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Gorgoroth and related goods…

Gorgoroth - Ad Majorem Sathanas GloriamIt really is hard to believe that on "Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam" (Candlelight Records), their seventh album in more than a decade, Gorgoroth is still one of the "trvest" and "kvltest" Norwegian black metal bands. I mean, come on, let's face it, amusing band name and sketchy extracurricular activities aside, Gorgoroth fucking rules. I often forget just how insanely awesome this band can be, but after all this time they're still plowing through loads of fierce as fuck black metal that blends sheer speed and scathing screams with powerfully dissonant midpaced breaks and atmospheric undercurrents. That's all there is to it, really. This album really is fucking incredible: 8 tracks, all winners, about 32 minutes in total length, the end. It kills.

Of course, Gorgoroth and bassist King recently "mutually agreed" that he would no longer be a part of the band because he has apparently "recently had problems fronting some of the ideological aspects of his band's agenda". This is, interestingly enough, quite a "brilliant" move by Infernus and Gaahl, seeing as King fucking wrote all of the music on "Ad Majorem..."—not to mention the fact that he was the only member of the trio not currently in prison or tied up in colorful litigation that will probably land them in prison. I guess King was too busy, you know, writing music to bother with assaulting innocent civilians and all that truly "evil" business. I guess one of the "ideological aspects" of Gorgoroth's brand of satanism is that violence supersedes all—even the songwriting process. Nice, eh? We get it, guys, you love the devil.

But whatever that means for the future of Gorgoroth, I wasn't kidding when I said that "Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam" is fucking incredible, because it is. I'm loving this shit, and actually find these tracks to be memorable enough to where I can play the album through repeatedly and still enjoy it, which is indeed rare with this genre.

Gorgoroth "Exit"
Gorgoroth "Wound Upon Wound"

I feel like Gorgoroth doesn't get as much "love" from the diehards these days since there are so many "kvlter than thou" black metal bands out there doing things totally raw and by the numbers and whatnot, but these dudes don't fuck around, man. They're still among the best of the best when it comes to the material, and I highly recommend this album:

Candlelight Records
Relapse Records

Jotunspor - Gleipnirs SmederPrior to his untimely exit from Gorgoroth, King began flexing his talents in the intriguing studio project Jotunspor (alongside former Gorgoroth drummer Kvitrafn), whose debut album "Gleipnirs Smeder" is also the first release for the Satanas Rex division of the infamous Cold Spring label. Since the band can certainly speak best for themselves, it is said that "the concept of Jotunspor is strongly fundamental in the old Norse cults and beliefs", and that the album "explores some of the incidents surrounding the creation of the world and Ragnarok—the ultimate doom/transformation", so thus "the lyrics are sung in Norwegian and old Norse tongues". Musically speaking the material takes the cold and atmospheric characteristics of black metal and fuses them against similar programming and ambient textures drawn from experimental noise realms. The result is a rather interesting concoction that tends to rely greatly on the aesthetics of sound—be it slower pulses and dissonant riffing; faster, harsh bursts more akin to traditional black metal (in some respects); or a variety of vocal approaches that tend to rest behind various effects that help to blend them in with the musical elements fairly well—so this is not at all a typical sounding release, especially when compared to the bulk of the black metal genre in particular. Aside from one seven-minute dark ambient track, most of the material covers a lot of ground, making for a very curious and enjoyable effort. I'm already interested in hearing more, so I hope that the future yields additional releases from the Jotunspor camp.

Jotunspor "Ginnungagalder"

Absolutely recommended, so pick this one up if you're looking for some unusual black metal experimentation:

Satanas Rex
The End Records
@ Relapse Records

Comments

  1. I’ve loved Gorgoroth since Under the Sign of Hell. Nothing will top that album for me.

    Did you see Gahl in that Headbanger Documentary? “.......Satan”
    Hilariously disturbing.

    9.15.2006 | By Eric

  2. The entirety of the uncomfortable silence leading up to Gaahl’s “Satan.” statement and the statement itself make up what is without question the most awesome moment of that documentary.  Quite possibly the greatest single moment ever captured on film.

    9.15.2006 | By Andrew Aversionline

  3. when was that on? i missed it. Goddamnit! i wanted to see that. i did see the special on the dicovery channel about death metal and especially deicide. it was pretty biased, a total one-sided fight. like punching a baby. much rather would have watched this though.

    9.15.2006 | By chris

  4. It’s been out on DVD for a couple of months now.  I bought it the day it came out.  It’s worth the money in my opinion.  I wish there were like 8 more hours of bonus interviews, I could watch that shit all day.

    9.15.2006 | By Andrew Aversionline

  5. that discovery channel special last night was terrible.  cool songs

    9.15.2006 | By wes

  6. I prefer Under the Sign of Hell also. But these songs are cool, it seems to be much better than the last one.

    Is great to see their shows too, they’re very cold on stage…

    9.15.2006 | By Anonymous

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