SLAYER -SEASONS IN THE ABYSS (1990)

On a 180 gram vinyl reissue from 2013 by American Recording.

Cannot tell you enough how much this record has meant to me. Before this Metallica and Megadeth especially their 80's stuff had been my gods of the Thrash Metal scene. Slayer but soon also Kreator and Sepultura showed me another side of this amazing genre.

Starting out with the classic Slayer staple War Ensemble that I had seen and heard on the European Headbanger's Ball show on MTV. Followed by the almost equality amazing Blood Red and Spirit In Black, two of the most underrated Slayer songs ever in my opinion.

Expandable Youth is a great song but the lyrics compared to the serial killer inspired following Dead Skin Mask it's clear which one I played the most on my CD that I bought in the early 90's. Actually this was bought before my two favorite Slayer records ever Hell Awaits (1985) and Reign In Blood (1986).

Hallowed Point wasn't one I played that often when the Seasons In The Abyss CD was purchased but on the following live album Decade Of Aggression (1991) I realized it was indeed a great song.

The next one Skeletons Of Society was a weird one at first. I soon enjoyed not just the opening riff but the entire song. Remember borrowing the CD to a friend at school but that fool did not like that one...

Temptation is probably the weakest song on Seasons In The Abyss still a great one though. Born Of Fire was another one that caught my ears with the live version once again with the Decade Of Aggression album.

And the ending Seasons In the Abyss song... Still almost 30 years later it's still one of the best Slayer has ever recorded in my opinion.

Remember what effect Slayer had on me as a youth. I had grown up listening to Iron Maiden, Ozzy, Mötley Crüe, Judas Priest and a bunch of others and was a huge fan of every band I liked but with Slayer it became a pure obsession.

They were the band that made me grow my hair long and only wear band t-shirts (even if I did that mostly before that anyway). But the band on the t-shirt became more important.

Admitted before that as a teenager I was a bit spoiled and could afford a couple of CD's every month. Being younger when I discovered Slayer I didn't have that much money so the wait for instance to buy the debut Show No Mercy (1983) felt like an eternity.

However I do believe that one gets a closer "connection" to that album one craved after became that more intense is the best way I can describe it as.

Anyway the Seasons In The Abyss record is an absolute classic and a most have in any collection. Also with the lineup I always associate whenever I think of Slayer:
Jeff Hanneman, Dave Lombardo, Kerry King and Tom Araya.

BATHORY - HAMMERHEART (1990) & TWILIGHT OF THE GODS (1991)

Hammerheart the limited edition gatefold first print vinyl on Noise International. Not often that I find such gems as this one in my own midsized Swedish hometown (approx 100 000).

Twilight Of The Gods vinyl is a 2003 reissue on Black Mark Production.

Been listening too Bathory extensively for quite some time so I thought of doing a 2 part series of their viking albums. This is part I or II:

Hammerheart & Twilight Of The Gods were the 5th & 6th Bathory albums. Hammerheart being the first release in their "viking era". Sure there were hints of it with songs like Odens Ride Over Nordland; A Fine Day To Die and also the title track from their previous Blood Fire Death (1988) record.
Other bands had released viking themed songs long before. But here Bathory go all into full Viking Metal mode and the Hammerheart album was the first of its kind.

Believe I bought both these albums on CD back in 1996 it could maybe even been in 1997 at the same time. Because the Jubileum I & II compilations had many of the best songs and being 16 years old one had to prioritize albums to buy.

Hammerheart didn't quite blow me away like the albums Blood Fire Death; Under The Sign Of The Black Mark; The Return and the debut Bathory had done. I appreciated the songs that appeared on the compilations especially Shores In Flames and Song To Hall Up High.

But it didn't take long before I realized just how excellent the album really is. It starts perfectly with the already mentioned Shores In Flames and it's 11 min of pure amazing Scandinavian Viking/Black Metal at its finest. Then another excellent song Valhalla also a long one 9,5 min.

Already 2 songs into Hammerheart one can hear especially where especially the early Viking/Pagan Metal bands from the Norwegian Black Metal scene found their inspiration. Bathory were truly the godfathers of the Scandinavian scene.

Baptised In Fire And Ice and Father To Son are both amazing songs and just like almost all the other songs on the album quite long but feels way shorter. Actually the shortest song on the album is the 2,5 min long Song To Hall Up High.

I'm not sure when Home Of The Once Brave was written. But it sounds more like something like a less refined song from the follow-up Twilight Of The Gods rather then a Hammerheart song. Still one of my favorites on the record though.

Now for a long and maybe controversial topic. I really like One Rode To Asa Bay but I got to be in the right mood to fully appreciate it. Still one of their most overrated songs in my opinion. It wouldn't be my choice to make a promo video for that one from Hammerheart. The video they did was really impressive and spectacular though.

Don't know but I have this love/hate relation to One Rode To Asa Bay. Love and hate are very strong words that I wouldn't use for it but those describes my feelings for the song best.

The 10,5 min feels very long sometimes when I listen to it. Also I wouldn't have it as late on the record either. That's my opinion on One Rode To Asa Bay let's move on.

Altogether Hammerheart is an amazing album and my 2nd favorite of the viking records and that's definitely a great rating for it. The highs might be a little better on Hammerheart but I think that Twilight Of The Gods is a much more even record and the best one of all the viking albums Bathory did.

Starting with the 14 min title track Prologue - Twilight of the Gods - Epilogue the sound and production is more refined on this album and it already shows in the opening song. Even if it's a great opener I can hear why it was the ending song of the compilation Jubileum II.

Also I think that Quorthon's vocals has evolved so much for the better on Twilight Of The Gods.

Through Blood By Thunder is another song that appeared on one of the Jubileum albums and is a personal favorite on the album. The 10,5 min Blood And Iron is another one that I really enjoy.

I know that it sounds like I'm repeating myself I'll try and mix it up the text a bit. Under The Runes is a top-3 song on this album amazing guitars on that one. To Enter Your Mountain begins with this Folk music feeling to it and guess what? I think it's a great song even if I know some don't like that particular one.

Bond Of Blood has a very interesting story behind it. That one was recorded as In Nomine Satanas in 1987 and that version wasn't released until Jubileum Volume III (1998). The lyrics are of course way different from each other. Both versions are great but I do prefer Bond Of Blood slightly more maybe because I heard it for so long before on Jubileum II in 1995. It's in my- top 3 songs on this record.

The song Hammerheart that confusingly appears on Twilight Of The Gods does really stand out on the record because it's so different from the other material. It took me many listens before I learned to like that one but when I did it's a really great song.

That's my opinions on Hammerheart and Twilight Of The Gods two brilliant records that should belong in any serious collection. I don't know many who prefer Twilight Of The Gods over Hammerheart but if you're one of them feel free to leave me a comment.

I'll do post II about Blood On Ice (1996); Nordland I (2002) and Nordland II (2003) soon. Usually don't do the same band two times in a row so we'll what I post next.

DANZIG II: LUCIFUGE (1990)

On a European first print vinyl released by Def American Recordings/Phonogram.

Glenn Danzig has been involved in many amazing bands and albums but this one is my absolute favorite in his entire discography. This is the follow-up album to the self titled debut Danzig (1988).

Sure that especially the debut Danzig but also Danzig 4P (1994) are amazing albums. Danzig III How The God Kills (1992) have many great songs but is my least favorite of those four.

This second Danzig record is really special in my opinion. It wasn’t always the case I considered that though. Remember it took me many listenings before realizing its glory way back in the early 90’s when I got it on CD. Very often when I'm meet with such a challenge the record can grow into a beast of an album.

At first I only liked Under Her Black Wings; Long Way Back From Hell and Snakes Of Christ. Nowadays I don't think there's a bad moment on the entire record.

Probably many people like me discovered Danzig (also Samhain & Misfits) thanks to Metallica wearing their t-shirts on stage and band photos. Also the covers they did of Misfits.

What really made me buy my first Danzig album back in the day was when I saw the video to Mother. Believe my older sister had recorded it onto a VHS-tape also. Then when I saw the promo video for Under Her Black Wings I of course wanted this album also because the 1st one was so amazing.

Danzig was so different from the bands that I was into at the time Metallica & Megadeth. This was also before I discovered Slayer, Sepultura, Morbid Angel, Entombed and so on.

The Danzig II: Lucifuge album has so many different elements on it. Like Blues on the amazing songs I’m The One and Killer Wolf (which they made a promo video for). Besides the already mentioned songs I want to point out some other ones. Another video was made for Devil's Plaything it got a bit of a punk vibe to it. They strangely didn't do a video for the amazing Tired Of Being Alive.

777 incorporates a slide guitar that almost gives it a Country feeling. Blood And Tears got late 50's Rock influences and is done excellent. The ending song Pain In The World is Doom Metal and Black Sabbath sounding done in the Danzig way.

The four first Danzig records was still being played every once in awhile when I was deepest into the Black Metal scene in the 90's. Their music really felt like it was more "evil" then many Black Metal bands that got recognition in the 90's.

After the 4th record I lost interest for buying new Danzig albums. Although I got some of them on CD that my sister gave to me because she don't listen to physical media anymore.

There's some great songs he has written since but none that could match anything on Danzig II: Lucifuge. All in all this is a masterpiece of an album.

MAYHEM - LIVE IN LEIPZIG (1993)

On a digipack CD released on the Italian label Avantgarde Music from 1996.

This was actually the first official Black Metal live album that I ever bought in the 90’s. Remember mailordering this and Transilvanian Hunger (1994) by Darkthrone from either TPL or Dolores (clearly remember it wasn't Sound Pollution) because neither of those CD's were to be be found in my hometown at the time. Like most all other Avantgarde Music releases, so when it arrived it was a great package that's for sure.

It would also be the first time that I ever heard the legendary Dead on vocals with Mayhem. So my expectations were astronomical high on the Live In Leipzig album and especially on the vocals. This was recorded on the 26th of November in 1990 at the Eiskeller Club located in Leipzig, Germany.

Some might not like the sound quality but I had been hardened by a bunch of bootleg VHS-tapes with live recordings of Dissection, Emperor, Marduk, Dismember etc.

However the first couple of listens it actually didn’t blow me away. Sure it was great to hear songs I hadn’t heard before like the amazing Deathcrush, Carnage, Chainsaw Gutsfuck, Pure Fucking Armageddon and Necrolust etc because I didn't own a version of the Deathcrush (1987) EP back then. But soon I realized just how amazing this record was and the brilliant vocals by Dead.

I of course owned De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1994) and Attila Csihar’s performance on that record was so divided in the scene all throughout the 90’s by fans, musicians & journalists. It was almost like you had to make a choice back then.

Although Dead’s vocals were amazing the performance by Attila on De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas was (and is still) the best vocal performance I ever heard on any record.

This isn’t a Dead vs Attila post and I’m not putting down Dead. His contribution on Live In Leipzig is in fact astonishing and Dead’s impact on the scene have been well established. I mean how many releases with Mayhem live and rehearsals recordings is out by now? They wouldn't exist if it weren't an interest for the classic lineup with Dead, Euronymous, Necrobutcher and Hellhammer.

This live recording had been spread around in the scene as early as 1991. The first official release of Live In Leipzig was actually only available on LP in 1993 released on the Italian label Obscure Plasma Records that became Avantgarde Music. That release also included the only studio work by Mayhem with Dead on vocals Carnage and Freezing Moon. On the spine it was written “... The scene was DEAD...the scene is dead...”.

It was released on CD in 1994 in 3 different versions but without the studio versions of Carnage and Freezing Moon. I really like my digipack but any of those releases are on my wanted list especially the vinyl. I’m by no means an expert on Mayhem bootlegs and all their releases except for the most known ones. But I could see those CD's and also the LP  being very common for being fake ones. Or am I wrong?

Anyway this classic release is a most own album to have in any serious Black Metal collection in my opinion.