Tag Archives: dark funeral

Reviews, Videos

“Nail Them To The Cross” (Video) by Dark Funeral

Leave a comment

Fans of the legendary Black Metal band Dark Funeral will be feeling the fires of the eternal abyss rising fiercely within them based on the recent news from the bands publicity arm about a new “7” single being released to accompany the video. Fans can read the release below and then watch the video as well. I will close it up with some thoughts on the new tune and clip before we go.

Logo - Dark Funeral

The Press Release:
*DARK FUNERAL to release 7″ and digital single “Nail Them To The Cross” in February* On February 23rd, Swedish masters of furious, intense and merciless black metal, DARK FUNERAL, will return with the release of their new single/7″ entitled, *Nail Them To The Cross*. Besides the title track, that has been
released as a video some weeks ago in order to present their new vocalist Heljarmadr, the single includes another brand new track called “Temple Of Ahriman”. Both songs were recorded at Dugout Studios in Uppsala/Sweden and were mixed and mastered by Daniel Bergstrand. The cover artwork was created
by Marcelo Vasco”.
Continue reading “Nail Them To The Cross” (Video) by Dark Funeral →

Music, Reviews

“The Secrets of the Black Arts” (remaster) by Dark Funeral

Leave a comment

Artist: Dark Funeral
Title: “The Secrets of the Black Arts” (remaster)
Label: Regain Records
Release Date: 7/31/2007
Genre: Black Metal
Rating: 3.5/5

Originally released in 1996, “The Secrets Of The Black Arts” is the debut album and introduction to the world of the Swedish Black Metal kings Dark Funeral. As an album its content is very straightforward and perhaps a little too similar in overall style but one can forgive the band with their first official release. They do set the standard of the sound they will eventually hold some mastery over with tracks like the albums title and “When Angels Forever Die”. Of course like most pure and true Black Metal this is a sound that is not easily acceptable or recommended for everyone. The required levels of blasphemy are present in songs like “Satan’s Mayhem” and even the ludicrous by today’s standards “Satan’s Blood”. This latter track is just yelling the word “Satan” over some riffs and when one considers how much the genre has grown since it’s inception it comes off as rather comical. I enjoyed the pummeling nature of “Shadows Over Transylvania” and “Bloodfrozen” but with the bands first album there was far too many similarities in the tracks. At times it is almost difficult to determine where one song begins and where the other has ended. Over the years they changed this up a bit and have managed to even hold a somewhat symphonic quality to their sound even thought there is no keyboards in the lineup. The lineup is also something that will be a mystery to today’s fan as the album finds Lord Ahriman (guitars), Blackmoon (guitars/some vocals), Themgoroth (bass/vocals) and Equimanthorn (drums) making up its core. In today’s Dark Funeral roster (2008) we only find Lord Ahriman present. As an album this is a good one to have to know more about the bands earliest go at the format and the re-master features a booklet loaded with the arcane lyrics that make this a powerful Black Metal force. There are also photos of the band in all of their Satanic glory in corpse paint and sinister situations to enjoy. From the very beginning it was clear that Dark Funeral were a band who meant business.
Continue reading “The Secrets of the Black Arts” (remaster) by Dark Funeral →

Music, Reviews

“Diabolis Interium” (remaster) by Dark Funeral

Leave a comment

Artist: Dark Funeral
Title: “Diabolis Interium” (remaster)
Label: Regain Records
Release Date: 7/31/2007
Genre: Black Metal
Rating: 4/5

When it comes to the Black Metal genre and the scores of bands who toil and sweat over their craft there are probably choice few that manage to do it as well as the guys in Dark Funeral. “Diabolis Interium” is the bands third release and quite possibly their finest recorded moment of them all and this strong production comes at the hands of Peter Tagtgren (Hypocrisy/Bloodbath). The album is a blistering assault force of Black Metal fury and this is a dose of the purely evil stuff with no additives or ingredients to soften the harshness of the bands recipe for mayhem. It hits you right off the top with “The Arrival of Satan’s Empire” and the interesting thing is how the razor fast guitar riffing offers up some elements of symphonic atmosphere yet no keyboards are to be found on the release whatsoever. They don’t slow down much with “Hail Murder”, one of the bands best tunes in the catalog and a popular live mainstay, but do shift gears for “Goddess of Sodomy” which finds them exploring a trudging groove as opposed to insane levels of speed. The premise of the bands work is as blasphemous as ever and perhaps not for the weak or easily offended listener which we find demonstrated during “An Apprentice of Satan” and it’s clear that the band couldn’t care less if they shock you with the intensity that they are presenting. The band for the recording was Lord Ahriman (guitar), Emperor Magus Caligula (vocals/bass), Matte Modin (drums) and Dominion (guitars) and when you hear the way this album comes across you would swear there was at least two more players responsible for what was assaulting your ears. If you are one of those new study’s to the Black Metal scene and like what you have heard about Dark Funeral and are debating looking a little more into them then this is probably the best place to start. If you like this you can go backward in time and snare copies of the earlier stuff. “Diabolis Interium” finds the band totally on top of their game and delivering the sinister goods without any compromise. The remastered edition includes a booklet that presents a number of terrifying photos of the band and also offers up the lyrics to the songs. Be advised this is some really crazy stuff so if you don’t think you can handle what you might read then just listen to the music. Caligula screams so fast that the novice listener could never hope to understand him anyway. This is a recommendation for those who want to explore the truly dark side of Metal and fear not the things they might find. The remastering process on this album delivers a great level of sonic assault and will make this one of the most played Black Metal releases in your collection.
Continue reading “Diabolis Interium” (remaster) by Dark Funeral →

Reviews, Videos

“Attera Orbis Terrarum” by Dark Funeral

Leave a comment

Artist: Dark Funeral
Title: “Attera Orbis Terrarum”
Label: Regain Records
Release Date: 11/6/2007
Genre: Black Metal
Rating: 4/5

So you find that Black Metal is your thing and the more extreme and blasphemous that it is as far as overall content goes then all the better for serving your dark needs. You feel that Dimmu Borgir is too Symphonic for your tastes and that Cradle Of Filth is absurd and if any of this is right on target in describing you then there is no better place for you to direct your hatred for the pious and sanctified than at the feet of those masters from Hell – Sweden’s mighty Dark Funeral. “Attera Orbis Terrarum” captures the band on their first ever live DVD and it is loaded with content that is sure to satisfy the hungriest of Black Metal appetites. It’s also different from other DVD releases of this kind because with this one you don’t only get one show but instead are treated to three professionally filmed appearances of the band in front of the most maniacal of followers. Each show differs in sonic quality and visual and some are better than the others but the bottom line is that this really delivers the goods should this be the band that is high on your list of favorites. The first DVD features the performance from Metal Mania 2005 in Poland and while a little older in terms of its content finds the most professionally filmed show of the three. The Metal Mania folks always manage to use several cameras to the best effect and while a bit streamlined for some of the purists tastes, it is literally best footage that has ever been presented of the band. The song selection is loaded up to the hilt with eleven trips into the profane and blasphemous.
Continue reading “Attera Orbis Terrarum” by Dark Funeral →

Events, Reviews

Dark Funeral @ B.B. King Blues Club (1/10/2007)

Leave a comment

What a way to start one’s year of attending Metal shows. I mean let’s face it, Dark Funeral is not the easiest band to get through for even the stronger diehards because of the absolute level of Black Metal evil that surges inside every furious note. Despite this, we braved the cold darkness with camera in hand as the band denounced the pious and brought along Enslaved and Abigail Williams as their support. We were sure to cover everyone and to see what transpired just click their logo to be brought to the article on the main PiercingMetal.com site. If you are brave enough that is…….

Logo - Dark Funeral

Artist: Dark Funeral
Venue: B.B. King Blues Club (New York, NY)
Opener: Enslaved, Abigail Williams
Date: 1/10/2007
Label: Candlelight Records

The dark would come alive tonight at B.B. King Blues Club for it was the evening that Black Metal legends most supreme, Dark Funeral would arrive in New York City for the “Candlelight II: Phoenix Rising” tour. They would be the main act of three from the label roster and be joined by the also legendary Viking Metal masters Enslaved as well as rising stars Abigail Williams. Without question, the fans of Metal were going to get their money’s worth tonight. Here are some of the details on the event overall.

Abigail Williams: The first band up would be a new signing to Candlelight Records, a five-piece Extreme Metal band from Arizona (yes, intense Metal can even come from the desert). The club was filling up rather nicely when they took the stage and for their first time in New York, the group did not seem fazed or nervous about their set. As I understood, their EP was just recently available and was on sale for those who enjoyed what the band was bringing to life tonight. Abigail Williams has a good overall sound to their Metal, and like some other Black Metal acts make use of the keyboards during the songs. Delivered in earnest by a young lady named Ellyllon, they are not overly Symphonic like one sees in Dimmu Borgir and some others, but instead seem to use them very well alongside the guitar riffs and vocals. I found them to also be very classically based. Vocalist Ken Sorceron growls his way through all of the material in true Extreme fashion and I found him to be a solid presence on stage as well. There is some cool riffing going on with the guitars and this made the band not some run of the mill opener that you end up dreading for the whole set. The band themselves were not too sure that the audience enjoyed them, which they mentioned to me after they finished, and they were basing this on some of the reaction they heard from the stage. From where I was standing there were applause and yells of approval and in a venue that was not allowing any sort of moshing one can expect the response to not seem as resounding. I also stressed that this was not an easy bill to open as its not often we find Enslaved and Dark Funeral on the same show. They do have promise, and I will be watching out to bring you the latest as it happens.
Continue reading Dark Funeral @ B.B. King Blues Club (1/10/2007) →