Is Black Metal Confuse(d)?

PART I: Tangenting Myself Into a Coma

I remember very clearly arguing with all kindsa metal and punk folk about how black metal was gonna be the new punk rock. This wuz when the first wave of Norwegian church burnin', murderin', suicide committin' bands first rose to prominence in the early 90's. At the time, I wasn't comparin' 'em musically at all-- more along the lines of a similar DIY aesthetic and the inversion of the popular cultural values of the times. Punk preached anarchy in a conservative era; black metal, fascism, at a time when lefty PC-isms were at their height. In Europe, Mr. Vikernes was creating the same kind of mass hysteria that the Pistols did in their heyday (get a copy of "Lords of Chaos" if you don't know what I'm on about; it's a flawed but engrossing tome about BM).

Then, something funny happened: black metal started to sound like punk rock. Darkthrone in particular have fully embraced the kinda riffs/arrangements you'd associate more with Amebix than Burzum; skinheads are going to BM gigs... man, I guess I was right, but not in the way I was hoping I was. Shit, black metal got sucked into the mainstream even faster than punk, what, with Dummy Burger and Cradle of Shit paving the way for all kindsa careerists and opportunists. Again, like punk, BM got too open-minded for its own good. I'm not one of those "keep it tr00!!" fuckheads/purists, but when you start adding too many elements of other genres into the mix, you end up with something so far removed from the original intent, that the genre itself becomes redundant. I mean, what the fuck do flutes and Russian folk chants hafta do with metal??! It's much like when Gang of Four came along with their boring "angular", (pretentious rockcrit term alert! Danger! Danger!) funk-derived riffs that has provided us with yawn-inducing "art-punk" bands by the truckload.

Anyfuckingway, back to my statement in the last paragraph-- the BM-sounding-like-punk part. Listening to Ildjarn the other day, I was struck by the uncanny resemblance his early demos had with Japcore greats like Confuse. And, since I was looking for an excuse to once and for all hep those of you (probably 2 at most) why this blog is called "Spending Loud Night", I thought I might as well try to cram some chocolate in with the peanut butter. Now, do I honestly believe Ildjarn was a Confuse fan? Nah, probably not. After his departure from Thou Shalt Suffer (who would become Emperor), I think he simply wanted to make the most primitive, raw and "grim" music he possibly could down in his basement.

PART II: Using a Widget to (Poorly) Prove a Point

Luckily (or not) for y'all, I've got a soft spot for all these new-fangled gadgets any idiot (like me) can easily embed on his insignificant corner of cyberspace. I've been meaning to do this for a while, but since this is a resurrection of sorts, this is the first time the internet stage has felt right. Keep in mind this is an experimental kinda thing; not the type of post I'll be making on a regular basis. This way, you can tell me how wrong I am right away without having to wait until you've d/l'd both albums. I've chosen Ildjarn's "Mørklagt Sti" and Confuse's "Disaster" as I found 'em the most strikingly similar (the controls on this thing should be easy enough to master, I would think. You can also download each track if that be yer wont).




Let's get the album covers & specs outta the way:


ILDJARN - Det Frysende Nordariket
-Tracks 1 to 4 are taken from "Norse" 7" EP, recorded in March 1993.
-Tracks 5 to 11 are taken from "Ildjarn" demo, recorded in January 1993.
-Tracks 12 to 25 are taken from "Minnesjord" demo, recorded in February 1994.



CONFUSE - Discography (aka Confuse)

-Tracks 1 to 7 from "Nuclear Addicts" (1984).
-Tracks 8 to 11 from "Contempt Of The Authority, And Take Off The Lie" (1985)
-Tracks 12 to 15 from "Spending Loud Night" (1987)
-Tracks 16 to 19 from "Stupid Life" (1989)
-Tracks 20 to 23 from "Atrocious Madness" (Unreleased/Unofficial)

Notes: Tracks 8 to 11 recorded at Fuckigami Recording Studio, August 20th, 1985.
Previously released on Confuse Records.

Tracks 12 to 15 recorded at Mad Studio, August 20th, 1983. Produced and distributed by Kings World Records.
Previously released on Confuse Records.

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