Well,
there's just no competition to the title of The Ultimate 80's Black Metal
Rarity, folks. The number of known copies of FLAMES OF HELL's mythical
"Fire And Steel" album currently in collections throughout the
world can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Boxfulls of Yellow Goats,
Deathcrushes and various Colombian deathmongers are likely to turn up
on your path to this unholy grail of dark & evil naughtiness and it
may be wise to prepare yourself for the very likely possibility that you
will never even see a copy with our own eyes. Digital copies are slowly
getting into wider circulation though, and anyone investing enough time
and effort should eventually be able to explore the legend for themselves.
But why waste the time before first consulting your favorite Metal reviewer?
I really did my outmost to keep expectations at bay before finally getting
to hear this album on CDR (no, I don't own it yet - yes, it's a bigass want!),
but we all know how impossible that is, don't we? My first reaction was
therefor 'stunned but awkwardly disappointed'. Fukking 'ell!! This is some
weeeeeird shit, maaan... Wow. Hm... It certainly takes a while getting
into. It's the bloody vocalist-dilemma once again. The comparison to Count
Grishnak (sic?) of BURZUM I heard long ago was a bit too close to target
I'm afraid. Imagine a demented, mishmash clone of the Norwegian twat, SABBAT-era
Martin Valkyre and Tim Baker of CIRITH UNGOL. Said bands also spring to
mind musically, but more than any others,
HELLHAMMER is without a doubt
the band of which they bare the most resemblance. Apart from the howling
vox the guitar playing is another unique characteristic of theirs. The way
Steinþór's playing goes from thunderous, malevolent riffing to noisy soloing
overturns plenty of ideas of how you normally construct a Metal song. One
wonders what a 2nd guitarist could have done to their sound. The faster
songs have a slight MOTÖRHEAD-vibe to them, especially "Back From
The Grave", but it's clear that FLAMES OF HELL weren't out to create
a 'good time rock'n'roll feel' on their album. It's their Doom-songs, "Our
Time Is Coming", "Flames In Hell" and "Heroes In Black"
that's the most interesting. Especially "Heroes.." which is the
only song I'd call really great, reminding me a bit of
BLACK
HOLE, but with a totally different attack. A truly dark, powerful and
majestic piece of noise and a great way to end the last 10 minutes of your
next Doom Metal mix-tape. Regarding the album as a whole, I can't really
sympathize with the one's who call it crap nor with those who call it brilliant.
Sure, it has potential, but plenty of flaws too, so therefor it will remain
a curiosity rather than a classic in my book.
The beautiful centerpiece on the front cover was drawn by the third Nicolaison-brother,
who was also the man behind Draconian Records. This label was actually
an off-shot from the French-based brother's book-publishing company, the
vessel he used for publishing his art. Another curious anecdote I've come
across is the story of how the album was recorded. Apparently it was produced
in a studio located in a YMCA building. When the head master of the building
came by and heard the 'vocals' being recorded he not only banned the band
from ever returning, but also evicted the studio from their facilities.
(Christians - can't live with 'em, can't throw 'em to the lions...) Stories
like this certainly begs the question of
'who the fuck were these
people?!' in both bold and italics. Luckily I've come across a
unique witness account by the drummer of Icelanders SOLSTAFIR:
"The Nicolai brothers are definitely the most strange persons
I have ever met. They all look very much the same (and have done so since
the 80´s, although they are all around 40 years old now), with long black
hair, always wear leather coats, white shirts, black pants and almost
knee high SS boots. They are very much into occultism and satanism. /.../
I think no one knows them well. They are truly mysterious. Jóhann (or
Jói Motörhead as he is called) is a very different person. He came from
the late 70´s - early 80´s punk scene, but looks like a fairly normal
person today..."
In conclusion, the most fascinating aspect of old forgotten, deathlike
bands like FLAMES OF HELL,
PARABELLUM,
GRAF SPEE, REENCARNACION etc are
the way they play around with and diversify our preconceptions of the old-school
Black Metal sound. It would be interesting to hear a new band taking a few
influences from these sickos rather than the predictable BATHORY/MAYHEM/C
FROST/SARCÓFAGO rip-offs we're seeing far too much of nowadays, wouldn't
it?
Thanx to Peter Ott for the cdr, photos and additional
info.
Originally written in German. Translate to:
Ein Mann Gottes würde sich hastig bekreuzigen und irgendwas von "Teufelsmusik" murmeln, wenn er die ersten rabenschwarzen Klänge (noch schwärzer als das Vinyl aus denen dieses satanische Gedröhne entfleucht) dieser äußerst obskuren Truppe aus Reykjavik seine Lauschlappen strangulieren. Gut, der Bandname könnte auch auf eine White Metal Band hinweisen, die die ahnungslosen Bangerseelen vor dem Fegefeuer warnen möchte, ist es aber nicht. Ein morbider Thrash Mix aus Hellhammer und Venom mit Master's Hammer ähnlichen Vocals und gelegentlichen Ausflüchten in die Doom Ecke zersetzt euer Gehirn, langsam, denn ihr sollt ja erst im Zuge der letzten Töne dahinsiechen. Unter Garantie, etwas derartig Abartiges habt ihr noch nie gehört. Die krankhaften Vocals tun ihr übriges diese gottlose Scheibe auf einen Thron aus Blut und Menschenknochen zu heben.
Die Chance diese Scheibe in Island zu ergattern ist sehr sehr klein, da ein Bruder des Bassisten und Gitarristen/Sängers die LP auf seinem eigenen Label Draconian Records (irgendwo in Paris ansässig) herausbrachte und somit ein Großteil der Platten in Frankreich Verbreitung fand.
Ein einzigartiges Teil für schwarze Seelen und solche die es werden wollen mit Kultfator 666. Eine Bootleg CD-Version existiert ebenso und macht es euch weitaus einfacher und besonders billiger, in den Genuss dieser erhabenen Band zu kommen.
One of the most wanted records in the Black Metal scene but fairly impossible to find, "Fire and steel" of Reykjaviks sickos Flames of Hell offers a morbid and occult mix of early Hellhammer and Venom, completed with extremely sick vocals in the Master's Hammer vein and the satanic image as it might appear to everyone isn't just an image. Dedicated to the horned lord of the witches, an impure Doom and Thrash sound will make your brain melting slowly and a preacher of doom will enter your subconscious to squeeze out the last remaining spark of humanity out of your helpless soul till you're nothing but a weak slave of purgatory.
A record one of a kind that's worth every price!