The genre of black metal has evolved over the last 36 years, which I can’t believe it’s been that long, when Newcastle, England extreme metal band Venom burst on the scene in 1978 with albums such as Welcome To Hell (1981) and Black Metal (1982).
Which began an army of bands that formed through Venom’s influence, those notably are Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax from the United States, and hailing out of Norway came a band that took the term of black metal to a whole new meaning with Mayhem.
Mayhem was taking it to a whole new level with Øystein Aarseth, who is mainly known for his stage name of Euronymous, and took it upon himself to burn down churches – even taking photos of his dead friend Dead who committed suicide through slashing of his wrists and a shotgun wound to the head – which was later used as cover art for their bootleg live album Dawn Of The Black Hearts.
As the momentum continued, other bands such as Emperor, Burzum, Satyricon, Immortal and Dimmu Borgir progressed the genre into separate directions to where Burzum and Immortal continued the raw and low quality buzzing sounds, where Dimmu Borgir went the more atmospheric direction that has been a commercial success, and another notable band from England, Cradle Of Filth.
In 1994, in Melbourne, Australia a solo project emerged under the name of Horde, releasing their one and only full-length Hellig Usvart which means Holy UnBlack in Norwegian. Known as a Christian representation of the genre of black metal, the project immediately received death threats from followers within the Nordic plains and around black metal circles as it was released initially through Steve Rowe of Mortification’s new label Rowe Productions, so assumptions soon arose.
Bands from both sides began to emerge with the likes of Extol, Antestor, Behemoth, Marduk, Elgibbor, Crimson Moonlight and so many others to name, that continued the art of dark vs the light within the background of the largely humanistic and satanic origins of black metal.
Fast forward to 2020 and the growth along with the progression lives on, but there are also a number of bands and solo projects that still keep the old sounds of black metal alive. Shekinah is one of those projects that continues to pursue the path that bands began back in 1991, with dark and shrill sounds that even a traditional genre listener could never turn their back on.
The main man Nocturnal Servant, who has been involved with other projects such as Goatscorge, Proven Existence and What Brings Ruin, has just announced his brand new album Trve Pentecostal Black Metal which has been a work in progress for this young artist. “Flames Of Hell” is the first single from his brand new offering.