Ancestor of the Darkly Sky

Gehenna's brilliant 1993 EP was clumsily called Ancestor of the Darkly Sky and was released in limited numbers by Necromantic Gallery Productions. The riffing and atmosphere are exemplary of my favorite period of Norwegian black metal, when gaunt suburban norgie teens painted up and flocked to the woods to pose in the snow, a time when the woods echoed with reverb and fell screams....darkly.

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First Spell

Gehenna's 1994 EP First Spell is a classic bit of second-wave Norwegian Black Metal. The use of archaic keyboard sounds over the top of the plodding mid tempo riffs sets this apart from the herd. The '60s church organs on opening track "The Shivering Voice Of The Ghost" are to die for (check the solo that begins roughly at 2:09). Sadly, Gehenna didn't really follow this path with their first full-length Seen Through the Veils of Darkness (The Second Spell), which is a decent enough album but fails to hold the magick and mystique of First Spell. This was when Norwegian black metal was new and exciting, before it was fully realized, when the deranged fumblings of pasty disenfranchised Scandi teens made for great art with depth and distance. Fall under its spell.

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Darkthrone Holy Darkthrone

You know as well as I that Darkthrone rules. So widely regarded is this fact that some of the greatest Norwegian bands came together on this compilation to pay tribute to the most influential Norse Black Metal band of all time. Here's the rundown...

Satyricon-Kathaarian Life Code

Enslaved-Natassja In Eternal Sleep

Thorns-The Pagan Winter

Emperor-Cromlech

Dodheimsgard-Green Cave Float

Gehenna-Transilvanian Hunger

Gorgoroth-Slottet I Det Fjerne

Immortal-To Walk The Infernal Fields

Oh, by the way, the Gorgoroth and Immortal songs are one track because the Immortal track was supposed to be like a hidden bonus track.

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