Dark Funeral - The Secrets of the Black Arts (1996)

The Secrets of the Black Arts is what I consider to be the epitome of 'generic Swedish black metal' album, with its Abyss studio production and predictable riffing patterns that attempt to bring its Norse and Bathory influences into a mildly more accessible medium. That's not to say that I actually dislike this record, because in truth I have oft spun and enjoyed it through the years, but there is nothing remotely menacing or terrifying about it that I've been able to pick up in the last 15 years. It becomes obvious pretty early why this band has so divided the black metal audience, turning some off entirely from not only Dark Funeral but almost all of the Swedish scene, while others simply revel in its mindless, middle of the road blasphemies.

This is not only the band's full-length debut, but the last of the 'original' Dark Funeral lineup, with only guitarist Lord Ahriman going on to its successor, the faster and more vicious Vobiscum Satanas (but still just as generic). I recognize this era in particular for Themgoroth's fuller, more brutal vocals than on ensuing albums, though the riffing sequences are largely the same sort of chord progressions you'd expect: not nearly so high strung or melodic as Dissection, and a bit thicker and more fibrous than those of earlier Marduk. There is no question really of each members' prowess in punishment. Equimanthorn was a beast on the kit, blasting steadily along beneath the lattice of Blackmoon and Ahriman's riffing and Themgoroth's present if standard bass lines which seem to just gallop along to the beat.

From the compositional angle, though, The Secrets of the Black Arts doesn't offer a whole lot of standout tremolo note progressions other than to merely due justice to the deep blue, eerie shading of its cover art. Tunes like "When Angels Forever Die" or the titular "Secrets" burst along a hurried, unhallowed axis with some only a slight cognizance of rhythmic variety, but even when the band takes a dip for a more broad, open mid-pace ("Satan's Mayhem", or the double bass driving of "My Dark Desires"), the structure of the riffing doesn't get any more interesting. The Swedes are more interested in muscle than complexity, and to that extent they succeed in achieving a sound somewhere between Those of the Unlight and De Mysteriis dom Sathanas, which is all some might ask for.

Yet despite the density of the band's assault, the album feels a bit too level, and since they lack the symphonic rigor of an Emperor or the subtle pathos of a Burzum, the album doesn't ever really grab its audience. It feels all too plain, a textbook exhibition of strength and sacrilege that never leaps first to mind when one is in the mood to revisit the mid-90s boom. I realize it's all the rage to accept this album (and the previous EP) while reviling the band's later worth with the changed lineups, but I'm entirely forced to disagree. I found at least their 2001 album Diabolis Interium to have a far more engaging, fevered and intense riff-set, but certainly that would not have been possible without laying the bloody brickwork here.

I might find myself unable to listen through their monotonous cover of Von's "Satanic Blood" here, but if I'm really in a crunch for stock hellblast velocity, the originals on The Secrets of the Black Arts offer an adequate thrill ride. It's not original, it's not innovative, it's not particularly dark or catchy and it's far from the top of its class, but the consistent lyrics and infernally fueled energy build some semblance of atmosphere despite themselves, and if you're in the mood for what Dark Funeral is brewing, provides enough satisfaction.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10] (a disciple of the art aflame)

http://www.darkfuneral.se/

Dark Funeral - Angelus Exuro Pro Eternus (2009)

If there is one thing to be said for Dark Funeral, you know what to expect when going in, and you generally get what you paid for. You're not going in for innovation, and you're not going to remain in God's good graces; you are here to get your ass kicked by a blast of diabolic Swedish black metal, an all expense paid trip to inferno with Masse Bromberg (aka Emperor Magus Caligula) as your tour guide. Since last paying their respects to Lucifer with Attera Totus Sanctus in 2005, the band has undergone a change in the drum position, the double bass blasting dynamo Matte Modin having moved on to whatever onslaught sees his mercenary skill in demand. His replacement here is Nils Fjellström, known here as Dominator, who has also performed with a myriad of Swedish acts like Aeon, Chastisement, and In Battle, to list but a few. The man has large shoes...or should I say pedals, to fill, and he does so, if a little more reserved than some of Modin's drumming on prior works.

The only reason I mention the drumming in such important light, is because Dark Funeral lives and dies on its blasting hostility. Many peer bands have moved on towards varied pastures, but this band enters the studio each time, hellbent on blowing your eardrums out with walls of obscene battering. Sure, there are Lord Ahriman's sinister guitar spewings, made stereo through Bo Karlsson, and the quality of these is in line with a Diabolus Interium, but it's the hammering thunder of the rhythm section that fuels Caligula's hellish wrath. And Angelus Exuro Pro Eternus is sure to let you have it, slamming straight through two bestial warfields, "The End of the Human Race" signifying "The Birth of the Vampiir" and then all fucking hell breaking loose. For a few brief sections, "Stigmata" allows you to relax beneath a war drumming, vile guitars and a deeper Satanic narrative vocal tone, but it cannot last...and DOES NOT last. The blast. The blast.

So it falls upon "My Funeral" to provide an eye to this storm, which it does with a slower, albeit, rolling ballistic presence below darkly glinting atmospheric textures that are created largely through the guitar riffs. The title track follows, and it is right back to Blasting Demolition Team 666. Few ankles could dare rough this territory, but Dominator is probably not human to begin with, simply a black metal torture machine given flesh. I'd like to take the safe way out and say that all this blasting becomes 'tiring', but as it is not my first exposure to Dark Funeral, I would not have it any other way. "Demons of Five" opens with a nice descending guitar line, some molten work on the toms, and a very thick, rolling gait begins to amass, a legion of winged abominations whose names cannot be spoken making a desperate strike against the gates of Heaven.

Charrrrrrrrrrrrrrrge!

This is followed by the tumultous and bruising "Declaration of Hate", wherein Caligula gets all disgusting, like some succubus has snaked her whip across his throat and squeezed even more vulgarity from his poor chords. I would hate to be this fiend's tonsils. "In My Dreams" is another of the slower, atmospheric pieces with the huge guitars that spawn cathedrals of hatred against the emptiness. "My Latex Queen" is last but not least, a seductive symphony of superblasted fury at which the Emperor is the only qualified conductor.

To be blunt, there are not many tracks here that caught my attention for anything further than an energetic fuckfest from somewhere South of paradise. A few of the tracks, like "The End of Human Race" and "Angelus Exuro Pro Eternus" provide a few catchy lines, but the rest is just a flying guillotine of torment and the same, thick, driving textures the band has been producing since Vobiscum Satanas. Truly, not a lot has changed since that period, but that fact only stings if you actually want it to. Angelus Exuro Pro Eternus sounds immense, as Dark Funeral make great use of their status and funding to get as professional as a band in this genre ever can. I can't laud the band for its musical invention or for surpassing some of their prior pieces, but if you're a devout Funeral attendee I don't think you'll be highly disappointed with this latest anti-hymnal. The question is, when do we get another Sportlov album?

Highlights: scaring my neighbors with this album

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://www.darkfuneral.se/

Dark Funeral - Diabolus Interium (2001)

Few bands in the extreme black scene can unleash such an explosive holocaust of refined riffing and boundary forcing mayhem as Dark Funeral. I can think of only a few; 1349 and Emperor would top that short list. They have become one of the defining forces in Swedish black metal, and I believe Diabolus Interium is probably the best example of their work.

Dark Funeral does not fuck around. They never have, and they probably never will. Within mere seconds, "The Arrival of Satan's Empire" has already destroyed everything in a five mile radius with its intense blasting, ripping production and the unforgettable plague of its winding, damnable parade of notes and chords. It is clear from the second track "Hail Murder" that the Swedes have no plans of letting up. Even when the band slows down the tempo for "Goddess of Sodomy" it is still sick as fuck. Not easy to choose favorites, but two of the other tracks I really appreciate are the title track and "Thus I Have Spoken". Terrifying.

Matte Modin's drumming is simply insane. That a human being has this much energy is difficult to believe, but there is a reason this man is so sought after for projects. Ahriman and Dominion never let up their barrage of filthy, sadistic chords and imperial Satanic melodies. Though his bass playing is adequate, it is Emperor Magus Caligula's vocals which inject each track with diabolic menace, one of the best pure black metal frontmen out there.

Trust me, put your crosses away, hide your rosary beads and check out this Satanic masterwork. Unrelenting in both intent and delivery, Dark Funeral prove their standing in the armies of darkness as generals and executioners.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (a crucified whore, that's what you are)

http://www.darkfuneral.se/