Vampyr - Throne of the Beast

USBM is a tricky beast, one that is either loved or hated, and more likely, either respected or not. There's a certain amount of malice that runs through the criticism of the music, and most of that, I think, is unjustified. Overall, I would say that out of all of the countries that produce black metal, the land of opportunities produces that which is least tied to its roots, at least now. We are a country of innovators and surprises, for better or worse, and like Tocqueville said of us; we firmly believe tradition is something that is best left for the Old World. So, with this "innovation", there must naturally come harsh feedback - the European scene laughed at bands like Xasthur and Leviathan and Wolves in the Throne Room, and there are huge swaths of fans who won't even regard bands like Raspberry Bulbs, Liturgy of Deafheaven as black metal. I suppose, like most things American, history will prove our endeavors as silly or bold, and the rest of the world will judge it accordingly.

The modern American scene, much like the European scene, can be divided up into "scenes", but unlike the national brands the European scene carries (i.e Norwegian black metal is "romantic", the Swedish scene is "majestic, the Finnish, "grimy"), the American scenes are less about borders and more about sound. Essentially, there are two types of American black metal: filthy and flowing. All American bands either create these sweeping sections, melodic and hypnotic, drawn out and filled with majesty, or they are steeped in Darkthronian grit, with punk riffs and a-melodic thrashing moments. This is the current state of black metal here in the majestic purple mountains - you're either Deafheaven or your Ash Pool, and there are few bands of note playing something that mixes the two as well as the older roster of bands had done.

Black Funeral, like Judas Iscariot, were part of a time when the scene was much simpler - directly inspired by their European counterparts, the band would go from Motorhead-ian rockouts to sweeping choruses in a matter of seconds, and the debut, Vampyr - Throne of the Beast is probably the best example of this pre-division black metal.

The album begins with the furious "Ex Sanguini Draculae" - a blasting, hate-filled song that balances furious tremolo riffs with d-beat inspired riffs while the drums blast sloppily, but charmingly behind the menacing rhythm. It's a fitting beginning, no introduction, no ambiance - just an in your face filthy riff that oozes amateurish skill with deeply passionate delivery. This leads immediately into the more melodic and epic "The Floating Blue Witchlight" - which begins with an amazingly catchy lead that sort of floats over the major chords. It actually reminds me of Mutiilation's early career, where there would be a quiet guitar lead over fuzzing riffing that would immediately shift from melodic and simplistic to a crushing breakdown and tempo shift. It's an effective tool, especially with the short length of the song - the riffs change up almost every thirty seconds, but it doesn't sound rushed or sloppy - it sounds meticulous and purposeful and it's a very effective and evocative piece.

It's this that Black Funeral does extremely well - much like Darkthrone and Burzum, the riffs are inspired both by Mercyful Fate and Wagner, beautiful melodies and romantic keys and tunes blend easily with kick-ass crunchy riffs effortlessly. "Spectral Agony of Pain and Loneliness" and the title track are the best and primary examples of this transition, as both start with serpentine riffs that slur over muted palm chords, resulting in extremely intricate melodies before decomposing into straight-forward caveman punk inspired riffs. A song like "Rising from a Dishonored Grave" is both parts Bathory and Emperor. The main riff is just really goofy in the best way possible (it's just like this major blues chord played fast - it sounds like something that could be on an Aerosmith album), but it works so well in conjunction with blisteringly frigid tremolo riff. This balance is something that seems to be lost in a lot of modern black metal - that there has to be a choice of sound to match vision (i.e making "epic" music to match an "epic" vision), instead of just making really interesting songs that are both romantic and burly as hell, proving that the two don't have to be mutual.

The ambient parts "Valley of the Shadow", and "Spirit of the Werewolf" are actually really well placed, and while they are short, are both equally as hypnotic. They serve as "markers" for the concept of the album, and where Ford and crew are taking the lyrics and themes and while they could be a tad bit longer for effect, they both work well in the space of the short (28 minutes) album. As far as the obligatory ambient pieces on 90s black metal albums go, these two are very well composed and serve more or less as previews of the dark ambient/weirdo black metal Ford would go on to make ten years later.

The production is surprisingly warm (a trend I notice in a lot of early American black metal releases), with audible bass and fuzzy, but not buzzsaw guitars. The vocals are processed a bit, and it definitely sounds like Ford may be whispering into a distorted mic at times, but that's kind of Black Funeral's thing - I think ford wanted to sound more vampiric than human, so having these vocals right up front in the mix sounding slightly, off makes sense. The performance is sloppy, but in the best way possible - the transitions in tempo and melody sound natural, the drumming is fast and varied, with a noticeable lack of fills. Instead the drums opt for a straight-forward blastfest with the occasional 4/4 rock beat. It works well, and gives the release a real primal edge.

Vampyr - Throne of the Beast is an important history lesson, the first part of many. One that shows the Americans finding their path on this relatively new musical endeavor, and showing it as its most infantile. Sure, it's a direct copy of the European sound, but there's something unique about it, that it wears its fandom on its sleeve. Instead of sticking to a preset "sound", Black Funeral just took influences from all the bands they liked - from Darkthrone and Burzum, to Beherit and Bathory, to even a little Archgoat for good measure. This messy input led to a uniquely clean and refreshing output. Worthy of putting alongside of any European classics and highly recommended.

USA is not known for being prolific in black metal. That title goes to countries like Norway, France, Sweden and Finland. USA has a more successful history of death metal music with bands like Deicide, Death, Morbid Angel, Obituary, Cannibal Corpse, Mortician, the list goes on and on. As for black metal the US only had Von and Havohej with excellent albums prior to this one. This was the first recording I heard from Black Funeral and quite possibly the most essential one in the catalogue, 'Empire Of Blood' comes a close second. The creator Michael Ford takes his music and subject very seriously. I just love that! It shows in the product.

You hear about certain bands through recommendations by articles or word of mouth. I heard that this was something that could easily be confused with works of the LLN due to the low production and Vampiric/Satanic content. This was right up my alley and I got hold of this without hearing a note. The vocals and guitar are superb. I would say that the influences are a mixed bag of Mutiilation, Burzum and early Graveland. This is clearly one of the top 5 best American Black Metal releases for sure.

The current notable flag bearers 'Leviathan' 'Xasthur' could listen to some of this and maybe just perhaps learn a few tricks, maybe even cut their songs down to something less than 4 minutes. Anyway, this is a true underground cult classic in the vein of Moonblood that needs to get better recognition and praise. 10 years on and this has stood the test of time, if my review isn't praise enough the music itself should justify my statement. Get this if you can find it, preferably the Drakkar Production 2006 re-release with 5 bonus tracks. That one is limited to 1000 copies.

Hellish, rough and even somewhat melancholic black metal is what Black Funeral play on their debut. Most people seem to prefer “Empire of Blood” but I find this album to be darker and more evil. The sound is better than on the demo/EP but still far from polished. The bass is very loud in the mix, perhaps too loud. Then again it’s always nice to hear a black metal band with an audible bass, so I’m not going to complain too much about that.

The music has developed since the demo, it’s more varied and not so typically Nordic sounding either. I’d describe the music as a mixture of the Black Legions bands and Nordic black metal (at least Burzum comes to mind here and there). The Baron himself described Black Funeral’s music as “Grim Medieval Vampiric Black Metal” and I must say that this description fits the music like a glove. “Vampyr – Throne of the Beast” makes me think of blood rituals, desecrated graveyards and rats gnawing on the bones of corpses. It has an atmosphere of decay to it, like something that’s been locked up in a coffin for hundreds of years before it’s let out again to spread death and disease.

The Baron also managed to develop his own characteristic vocal style and here he’s in fine form, sounding very possessed even if the vocals aren't as high-pitched as they used to be. Desolate Wings of Demoncy has contributed two ambient pieces to this album (“Valley of the Shadow” and “Spirit of the Werwolf”) and these tracks give me the feeling of some old Graveland demos, great! This album should appeal to all devotees of morbid and sick black metal. I think “Vampyr – Throne of the Beast” is Black Funeral’s finest hour.

With Vampyr - Throne of the Beast, Black Funeral unleashed their dark vision of vampiric occultism upon the world. This album isn't as atmospheric as the later Empire of Blood, with a very dry and clear production that is similar to the type of production used on Ulver's Nattens Madrigal, or a clearer version of Transilvanian Hunger's dry and violent mix. The music sounds ancient, as if covered in dust. The riffs are true melodic black metal type riffs, sometimes even strangly bouncy. The vocals of Michael Ford are evil and throaty. There are touches of keyboards, but not much, with the exception of the two intrumentals, which are all keyboards and are very eeire.
This album introduced a type of black metal that was perfect, dark and filled with a strange witchcraft. Black Funeral only released a few albums, but all of them are essential. Probably out of all of them this is the best, though I'm fond of Belial Arisen (though that has very bad production). This is original and excellent, essential for all fans of black metal that has very few frills and creates its atmosphere with basic essentials.
Highly suggested!