"Proto" Extreme Music - The Middlemen of Metal

Metal as a genre has reached various milestones through the releases of the most prominent bands; the doom metal sound was defined by Black Sabbath while Morbid Angel refined the death metal sound, and so on. However, these radical groups did not simply produce pure innovation not derivative of any others. Kill 'Em All, Under the Sign of the Black Mark, or Altars of Madness all had their fair share of influences. In most cases, there existed specific releases that bridged the gap between the NWoBHM and thrash and between thrash and the even more extreme varieties of heavy metal. The purpose of this post is to pay tribute to some of these early and more primal benchmarks.

Diamond Head - "Am I Evil?" (1980)

With this track, Diamond Head were some of the first to hint at the imminent thrash metal scene with their chugging proto-thrash riffcraft.

Venom - "Witching Hour" (1981)

Picking up the speed from where Diamond Head left off, Venom produced a true thrasher here while mixing in their newly discovered extreme metal aesthetic.

Discharge - Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing (1982)

While technically not a metal band, hardcore punk masters Discharge were massively influential to extreme metal, producing thrashy tunes rooted in simplistic riffcraft.

Hellhammer - Satanic Rites (1983)

You can read more on Hellhammer in my review on this blog, but they essentially introduced to metal an atmosphere oozing with morbidity and a new style of riffing that allowed acts like Winter and Therion to rise to power.

Sodom - In The Sign Of Evil (1984)

With In The Sign Of Evil, Sodom crafted some primitive thrash-driven black metal, driven more by thrash than Venom worship as opposed to Bathory's self-titled effort.

Destruction - Sentence Of Death (1984)

While their efforts may not have been as extreme as their cohorts Sodom and Kreator, there is little doubt that Destruction crafted better songs structurally and would inspire the thrash scene as much as their comrades.

Sepultura - Bestial Devastation (1985)

While other innovators of their time were leaning towards a black metal inspired sound, Sepultura embraced the newfound soundscapes of death metal.

Death Strike - Fuckin' Death (1985)

Death Strike (as well as Master) combined the musical stylings of Discharge with the morbidity of Hellhammer and a guitar tone that vastly influenced particular future death metal scenes, especially the Swedish scene.

Possessed - Seven Churches (1985)

While Possessed are widely considered one of the founding fathers of death metal, and Seven Churches one of its major milestones, I feel that this still belongs in this post due to the ever-present dichotomy between death and thrash here.

Watchtower - Energetic Disassembly (1985)

While Morbid Angel, Incantation, or Dismember might draw more influence from Death Strike or Possessed amongst bands on this list, you may wonder where bands like Cynic and Atheist find their sound. Their chief influence is here, in Watchtower's progressive variety of thrash.

Sadus - Death To Posers (1986)

There is little to say about these highly influential proto-death metal bands after Possessed has been mentioned, but, nevertheless, this is proto-death of the highest quality.

Kreator - Pleasure To Kill (1986)

While this is technically thrash, there is quite a bit of debate here and there as it can function as a death metal record. The music is highly violent and utilizes tremolo riffage at times. Makes me think Exodus had some inspiration for their song "A Lesson In Violence".

Meshuggah - My Experience

As I expand upon this blog, I am becoming rather verbose in my rhetoric; however, that need not always be the case. Some bands can be summed up in a sentence or two.

Meshuggah. One trick ponies who have yet to realize that most guitars come with more than one string. By embracing Dream Theater's concept of over-indulgent guitar wankery but replacing the use of lightning-fast melodic lines with a few rhythmic flourishes, they masquerade as innovators. Best of all, their vocalist possesses no real menace or fierce aggression, but rather is reminiscent of a pro-wrestler frustrated with his hemorrhoid donut.

Katatonia - "Brave Murder Day"

Legendary amongst the newer breed of metalhead (those that first worship Opeth, Katatonia, Agalloch, Enslaved, and the like before delving deeper), this was appropriately one of my first favorite metal records. However, despite my initial love for it, Brave Murder Day has become an enjoyable yet somewhat frustrating listen recently. On the surface, this album seems to be just another "sad" death/doom album, but with further analysis of the various musical elements, it reveals a myriad of musical influences; therefore, for this specific review, I'll be analyzing each individual song in turn.

While most Katatonia fans separate their discography into two or three distinct eras, specifically partitioning off Brave Murder Day with its more accomplished predecessor Dance of December Souls as simply the "metal" era, this album is quite distinct from its predecessor and actually hints quite a lot at their later material. Oddly enough, while this is technically extreme metal due to the presence of Mikael Akerfeldt's death vox and some double bass drumwork, most of the influences from traditional extreme metal are gone on this album. It is a massive departure from the masterpieces from the forefathers of death/doom like Winter and Paradise Lost or the more melancholic My Dying Bride or the debut of Katatonia themselves. Anywho, without further ado...

The album opens with "Brave", which retains heavyness and thus masquerades as extreme metal in the eyes of most fans, but the riffing style throughout is more reminiscent of the shoegaze-influenced and droning depressive rock the band would become known for on their next two releases. All the elements are there: the strummed distorted power chords, the trebly melancholic leads, a more rock-like production quality, and the rise of clean electric sections favored over acoustic guitars. Anyways, despite my opinions on the song differing vastly from that of most fans, strictly qualitatively speaking, I still think it's wonderful. The main riff is catchy yet powerful, and the leads are as sorrowful as they need to be; however, I do think the droning mid-section with all the guitar feedback could be trimmed a bit and that the song might be better as an 8-minute track.

Next comes "Murder" which is a little less well-written in terms of flow and the connection between segments. The droning intro/outro riff really has little relevance to the middle of the song, despite its infectious quality. While the song-writing is odd (it's as if Katatonia wrote a 2-3 minute song then bookended it with this riff), one element I really enjoy about "Murder" is that it's the one song on the album that really embraces its extreme metal roots in the doomy riffwork. Also, Anders Nystrom's ability to use the tapping technique with his guitar in a way that is actually melancholy and not acting as self-indulgent shredding is something I appreciate.

I don't have much to say about "Day". The song is effective at achieving its goal, embracing Katatonia's chief non-metal influences of post-punk and dream pop while simultaneously serving as a break in the album's emotional intensity. There is but one major flaw: The Cure did it much better.

The album returns to it's distorted form in "Rainroom", which is a bit of a frustrating song for me. The intro/outro riff is uninspired and a real bore, and the generic vocal patterns overlaying said riff don't help. The rest of the song, however, is fantastic, with a more melodic, somewhat doomy riff following. The highlight of the song soon follows with a clean toned progression of minor triads that sounds purely tranquil with a hint of sorrow; Nystrom and Renkse then develop on this progression by overlaying a typical droning riff and some truly ethereal vocals. A modern comparison of this section would be Alcest. After a few bars, the song then returns to the album's normal form with an interesting, almost sinister lead that hooks you in before letting you down with that subpar outro riff.

The next song, "12", is equally frustrating, but this time for different reasons. In a lot of ways this song is very similar to Opeth's "Advent" or "Nectar"; and my frustrations for all three songs are similar. Firstly, it is notable that these songs have absolutely stunning dual guitar melodies. In fact, the harmony sections in "12" are possibly my favorite parts of Brave Murder Day. Despite my often negative view of this song, I simply cannot praise those harmonies enough; it's moments like these that make Katatonia one of my favorite bands still to this day. On the other hand, "12" shares all the weaknesses of the aforementioned Opeth songs, and, possibly because of my Opeth fandom, I find "12"'s weaknesses even more debilitating than those of those songs. For one thing, the songwriting here is dreadful, with the abrupt power chord transition to the outro melody being one of the worst transitions I've ever heard in music. And, for another, some of the riffs, like the first clean section and the chugging section, simply aren't very good, being almost as mediocre as that riff from "Rainroom".

Lastly comes "Endtime", most likely my favorite track from the album, if only for the fact that I have no complaints about it. Its clean sections emanate a celestial atmosphere only seen elsewhere in the brief clean portion of "Rainroom". Both its metal melodies are more interesting than the minimalist and depressing melodies from "Brave". I also enjoy how the first heavy riff is played again in reprise but with a different tempo. Lastly, although Akerfeldt's vocal performance is inferior to the more passionate performance of Renkse on the previous album, Mikael's performance on this specific song is certainly his best on the album.

Special Note: If "Nowhere" from the Sounds of Decay EP and thus the bonus track listing was included on the original album, it would be the best on the album.

Special Note #2: An unfortunate thing about this album is that it has a sort of Pantera effect. By that, I mean that it spawned a whole movement of uninspired bands, namely Rapture, Swallow the Sun, and such.

TL;DR, flawed yet fantastic.

My Top 10 Songs

1. The Beatles - "In My Life" - So much is packed into this little song, and I consider it in many ways to be a culmination of centuries of musical efforts. After Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Shostakovich sought to produce aural magic with majestic symphonies on a grand scale, along came artists such as John Lennon and Paul McCartney, conveying a great host of emotions in a work as simple as this. In a little over two minutes, The Beatles prove themselves here to be masters of consonant melody and minimalist pop. The atmosphere is utterly tranquil, offering a sense of peace as if to say "all is well"; in other words, The Beatles excelled far more at what Explosions in the Sky, Sigur Ros, and Eluvium tried to accomplish almost 40 years later.

2. Skepticism - "The Gallant Crow" - While this is technically (I mean, instrumentally) a metal song from a metal album, I do not necessarily consider it to be the pinnacle of metal by any means for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the attitude of this song is not rebellious, aggressive, or oppressive, but rather it is deeply emotional and transcendent. Secondly, the production places the metal elements (distorted guitars and vocals) deep in the background while ambient elements are brought to the foreground. The dynamics are such that this essentially becomes a minimalist organ work. Anyway, the melodies here are just about the best thing any minor scale has ever produced. While the lyrics are indiscernible, I imagine an epic ballad of tragedy and loss as the otherworldly melodies sweep me away.

3. Bathory - "A Fine Day To Die" - Did I mention the words "pinnacle of metal" earlier? Well, this is it. Not some Judas Priest tune celebrating leather, spikes, and motorcycles, nor some Sodom thrasher spewing hatred and blasphemies, but this. For one thing, all the simple elements are here in the highest quality; the riffcraft is top notch, and the songs properly build up tension then release said tension with powerful and commanding guitar solos. The highlight of this track, however, is its epic quality. Other than Beethoven's 5th and Howard Shore's works, such majesty has never been achieved elsewhere in sonic form, though perhaps Dark Side of the Moon or Crystal Logic come close. The lyrics paint a vivid image of warriors on the eve of battle, and stir up in the listener deep nostalgia for this epic tale.

4. The Beatles - "I'm Looking Through You" - I'm afraid not much can be said of this song that was not already said of "In My Life"; it's melodies and minimalist nature are simply some of the best in music. However, this song is more guitar driven than "In My Life", and, in my humble opinion, epitomizes the chord-strumming style of acoustic guitar (I specify this style because I do consider Michael Hedges to be a more accomplished acoustic guitarist in general by far). Also, the atmosphere is distinctly different in this track. "I'm Looking Through You" is not quite melancholy but certainly does not contain the same above-mentioned attitude of contentment and peace.

5. Dead Can Dance - "In Power We Entrust The Love Advocated" - While Dead Can Dance stuck to their world music roots throughout their career, they did not always infuse this influence with their legendary neoclassical style. Instead, on their first album and EP, they mixed the sounds of the early post-punk scene with world music influences; listeners could draw comparisons to earlier works of The Cure or Joy Division. Most of this early material is worthwhile but a bit droning (as some post-punk can be). This track, on the other hand, is an absolute beauty, and one of the most ethereal pieces of music these ears have ever beheld. In addition to the sublime and otherworldly atmosphere, Brendan Perry's lyrics on his early work were as interesting as ever, and he manages to sing baritone astoundingly and without sounding monotone.

6. Opeth - "The Leper Affinity" - Opeth is a curious band; any seasoned music fan will note a myriad of technical flaws in their music, most notably in form. However, despite questionable moments here and there, especially on their first two albums, they often display an uncanny ability to flow from one section to another seemingly unrelated section with great dexterity. This song best displays that trait, and, as an added bonus, just happens to contain several of Opeth's best riffs and two of their finest solos. It drops off ever so slightly towards the end, but that can be forgiven, given that, for the first seven minutes or so, Opeth blaze through riffs of the highest quality with no apparent feelings of disjointedness, and rapidly change moods from sinister, technical metal riffs to gorgeous acoustic sections.

7. Howard Shore - "The Ring Goes South" - Most of the credit must go to Tolkien for this entry, as it's his magical world that Shore's soundtracks bring to life. Middle-Earth lore is, to me, the most intricate and fascinating of the world of fiction, and Howard Shore's themes effectively bring me boatloads of nostalgia as they cause me to reflect on Tolkien's remarkable creation. As far as music goes, I'm not the most well-versed person in classical music, but even amongst the great German composers, I think Shore has earned his place as one of the finest composers of leitmotifs. I chose this "song" simply because it is a simple track portraying the most notable of Shore's leitmotifs, although the Rivendell theme and the Rohan theme are personal favorites as well.

8. Fates Warning - "Guardian" - In the vast world of prog, there have been two types of guitar solos. Those that pour every ounce of the guitarist's emotion into each and every well-placed note, and those that mindlessly noodle about, seeking only to flaunt the guitarist's technical skill. The former obviously being preferable, the best example in '70s rock would be David Gilmour's soulful leads. As for the world of heavy metal, one of the finest displays of lead guitar is here, in Jim Matheos' gorgeous solos. Both solos in this song rank amongst the best in music, if you ask me, with sparse sections and with shredding sections, but ever so-tasteful unlike the robotic shreds of John Petrucci. In other news, John Arch's soaring vocals are at their absolute best here, as are is lyrics, which do not follow the dark trends of most heavy metal.

9. Townes Van Zandt - "Marie" - Townes was always a bluesy songwriter, but "Marie" is simply on a whole new level. A song about the American homeless, this is possibly the most tragic piece of music I have ever heard. While we may not relate on a socioeconomic level, most can relate on some level to this work, which really speaks volumes about the human condition in general. The guitars are certainly melancholy, but it's the lyrics that are borderline frightening, especially to the anxious heart. 

10. Tool - "No Quarter (Led Zeppelin Cover)" - Once my favorite song years ago, I've often listened to this song on repeat in my car when mp3 players weren't an option and onlySalival remained in my CD player. It's truly remarkable how Tool have taken one of the most classic Zeppelin tunes and, in some ways, improved upon it. While the original song is haunting and bluesy, this polished version of Tool's is heavy and beautiful at once. Most importantly, a factor that makes me prefer this to the original, Tool build up tension in the latter half of the track and release it in a most fierce and climactic way, that trumps the more meek sound of the original. Also important, this version contains the most beautiful interlude I've ever heard in rock music.

Considered But Rejected Entries:

- Neil Young - "Harvest"

- Miasma - "Baphomet"

- The Beatles - "You Won't See Me"

- Slayer - "At Dawn They Sleep"

- Chopin - "Nocturne No.1 in B Flat Minor"

- Agalloch - "A Desolation Song"

- Alcest - "Sur L'Ocean Couleur De Fer

- Eluvium - "Radio Ballet"

- Jeremy Soule - "Nerevar Rising"

- Katatonia - "Elohim Meth"

- Townes Van Zandt - "Black Crow Blues"

- Judas Priest - "Tyrant"

- Townes Van Zandt - "Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel"

- Vali - "Doedens Evige Kall"

- Warning - "Footprints"
- John Lennon - "Working Class Hero"

Hellhammer - "Satanic Rites"

In the evolution of metal, many bands have made important contributions, with Black Sabbath discovering the genre, Judas Priest stripping metal of many blues influences, Venom bringing metal to its extreme form, and so on. Hellhammer too would play a part in this evolution; in 1983 Hellhammer introduced metal with a degree of extremity not yet seen by the public. While Venom begun to introduce more taboo subject matter in their highly influential works Welcome to Hell and Black Metal, their material remained, for the most part, fun and upbeat under the heavy influence of the NWoBHM movement.

In contrast to their peers, Hellhammer's brand of metal was all but stripped of NWoBHM influences and instead focused on creating a more morbid aesthetic, straying from the energetic soundscapes of Motorhead and Iron Maiden and producing material more akin to Black Sabbath's sinister title track than anything else. Lyrically, they simply took Venom's lyrical themes a step further into morbid realms unseen before. 

Musically, Hellhammer, despite an entirely new atmosphere, maintains some of their roots. Their music revolves around simplistic and primitive riffcraft with infectious hooks, much like the works of Motorhead and Venom. While their music is more mid-paced, even doomy at times (see the legendary "Triumph of Death"), proto-thrash riffs abound as they do in prominent Venom tracks like "Witching Hour" or "Black Metal".

Production-wise, the earliest Hellhammer demos leave much to be desired; however, the production on this particular demo is perfectly fitting, as it is on the upcoming Celtic Frost work "Morbid Tales"; in fact, I'd say it's superior to Frost's "Emperor's Return".

In short, with this demo Hellhammer leave a permanent mark on the worldwide metal scene, and the extreme metal scene specifically would be forever indebted to Hellhammer's work. Without Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, one must question whether other monolithic achievements from Autopsy, Winter, and others would even exist. And, of course, the issue of influence vs. quality is simply non-existent here; Hellhammer was not an influential force soon to be surpassed by much better successors, but rather their work remains relevant today in terms of quality. "Triumph of Death" specifically is a piece that has yet to be matched by a similar song in the extreme metal scene.