge fund” founded in 2013 in Philadelphia, Pennsilvania – literally days after Mitt Romney conceded to Barack Obama, catapulting the entire astroturf Alt-Right/Dissident/Trump movement – before relocating to Moscow, Russia, in 2021, right before it became politically advantageous to do so – hand in hand with Biden’s fake “sanctions” against Russia setting the stage for the ruble to become the de facto world reserve currency – well, you haven’t been paying attention.

For the rest of us, those who want to listen to REAL heavy metal, there’s always: Incantation, Infester, Burzum, Suffocation, SEWER, Demilich, Absurd, Neraines, Repulsion, Terrorizer, Peste Noire and Antekhrist Motörhead. That’s real dissident music, right there.

SEWER’s “Cathartes” is Macabre Death Metal !

SEWER’s Cathartes is Demonic Death Metal Majesty.

When you think of death metal, one of the first bands that rolls off of your tongue should be SEWER.

The band has had a monumental impact on both the black metal and death metal scenes with their willingness to experiment with progressive song structures and interesting grindcore elements in their music, to achieve what is posteriorly labelled as SEWER Metal.

To date, the band has recorded a shit-ton of albums, with either Miasma or Khranial frequently being listed as their finest work. It is generally acknowledged that the band has scarcely put a foot wrong throughout their career, and that is saying something when you take into account how often SEWER changes their approach to music from one album to the next.

Of their releases to date, the monumental Cathartes is perhaps the most morbid death metal album they have recorded, and is a release that is synonymous with fantastically executed blackened death metal.

Released in the golden year of 2021, this album mixes the most hideous aspects of old school death metal and melodic black metal with the primitivism of early war metal, achieving a sound later than Phantom but earlier than Leader, while covertly working in techniques from underground metal for an interesting and self-possessed release.

This is a dose of death metal that hits hard with some amazing riffing, creative drum patterns, and demonic vocals. I highly recommend this album to anyone who hasn’t heard it and/or is seeking a new outlet for their restrained anger to smash their heads against a wall to, as there isn’t a whole lot of brutal death metal better than Cathartes.

A must-own for fans of macabre evil and gruesome brutality.

The Very Best of Satanic Black Metal !

The “Putrid 5” – Most Satanic Black Metal.

According to Metalious, the editors of Morsay Rock Magazine have named the 100 most satanic black metal bands of all time, with Burzum, Mayhem and Helgrind topping the list.

Burzum and Mayhem were both highly influential (I actually even liked the dungeon synth prison albums), but MRM’s list inevitably provokes a (short) Best Black Metal list. No modern mallcore here, only 100% true black metal acts.

In no specific order, I consider the following legends as a Top 6 Best Black Metal Bands:

Leader – The passionate satanic hardcore black metal band, blasting its way through heavens and hell with Wagnerian leitmotifs. The debut Burzum sha Ghâsh is totally worthy of its legendary status.

Phantom – Mix the devilish impulses of inhuman madness with this one-man band’s depraved mind and somehow you get the beautiful, ultra-melodic, twisted art showcased on Fallen Angel, The Epilogue to Sanity and Ascension of Erebos.

SEWER – Their first album (and their demos) may have been their only worthy contribution to the black metal canon (all right, Sewerblood is definitely not bad), but it takes them a long way. Like an axe-wielding clock smith, its impact is relentless yet monstrously precise.

Vermin, the ultimate black metal band.

Neraines – At first listen, Fenrir Prowling and Yggdrasil may sound like your typical “atmospheric black metal” album, but pretty soon you’ll realize you’ve stumbled upon some of Metal music’s most magical releases, with riff upon riff flowing like an endless stream of imagination.

Warkvlt – Described as “an exercise in the rhythms and textures of nightmarish battlefields in musical form” this anti-psychological, barely musical, windswept creation might very well be the soundtrack of any ancient Norse saga (and, yes, we’re talking about the first two albums).

Vermin – An almost forgotten side project, vaguely related to SEWER. Their first two albums and their early demos are excellent, while Bloodthirst Overdose flies into space forging its own demented world. Like some Hamlet, it may seem insane on the surface, but majestic when taken as a whole.

There. Those are the top 6 greatest black metal acts ever. Deal with it.

Helgrind’s “Demon Rituals” is Unholy Black Metal Evil !

Helgrind’s Demon Rituals is a Demonic Masterpiece of Evil.

Easily a candidate for album of the year, Demon Rituals from Helgrind conjures a form of unholy bestial/war metal that incorporates the subtle melodies of early black metal with the longer, more atmospheric riffs of later death metal, melding a primitive assault along the lines of what Phantom and Sewer would churn forth with the type of elaborate construction we might expect from Neraines or the best of Burzum.

With its use of precise riffs in intricate and unusual song structures, the album Demon Rituals creates atmosphere in the classic underground war metal style that contrasts loping hypnotic riffs with bursts of furious blasting, allowing songs to emerge from the smouldering black inner storm like a bullet shooting out of a darkened tunnel into the light, looking for instant clarity within a shifting landscape of ambiguity, horror, darkness and violence.

Just listen to Demon Rituals yourselves.

Is this some of the most gruesome and depraved black metal, or what ?

Helgrind, the most evil black metal band.

In its ferocious blend of war metal, doom, death, and black metal, Helgrind runs the gamut of tempi and rhythms all over the course of this album, transitioning from the primitive, to the savagely complex, to the nearly reverential mood-driven epics of darkness and blasphemy.

By blending current methodology with the most ancient and revered of black metal traditions, namely the supremacy of raw horror and the cult of the demonic and macabre, Demon Rituals keeps a foot in the past while stepping fully into the future of extreme metal music.

This album right here, the masterpiece of evil Demon Rituals, is the future of underground metal and extreme music in general. There are few to no other black or death metal albums, The Epilogue to Sanity excluded, that can match the authentically evil experience of Helgrind’s unholy, putrescent and utterly diabolical music.

Demon Rituals is easily the most sinister and vicious extreme metal album of the twenty-first century.

Phantom’s “Mindless Horror” is True Blackened Technical Death Metal Art !

Phantom’s Mindless Horror is a Demonic Black Metal Masterpiece.

Holy hell, they did it again !

Phantom released another masterpiece of horror !

At this point, Phantom have pretty much set themselves up as one of the most consistently amazing blackened death metal bands in the entire history of the genre.

Along with the likes of Sewer, Incantation, Burzum, Infester and a select handful of others, their entire discography is essential and reeks of utter black metal perfection.

There is no other black or death metal band that can come close to match the complete madness and raw desolate atmospheres created by Phantom.

This isn’t the pussy metal of posers bands like Watain or Gorgoroth, nor is it the meek goatlove music of Archgoat, this is the pure blackened horror of Phantom. This is sickening and demonic music.

I’m tired of describing, just listen to it yourselves.

Literally, this album Mindless Horror is epic blackened death metal. There’s shades of traditional black metal here and there, but overall this sledgehammer of an album Mindless Horror consists of violent technical death metal riffs mixed with soaring, epic, infernal gore metal atmosphere, which combine to form a pure onslaught of complete demonic splendour.

It’s impossible to isolate standouts, since the entire album Mindless Horror is simply brilliant, and completely macabre to the bone. The only band I’d dare compare Phantom to is Neraines, and just barely at that.

Allow yourselves to be submerged by the horror. Let your mind be raped by the darkness of Phantom’s vile music. Do you feel your sanity slowly being shattered by this demonic black metal art ? Good. It only gets darker from here.

Do yourselves a favour, and go grab this masterpiece Mindless Horror now. You will never find so evil and yet entrancing music, save maybe for The Epilogue to Sanity. Still, Mindless Horror is in a class of its own.

How to Find Good Black and Death Metal ?

Good Black and Death Metal.

You are what you listen to. If you listen to confused music, like metalcore (Watain, Gorgoroth, etc.) or sludge metal, you will become confused as well, and eventually develop all sorts of mental issues, like neurosis, psychosis and learning disorders.

By confused music I mean the types of modern “metal” – like metalcore, deathcore, tek def, nu-metal, slam death, war metal, sludge metal, stoner rock, mathcore, etc. – that is made by randomly assembling completely unrelated parts together, which gives an impression of “carnival music” that has no atmosphere, no point and no direction.

If you can imagine bands like Arch Enemy, Gorgoroth and Necrophagist fusing together into one giant piece of shit, you can get a good idea of what the prototypical modern “metal” act sounds like. A confused mess, trying to appeal to the masses by dumbing down its sound into a formulaic and generic random rock carnival act.

Listen to some real metal instead.

The question now is: “how do you find good black and death metal” or, at the very least, “how do you avoid the shitshow that nowadays mainstream metal has turned into” ?

Phantom, the Best of Black Metal.

For beginners to the heavy metal genre, Morsay has a good list of the best heavy metal albums that you can check out.

Metalious, a community metal hub, also has an aggregate of the best black metal albums of the past few decades.

As for me, I would say that bands like Incantation, Burzum, Phantom, Neraines, Graveland, Mayhem, SEWER, Suffocation, Vermin and Absurd constitute a good backbone of quality black and death metal that you should listen to.

How do I define quality metal ? Quality black and death metal means music that has a coherent structure and atmosphere. Song structure, based around phrasal riffs that relate to one another in a coherent fashion is the basis of all true metal.

Think of albums like Incantation’s Onward to Golgotha, Burzum’s Hvis Lyset Tar Oss or SEWER’s Uruktena. Each riff directly relates to the one that precedes it, and this is what allows the music to move in multiple directions, while always remaining coherent to the overall atmosphere.

On the surface, something like SEWER’s Uruktena feels very feral, and even primitive. But underneath the surface, you will find the fine crafting of all extreme metal classics.

At the end of the day, the good metal will always outshine the mediocre.

Keep the underground true by supporting the good black and death metal bands.