Like isolated wildflowers dotting a mountain meadow in early spring, one-man bands are scattered across the world of metal. Largely obscure, they chase their own visions or simply follow the foosteps of others to prove to themselves that they can. Creating music that more than a few handfuls of people want to hear is rare; in many cases, that isn’t even on the agenda.
I haven’t done anything like a comprehensive study, but my sense is that there are more one-man projects in black metal than in most metal genres. Maybe it’s something about the purity of obscurity that seems to be one of black metal’s organizing principles — the fewer people who listen, the better. Or maybe it’s just easy enough to set the drum program on “blast” and let it run, while thrashing a repeating mass of tremolo chords and screaming like your throat is being slit, and dousing everything with distortion, of course.
There’s actually a lot to be said for that approach, if it’s filled with a genuine spirit of bloody rebellion, but it may not make the listener think twice after the initial adrenaline rush has spent itself. To create something that has a lasting impact? That requires a special talent, which is what Germany’s Fyrnask shows in spades on the band’s second album, Eldir Nótt. Continue reading »
