Ihsahn / Order of the ebon hand

In September there were going to be two interesting black metal acts, namely Ihsahn and Dimmu Borgir. I don't really know either of them, just having heard a few songs. Finally it turned out that I wouldn't be in Athens for Dimmu Borgir, so I chose to go see Ihsahn.

It was a great choice. I did listen to his albums before the concert of course, but not with paying so much attention. I thought I liked what I heard without being too fascinated.

Arriving late to Fuzz club because of celebrations in Aigaleo, I managed to catch only a few songs of Order of the ebon hand. I wanted to see more of them, too bad. But I bought their new album and will give it a listen soon. They are awesome guys who play black metal the way it should be played.

Ihsahn hit the stage exactly on time and the concert started off with some great tunes. I have to check the setlist later, I have no idea what he played, but it was a great mix. I love that he incorporates so many styles and still it is metal, still it is heavy, still Ihsahn. And his voice!! He has enough parts in his Emperor voice and I love it! Really makes you feel connected to the past and his black metal roots.

I also had Mortiis flyers with me and left them at Fuzz. So it was kind of an Emperor night and it felt fantastic. I wish I could see Emperor one day, but until then, this was the closest I can get to it and it was formidable.

Give in to the hunger
Give in to the solitude
Give in to the rapture of life
Give in to the darkness
Mass darkness

- Daedin

Wardruna

It's been a while for me to go to a concert, because of the birth of my baby daughter. But I couldn't let this one pass by me.. Wardruna! I was so excited when the concert was announced and got my ticket right away.

Now most of you probably know that Wardruna's mastermind, Einar Selvik, is also Kvitrafn from Gorgoroth. He played drums in one of the most notorious black metal bands coming from Norway.

This is Einar years later on the same spot with his son, just love this image so much!

Also in Wardruna for the first two albums was Gaahl, bandmate in Gorgoroth and interested partly in the same things than Einar, old Norse tradition and lore.

After quitting Gorgoroth, Kvitrafn formed Wardruna and in this found his true calling. He recreated old Norse instruments, learned to play them and also studied old songs, runesongs, magic and power of the runes etc. The music he created from this is not a copy of old songs, but something new and truly amazing.

The Runaljod trilogy is one song for every rune in the old futhark, the resulting three albums are fantastic. I love them very much and I was delighted to recognise many songs they played in athens. The sound is fantastic, so ritualistic, spiritual, full of rhythm. It makes you feel in connection with nature, with your pagan roots, with your ancestors. It was a true experience!!

I'm so glad i could go to see this concert and dive into this music fully. it's just so more powerful live. gotta listen to all wardruna albums again now. it's for people like Einar that traditions, old knowledge and mythology is not dying out, yet.

who shall sing me into the death-sleep sling me
when i walk on the path of death
and the tracks i tread are cold, so cold

- Daedin

Non serviam

I must say that I always wondered if anyone was ever going to write a book for rotting christ. they are greece's most influential and famous black metal band. it finally happened with the help of dayal patterson, of course. in a previous post i showed all his books that i possess and he is, for me at least, the best black metal journalist out there.

it was announced that he would come to athens on december 15th and sign books, together with sakis, themis and jim. there was no way i'd lose this opportunity! so together with my daughter we arrived at bowel of noise record store for the signing.

we met sakis, dayal and jim, themis hadn't arrived yet and i didn't stay around to wait because of my girl with me who started to get hungry. but it was great to meet these three gentlemen and have the book signed! chatting with them a bit was great, too and i enjoyed the nice conversations.

i forgot to ask jim for a picture, but i later found this screenshot of a video where we are all at the same spot, so this has to do for now.

i read the book already and it was amazing! it covers the 30 year span of the band's career and shows how persistent sakis was to keep the band going. we are lucky to have them still around and to still give us new albums! i'm also happy that i could help dayal with some scans for the book and thus have my name in the thank you list. how awesome :)

the new album will be out shortly and i cannot wait. the songs that have been released already promise much! non serviam indeed.

- Daedin

In the name of Satan, the ruler of the earth, the king of the world,
I command the forces of darkness to arise from the depths to attend us…

Best of 2018

another year went by! it’s been a year with lots of music, but not so many concerts due to the birth of my daughter :) still, we went to see tonis sfinos at the burger festival, we went to under the quarry III (a metal festival!), onirama at the christmas light opening and some other street festivals! all this together with the little pumpkin :D i’m glad i could at least get a small taste of concerts and festivals :) now on to music!

Full lengths

Summoning - With doom we come

i remember my excitement when this was announced. so many years with silence from camp summoning and then this spectacular album!! it got mixed reactions, but i love it so much. there are a few songs that just make me weep with joy. melodies and riffs that grab hold of you and won’t let you go until you succumb to the atmosphere. no wonder i chose one song from this album as my song of the year. i’m so happy they are back and i hope they will not vanish again in a decade long sleep..

Solstice - white horse hill

solstice finally wrapped up things for this album. it’s a solid solstice record with everything we love from these masters of doom. epic soundscapes, epic tunes. lyrics you want to scream along to. did i say epic?

make a change…kill yourself - IV

there cannot be a year without some suicidal black metal, right? make a change… kill yourself with their fourth album, as always just numbered, as always a work of finest depressive shit.

Ghost - Prequelle

new ghost album!! :D this has been another huge highlight. what an album it is!! it’s poppy, yes, but it’s SO good, so catchy, so retro, so freaking entertaining. Ghost definitely did it again. i hear “see the light” and get goosebumps. what a song!

Zeal and Ardor - Stranger fruit

zeal and ardor have been a favourite of mine from the beginning. their new album taps into the same vein, but is short from being boring. the same stomping rhythms, the same undeniable dark ritualistic charm. it’s great to see that their unique idea wasn’t something that just works for one album. there surely is much more in store for them.

the dead creed - pieces… to heal a soul in the darkest hour

i was really excited for this one. the dead creed is something special and unheard of. he calls himself monasteric death metal or something like that, but it’s just a guy with a guitar, doing incredible things with it! fantastic stuff.

Behemoth - I loved you at your darkest

behemoth didn’t have an easy task. after the satanist, how could they continue? for me the satanist was near perfection. now ILYAYD got some bad reviews, which i cannot understand, though. i admit i’m not into it as into the satanist, but still.. a song like bartzabel just crushes into you, slowly, heavy, this is the stuff i love!

Daimon - …from the black caverns

a greek project that was recommended to me. some solid greek black metal there! awesomely dark and haunting.

Bahkauv - Et Bahkouv kütt

now this is some dungeon synth from aachen! fantastic stuff, really glad i discovered this. it’s based on stories from the region. now i would really like to know the stories and reading them while listening to this haunting stuff!

Iselder - Gwaglewch

welsh black metal! i do love how they seem to be more in touch with their welsh roots than other acts. great album, menacing but melodic! if celtic druids would go to the dark side, this is what it would sound like ;)

Dwarrowdelf - the sons of Fëanor

how cool is this! when browsing for some tolkien black metal i stumbled upon this guy. what a fantastic album! this is exactly what i want in music! i love the concept, one song for every son, for every death. brilliant! the songs are epic, the soundscapes are menacing, full of grief but beauty.

Acherontas - Faustian Ethos

acherontas is a band that has been around for some time and i had heard about them, too, but never really got into them. during a bandcamp sale i decided to get their new album. that definitely was a good idea! this is the greek occult black metal sound right there.

Lucifer’s Child - The Order

george from rotting christ plays in lucifer’s child and they released their second album this year. very occult, very dense and gripping. this is the left hand path, this is The Order and it is hauntingly good.

Shibalba - Stars Al-Med Hum

i had seen shibalba open for dodheimsgard. live this was really difficult, you need another atmosphere for it, the songs are slow, minimalistic, building up. later on i listened to them at home, though, and came to love them. this is their new album and this is the kind of meditative, ritualistic stuff that can give you chills.

Magmakammer - Mindtripper

norwegian doom!! stumbled upon them by pure chance. what a great album!! it’s been a while since i explored some doom, since i had moved into other directions, but here is an album that shows me exactly why i’ll always be a doom metal girl at heart.

Wardruna - skald

i love wardruna! their trilogy was something absolutely stunning. now skald is more acoustic, more lyric based. i must admit i prefer the trilogy, still this is fantastic music, a norse legacy, this is here to preserve verses that otherwise might be lost.

DreamLongDead - umbra

i love DreamLongDead. they are a band that truly doesn’t fit in any category and they don’t give a damn. they have doom elements i love, they can be death, punk, thrash, black, everything. their newest album is again a crazy trip, pounding in your head.

EPs - live - remix

dreams of nature - 4 band split “mater natura excelsa”

i love dreams of nature! here we have a four band split, dreams of nature added two songs. this makes me long for a new full length! the other three bands were great to check out, too (elderwind, sorrow plagues, de la nostalgie)

kalmankantaja - tuulikannel EP

kalmankantaja are the only finns so far, i think! what happened to my list?? where are my finns at?? i think last year i had five or so, this year i see norwegians and greeks conquered my list, haha! but yes, as always some awesome tunes from kalmankantaja.

Mortiis - the perfect reject

mortiis is again in this list, ha!! and this time with remixes from perfectly defect. this is so awesome, i sometimes like the remixes more than the original, haha! i just wish mortiis would do some new stuff! but ok, as long as he feeds us something every year to keep us salivating more, we’re all good! xD

Behemoth - Messe noire - satanist live

this live album is special for me. i saw them on that tour here in athens and this has kind of started a small musical revolution for myself. i’m forever grateful. i’ll always get chills during o father, o satan, o sun.

Deadspace - live and feral / mouth of scorpions

deadspace, those crazy fuckers! awesome live album, wish i could catch them some time live, but that’s difficult, them being australian! they also released a new EP this year and i must say that i have gotten into them again after a little break.

daagh - EP

who says the norwegian black metal scene is dead? who?? this here proves that norway will always be spearheading the black metal community and i don’t care what others say. you just have to find the gems!

Iselder/Merciless Savage - Annûn

Iselder not only released a full album, but also a split with another welsh band, representing the south and the north. here i must mention marwolaeth records. if you want to find welsh black metal, here is the place.

Best song of the year:

Summoning - Silvertine

this song opens with a melody that makes me weep elven tears. genius, absolutely genius! i listen to this sometimes when going for a run and i have to hold myself back to just start dancing to it. this is what tolkien black metal is all about. THIS. SO MUCH.