Les Légions Noires

okay, let's get this shit back on track. music!

so literally yesterday i was researching a tentative name for my freelance design studio -- i had chosen 'black legion' because i thought it sounded bad ass. unfortunately, another group of people also considered it bad ass -- i found out that a branch of the fucking KKK had styled themselves with that very name. so fuck that.

with further research i also discovered that there was a black metal movement [isn't there always] from the mid '90s, from around the brittany area in france called les legions noires, which translates directly to [you guessed it!] black legion. many of you have probably heard of either mütiilation or vlad tepes, and let me tell you, a sadder group of dudes there never was.

i downloaded a bunch of their music yesterday and it ranges from good bathory worship black metal to such raw garbage it sounds like it was recorded via nerf football. and here that all is for you to download; a semi-complete discography of les legions noires, with the addition of a PDF of the silliest zine interview ever -- both in content and in layout / photography -- which i highly recommend that you download.

i'll leave you with a quote directly from their angsty, sad mouths.
"We are Black Legions of Satan, we are the immortal warriors of Black imperial blood. We are here to pervert christian worms and they shall face the Black holocaust. It's near!"


Mütiilation: Hail Satanas We Are The Black Legions (1994)
Vlad Tepes: War Funeral March (1994)
Vlad Tepes / Belketre: March to the Black Holocaust (1995)
Mütiilation: Vampires of Black Imperial Blood (1995)
Vlad Tepes / Torgeist: Black Legions Metal (1996)
Belketre: Ambre Zuèrkl Vuordhrévarhtre (1996)
Vlad Tepes: La Morte Lune (1997)

PDF ZINE

Amesoeurs - Ruines Humaines

So, I guess this band came and went pretty quickly. Their full length that came out last year was the first material I had heard of theirs, and though it is a good album, it didn't do much for me in the long run. However, somebody on LG recently posted this release; their first EP from 2006, and I have to say it's pretty spectacular. To those unfamiliar with the band, I'd describe their music as french black metal that is not afraid to borrow from complimentary genres in order to remain interesting and original... I guess post-black metal is a fitting enough label, but this release deserves some elaboration. I'll have to post some of their related projects, namely Alcest and Les Discrets, as they are comparably interesting.

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GRIS & SOMBRES FORÊTS - MISERERE LUMINIS

atmospheric / depressive black metal. at times light and spacey, at times heavy.

members from each band got together and wrote this; this isn't a split but a collaboration, much like altar is from sunn O))) and boris.

usually i don't like depressive kind of shit but there's something really nice about the organic feel to this album. the opening track sounds like it should be playing while you're watching a show in a planetarium.

p. venikov put a track from this on his <>LK mix cd for those of you that may have dug it.

listen.

dl.

buy.

Assembled.

More info.

order. [ LOL ]
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listen.

Burzum - Tha Cell Block Mix Tape Vol.3

i think its funny there are a group of people who hate this guy. its not like they are friends with the dude he killed, and its not like this guy hasn't recorded 5 albums from prison that blow mayhem out of the water.

you all know the story, and you know that this dude is a fucking showstopper with his jams, and through the aid of documentaries he is living proof that a jail cell in norway is much better than living in jersey city new jersey or most parts of baltimore.

the album art looks EXACTLY like every black metal album i've ever seen. what is it about pine trees that people who think jesus was a dick love so much?

either way mayhem will go down as the most metal band ever, until someone has the decency to kill and eat their band *looks at the fat dudes in napalm death and crowbar*

oh wait i just read he's out of jail...already? really? for killing someone he's already out of prison? that was brief... shaquille o'neal was playing basketball when this dude went to jail, did he crawl through five hundred yards of shit smelling foulness i can't even imagine or maybe i just don't want to. i'm so seeing this guy if he tours.



I wish I could tell you that Count Grishnackh fought the good fight, and the sisters let him be. I wish I could tell you that - but prison is no fairy-tale world.
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GRAB BAG.

feel like it's been a while since i've posted stuff on here, so i'm going to throw up some random things that i've been enjoying as of late.

BEHEMOTH - EVANGELION.

new behemoth from this year. they're touring the states, and i'm going to see them at the end of january. so fucking stoked since i haven't seen them live yet.

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WODENSTHRONE - LOSS.

british atmospheric black metal band, first album. great production, really talented band. enjoying the shit out of this. think wolves in the throne room. here's an excerpt from a review off of encyclopaedia metallum:

Each song (eight in all) gets an epic treatment of black metal mixed with elements of post-rock and prog-rock. The ambience is epic thanks to atmospheric synthesiser washes that soar heavenward in the background while the musicians play hard-hitting aggressive black metal. As the songs are usually long and densely packed mini-dramas, each with several riffs, changing rhythms and beats, and those constant keyboard tone washes, there's hardly much let-up in the ongoing stream of martial-sounding music...

[if you want to download this, click the link below and it will take you to petya's post about this album on this blog. he's got you covered! sincerely, album double-posting jerk.] :)
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DRUDKH - MICROCOSMOS.

the latest album from this ukrainian band. not as good as blood in the wells, but still enjoyable.

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VENETIAN SNARES - SABBATH DUBS.

if you don't have this already, just download this. i mean it.

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FORCED ENTRY - UNCERTAIN FUTURE.

this is a band from seattle i just discovered yesterday during my ongoing search for good thrash metal. this came out in '89, so you can imagine what it sounds like. it's pretty fucking awesome [i mean, they're called forced entry. you need anything else?]. the fourth track, anaconda, is siiiiccckkk.

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WINTERFYLLETH - THE GHOST OF OUR HERITAGE.

this is an english black metal band that features members of atavist and wodensthrone. they apparently coined the term 'english heritage black metal' [no NS here, though.] this is their first album. super good. here's an excerpt from a review on encyclopedia metallum:

"To March To Maldon’ is a perfect example of the eloquence that this record sometimes takes on. The beauty of the acoustics, mixed in with a rather haunting atmospheric nature (plagued by the distortion, warmed to by the interesting contrasts) make this a uniquely terrifying, but unusually beautiful record. The song writing and musicianship of Winterfylleth’s creators is exceptional and excellent. The interesting contrast between the sublime and the aggressive is another outstanding aspect of this record."

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NECROS CHRISTOS - TRIUNE IMPURITY RITES.

blackened death metal from germany. midpaced, super fucking evil. go into the bathroom, turn the lights off, and put this on really loud. the toilet will be right there for when your bowels suddenly and involuntarily give way.

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JAYLIB - CHAMPION SOUND / DELUXE RE-ISSUE.

here's something that's not metal. look at me try to be varied.

this is a sort of accidental collaboration between j dilla and madlib. madlib was handed a bunch of unused recordings from j dilla and recorded vocals on top of them....and j dilla heard one and was like 'this shit is hot.' so they produced a bunch of tracks together.

in one song it goes 'all she wanna do is swallow kids.' is that not fucking genius, or what?

this is the deluxe re-issue, with a bunch of unreleased tracks and remixes. 43 tracks in all.

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Textural.

Weigh the most hyped follow-up of the year to the most consistent label of the year, add some vehement skepticism, and top off with Colin Marston's persistence.

order.
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listen.