One of my more regrettable acts over recent years was my decision to cancel my subscription to Terrorizer magazine, extreme music's finest periodical. It's one I've since reversed but I'm still catching up of metal gems that I missed whilst I was out of touch with the genre, one of which is Watain's stunning 'Lawless Darkness' LP which dropped back in 2010 and has been back in the media recently due to the recent release of their 'Opus Diaboli' concert DVD. Though I read about them in Terrorizer several years ago when their scribes threw their collective weight behind their breakthrough 2003 release 'Opus Diaboli' and 2007's equally devastating 'Sworn to the Black', I'd refrained from giving them more than a passing listen until I spotted them adorning the most recent issue of Metal Hammer and concluded that they had obviously gone some way towards breaching the mainstream. If they have then it's certainly not as a result of diluting the potency of their music which is an intoxicating blend of classic metal composition and the sinister aesthetics of Scandinavian black metal that manages to transcend the boundaries of either genre to forge something truly unique. 'Lawless Darkness' sends tingles down my spine that remind me of the first time I allowed myself to be drawn into the underworld of heavy metal, back in my mid-teens when after having snubbed the genre for years I was finally won over by 'Master of Puppets' and 'Live after Death', monuments not of witless savagery but of musical intricacy and towering atmospherics that boasted labyrinthine guitar epics that spiralled off into the night. The reserved curiosity that saw me flick with trepidation through the metal CD racks in HMV to pore over the artwork and song titles of bands trading in occult references and ghoulish imagery eventually gave in to casual seduction - though I'd scoffed at the idea that anyone could ever enjoy listening to this shit, deep down I knew that there was obviously something special in there. Brief glimpses of Slayer's 'Seasons in the Abyss' video and later MTV airings of 'Covenant'-era Morbid Angel drew me further into the darker waters of extreme metal until I was a die-hard convert, constantly looking for a new band whose universe I could gleefully explore. Those days seem a long way away now but 'Lawless Darkness' takes me right back there - though they trade in brief flashes of black metal bombast, Watain's sound owes much more to the grandiose delivery and multi-part composition of late 80s thrash and classic Maiden (think 'Powerslave' and 'Hallowed be thy name' rather than 'Aces High' or 'Run to the Hills'). The legacy of Metallica, Maiden and many of their peers now firmly established within the mainstream has lost its menace through lumpen nostalgia and commercial showboating but Watain are a long way from slipping into the same trap - their favourable media portrayal of late reminds me of Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth in the late 90s whose Satanic theatrics saw them become mainstays of the metal press whilst their music remained resolutely underground. I was disappointed with their recorded output when I heard it but if Watain can snag a few curious glances based on their lurid promo shots then I'm all for it - the best way into their world is via the DVD which combines some well-shot footage of their live show with a series of lengthy inter-song segments mixing interviews and ghoulish theatrics, revealing them to be reassuringly intelligent as well as wholly dedicated to their dark art. Most of the setlist is culled from 'Lawless Darkness' which along with their other studio LPs is well worth checking out in its own right, an almost perfect blend of ferocity and intricacy that pushes the boundaries of extremity whilst leaving you able to recognise every song after one listen. If metal leaves you cold then this won't be the record to change your mind but if you're partial to the more extreme end of the spectrum then you need to get your hands on this shit ASAP - hark back to the first time you drank in the dark charms of 'Don't break the oath', 'Ride the Lightning, 'Altars of Madness', 'Heartwork' or any other cocktail of melody and extremity since metal's classic era and Watain more than hold their own with any of them. Don't stop at the LP too, check out the full concert film at the link below for a glimpse of these guys at their grizzly best - as metallic entertainment lodged conveniently between 'Game of Thrones' series it's an unmissable treat and a gateway into a band you definitely shouldn't be living without.
Check out : the full 'Opus Diaboli' set on YouTube before it gets taken down. Go!
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