The biggest problem with black metal today is that either you get bands trying so hard to project an image that it's nothing more than a prefabricated gimmick or you get earnest bands who simply don't have the musical goods to pull of a decent record. The sad thing is that the raw end of black metal is very similar to punk in that all it takes is some passion, some basic music skills and the determination to get what's inside your head onto tape. Quite a few bands seem to stumble over that particular step.

Nargaroth, on the other hand, provides us with a kick in the pants that any fan of raw black metal needs.

Black Metal Ist Krieg (A Dedication Monument) is, as the title implies, a bit of a tribute to underground black metal throughout the years. Mixing obscure cover songs with his own material, Nargaroth's Kanwulf comes up with a lengthy album that does nothing but make one want to find his arsonist kit and hit up any small town in the Bible Belt. All the typical elements of raw black metal are in abundance here, from the documentation styled recording (as opposed to "producing) to the stylistic influences that can be heard. Kanwulf's music is often reminscient of Burzum's early work and the commonalities can be seen more often as a tip of the hat rather than an outright thievery of ideas. Nargaroth, which features guest musicians from Moonblood and Maniac Butcher for this release, simply excels at this thing. The CD offers a great amount of variety, from repetitious epics like the excellent "Seven Tears are Flowing to the River" to all-out blast fests such as the title track. Kanwulf's guitar playing is quite creative, despite working within the idiom of black metal. He even sneaks in amusing samples, such as the short bit from Resevoir Dogs that introduces the blistering (no pun intended) "I Burn for You". The musicianship is very solid throughout, offering loose, fluid playing as opposed to either clunky amateurish attempts or overly polished glitzy stuff.

Nargaroth is one of the very few current black metal bands that completely impresses the hell out of me. His affection towards the underground black metal scene comes across as quite genuine and his ability to create music inspired by his favorite bands that darn near outshines them is very spiffy indeed.

Review by John Chedsey

Review date: 03/2003

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