The second demo by the mysterious Bay Area Black Metal band Lascowiec was titled Gunshots Ring Out Over Vinland Streets. It was released in a very limited run in 2006 by my short-lived tape label The Funeral Agency. This release shows a continuation of the Branikald worship of their first demo, Gesamkunstwerk. Both Lascowiec demos have been released as a CD by Dark Hidden Productions called Asgard Mysteries. As much as I love this band, and know them to be intelligent and noble beings, I am sometimes baffled by their flirtations with the shadier political elements of the Black Metal scene. Above all their music is pure, icy transcendental bliss, and should be heard.
love your blog.
ReplyDeletewhen you talk about their "flirtations with the shadier political elements of the black metal scene" are you referring to them having a release out on dark hidden productions? anyway, great band! they definitely do not sound like they're from san francisco!
ReplyDeleteThat is a factor, yes.
ReplyDeleteFirst time I've ever heard of a band engaged in "Branikald worship".
ReplyDeleteis dark hidden productions a NSBM lable?
ReplyDeleteWhat's the connection with Horn of Dagoth?????
ReplyDeleteNazi flirtations often have much less to do with factual political affiliation and more with the impulse of small musicians to join an established scene for support of an underground musical venture like putting out a black metal tape. It's a way to establish an ad hoc audience. Musicians often fear the most that nobody's going to give a shit about their music. There is an established and tested scene revolving around nazi-anything in black metal, regardless of quality, and there's a similar one in old-school-'traditional metal' and likewise for any other niche form. It takes an artist of great fortitude and self-belief to do away with those mechanisms of spreading the word around and simply put music out there that survives on its actual merit. Your friends might not have felt equipped for that at the time. I'm not judging, perhaps I'd have done the same (though I'd have picked a different subscene to nazi black metal).
ReplyDeleteWhat I find interesting about this band is the jangly guitars in a black metal context. Perhaps there's lots of bands like this out there but I'm not too much in the loop on this style of music so I have not heard something like this before. A minus is that the songs tend to run in each other, pretty similar material. Still, thanks for uploading and presenting, Aesop.
word verification for this post: prowl
Dark Hidden has released records by NS bands mainly, but I can't comment on the agenda of the label itself.
ReplyDeleteTMM, at one point early on a member of Lascowiec was singing for HoD, but doesn't appear on the demos.
I would prefer "Forest worship", but I don't know if there's really a difference
ReplyDeletelove the guitar sound
ReplyDeletethis is a great downer album, love it thanks!
ReplyDeleteCan't agree with the above comment--this is not a downer album...it's an OPENER album. good thing.
ReplyDeleteAre you aware of any possibilities of new material being released by Lascowiec? Such great stuff.
ReplyDeleteAccording to one of the two, whom I ran into the other night, more stuff is in the works. The band is still active despite one member relocating to Russia.
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