Nidrosian Black Metal
by u/VENOM_IST_FALSE
By now everyone knows about 90's Norwegian black metal, the infamous murders, church burnings and of course, the most imporant part of it, the music. In the early to mid 2000's though, a new specific wave of black metal rose from Norway, centered around the town Trondheim, formerly known as Nidaros, and it has since gained enough traction to make people all over the globe travel to one specific festival to see and experience the glory that is Nidrosian black metal. The festival I'm talking about is Nidrosian Black Mass. The final incarnation was held in Brussels, Belgium and featured not only Nidrosian acts, but also other major extreme metal acts such as Blasphemy, Satanic Warmaster, Mgla and Archgoat.
The sound
There is no specific sound related to the scene, except for being black metal. The tempo, rawness, melody and harshness varies from band to band, but the one thing that is constant is the ritualistic and arcane atmosphere. Terratur Possessions, home to major contemporary black metal acts such as Svartidauði and Misþyrming, is the music label that is dedicated to Nidrosian black metal. In addition to the atmosphere, there is a certain darkness and coldness, relatively normal in black metal, but few bands manage to do it as genuine as the Nidrosian acts. The general theme is to stay true to the old-school, not caring about "pushing" the genre ahead or incorporating progressive or technical elements.
The bands
Celestial Bloodshed: The first thing you might notice is the similarity to Mayhem's De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, an album that features the cathedral Nidarosdomen on the front cover, with its tremolo picked guitars as the main focal point. Celestial Bloodshed featured on the most important artists in the scene, Steingrim Torson, who died from a gunshot wound in 2009. He contributed not only to Celestial Bloodshed, but also One Tail, One Head, Kaosritual and Castrum Doloris. Recommended listening: Mitt rike - EP (2001), Cursed, Scarred and Forever Possessed (2008), Ω (2013).
Mare: Mare is a band that relies more on the ritualistic atmosphere compared to Celestial Bloodshed. By adding a hint of keyboards they create a dark and disturbing sound, and the almost chant-like vocals makes which adds to the ritualistic feel of the music. The monotonous riffing is line with the early 90's style. Recommended listening: Spheres like Death / Throne of the Thirteenth Witch - Compilation (2013)
Kaosritual (now known as Dark Sonority): Kaosritual was actually the first band that released a full-length album in the Nidrosian scene, but other bands had demo's and EP's already released before this. Kaosritual uses some of the same elements that Mare does, but is generally more aggressive and the vocals done by Steingrim Torson are absolutely fantastic. The use of eerie organs and satanic chants adds an additional dose of evil. Recommended listening: Svøpt morgenrød (2007), Dark Sonority - Kaosrekviem (2012).
One Tail, One Head: One of the more in-your-face acts, definitely going for a more Venom-style riffing. Known for their extremely engaging live act, going all out on the blood and corpsepaint. The production is low-fi and there are no interludes, synths or organs to be found here. Recommended listening: One Tail, One Head - Demo (2008), One Tail, One Head - Compilation (2011).
Black Majesty: Here is a band that does both black metal and dark ambient, sometimes on the same track. Fair warning though, it's very raw, the first demo is fair game if you're already into LLN bands such as Belketre or Vlad Tepes, but things gets really muddy on 2009 EP, Seventh King of Edom. Black Majesty makes use of keyboards in a more direct way than for example Mare does but it compliments the riffs, drums and vocals extremely well. Recommended listening: Baphe Metis (2007), Seventh King of Edom (2009).
Saligia: By far the most well produced act of the scene. Saligia is the natural progression of De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, especially considering the vocals are somewhat similar to Attila Csihar. Even though they are not signed to Terratur Possessions, they are still connected to the scene by being a band from Trondheim. The riffing and drumming is more sophisticated than most of the related bands. If you want to ease yourself into the scene, Saligia is probably the way to go. Recommended listening: Sic Transit Gloria Mundi (2011), FØNIX (2015).
Vemod: Self-proclaimed dark ethereal metal act Vemod is the oddball of the scene. Removing themselves from the satanic imagery, Vemod instead focus on nature and they have the sound to back it up. It's very much a monotonous and repetitious sound, often not using more than a couple of riffs throughout their 10 minute long songs, but the transcedental (bastardized term I know, but it actually fits). Beautiful or gorgeous is may not a term often used in a black metal context, but it certainly fits when describing Vemod. If you're a fan of cascadian black metal, i.e Wolves in the Throne Room this will certainly catch your attention. Recommended listening: Vinterilden (2011), Venter på stormene (2012).
Other bands worth checking out: Selvhat, Castrum Doloris, Aptorian Demon, Sarath, Min Kniv, Darvaza, Slagmaur