Spinning viciously out of thrash metal in the 1980s, early black metal bands such as Venom, Bathory and Celtic Frost pushed toward the extremes of what metal could sound and look like, drawing on anti-religious imagery, intense drumming and incredibly fast riffs. Since then, waves of new styles and variations have been explored, fought over – and sometimes killed over.
While it began as a primarily Scandinavian movement, black metal has grown into a global phenomenon over the last quarter of a century, and its manifestation in Ireland has sometimes been revelatory. Right now, the scene is stronger than ever, often reaching a worldwide audience with their ears to the blackened, frosty ground.
There has been no more successful example of Irish black metal in recent years than Altar Of Plagues. Their first, very rough demos appeared in 2006 and the current trio of James Kelly, Dave Condon and Johnny King have just recently released album number three, the progressive and deeply divisive Teethed Injury And Glory. In their seven years as a band, they've moved from raw demos through post-rock influenced epics on their debut, White Tomb, and now onto something far weirder and harder to pin down.
On Teethed, programmed beats mesh seamlessly with King's blastbeats, and Kelly's guitars and synths are often indistinguishable from each other. Powerful sub-bass underpins certain sections, making the sound fuller and more immense than ever. The influence of dubstep, techno and industrial musics is profoundly clear across the album, though they never dominate or overtake the searing guitars the band are known for.
The move away from traditional black metal tropes has probably lost them as many fans as they’ve gained from being featured in magazines and websites that would usually ignore the black end of the musical spectrum, but things like that don’t really seem to bother the band. Kelly has been particularly vocal about the need to keep moving and not get held back by adherence to a tradition. Black metal, on a certain level, has always been about defying expectations, so it makes sense that it would regularly and rigorously have to challenge its own conventions. Few acts are doing that as well as Altar Of Plagues right now.
Sharing a member with Altar Of Plagues are Dublin-based four-piece Sodb. While they channel the early sound of Norwegian second-wavers Burzum and Darkthrone, traditional Irish culture is a big part of Sodb's overall aesthetic and aims. The band's name comes from an early Irish tale, Togail Bruidne Dá Derga, and half of their first demo, Don Seantalamh a Chuid Féin, is sung in Irish – not that you can really tell given the screamed delivery. An Ogham inscription graces the front cover of that record, sitting above what would appear to be the cowled hag that the band's name references.
A spiritual and physical reconnection with the elemental forces of nature has often been a central element in black metal, usually employed in opposition to industrialised capitalism and the resulting desensitisation of humanity. As such, the history of Celtic tales and pre-Christian spirituality in Ireland is ripe for blackened updates, with bands such as Primordial, Celtachor and Geasa all attempting to invest their music with Celtic mysticism, with varying degrees of success.
The nature-versus-capitalism battle also informs Joseph Deegan's work as Slidhr. Deegan has just returned to the fray after a five-year hiatus with Deluge, the first Slidhr full-length album and his strongest work to date. Having initially made a name as Sol Axis and then as part of Mrykr and Haud Mundus (with Wann from Rebirth Of Nefast), Deegan has an impressive pedigree and his experience allows him to engage with themes of apocalypse and social collapse with a depth and gravity that might escape a younger artist.
Deluge doesn't attempt to overhaul the black metal template but it does refine and re-energise classic ideas, pulling them together in new ways and adding a strong, personal voice to the massive, whirling storm of noise.
This isn’t a guide; it’s just a nod to three good bands who are making powerful, interesting music under one loose label. The Irish black metal scene is amorphous and quite tough to get a handle on. It resists simple explanation, and that’s the way it should be. This music isn’t bent on becoming popular – or easy to find and sell. Spending some time in the Into the Void record shop at 3a Whitefriar Place, just off Aungier Street, Dublin 8, will help anyone trying to find out more.
