Vermeth

Vermeth - Suicide or Be Killed
Drakkar Productions, 2008
Genre: Black Metal

1. Intro
2. Suicide or Be Killed
3. Ave Satanas
4. Necromancer
5. From the Depths...
6. Total Annihilation - Armageddon
7. Malediction
8. The Gates of Chaos
9. Flame of Hate (Torgeist cover)
10. Outro






It's been quite a while since we've heard from Vermeth, but when I saw a new album was out I ordered it right away. I always enjoyed Torgeist, so I was always happy to hear more Black Metal from Beleth Rim. This Vermeth album has quite a different quality to it compared to the prior album and other LLN styled material. It's interesting to note that there is a lengthy essay in the booklet calling out all the bootleggers that have copied the LLN material and capitalized on it. While I tend to agree, but in some cases its the only way some of us could have ever heard the material. For example, Black Murder was never officially released, but "Feasts" is a great album and I'm glad I was able to hear it... ah well.

"Suicide or Be Killed" is rather different from the debut album. It feels a lot more further removed from the original LLN sound and seems to be more of a Bathory/Darkthrone style of a release. Even the song "Malediction" sounds an awful lot like a Bathory song in my opinion. Sure, some of the songs have fast sections, but for the most part a lot of the guitar riffs are actually quite catchy. I, honestly, wasn't expecting that from a Vermeth release. I was expecting more of that sinister tortured riffing I've come to hear more prominently in these projects. I also wonder if this was recorded in the Black Legions studio, because its not mentioned on the CD anywhere. The production is totally different and a lot more thinned out, which gives the songs this razor sharp vicious edge. It actually reminds me of the type of production Katharsis uses.

In the end the Vermeth album works out pretty well. It's more in line with what Torgeist worked on, but with even more Bathory worship thrown in. If you're a fan of this raw and vicious sounding style of Black Metal, Vermeth is probably one of the better projects, so it's certainly worth checking out in that regard.

Vermeth - Your Ruin...
Drakkar Productions, 2001
Genre: Black Metal

1. Intro (Your Ruin...)
2. The Black Legions
3. Eternal Dark Being
4. Let Blood Flow
5. Unholy Rapture
6. Black Remembrance
7. Die Bastard
8. Outro








If you followed the LLN from their early days in France then surely you'll know of the project called Torgeist. Well after the LLN disbanded Lord Beleth Rim wasn't really done performing that kind of Black Metal and instead started Vermeth. Unlike Torgeist its mostly just him doing all the music this time. Even though there is no drummer listed on here, I do wonder if there was one involved. Vermeth seems to be the only band really carrying the torch of the Black Legions though, if you look at the booklet you'll see the three inverted crosses symbol. One of the songs is called "The Black Legions" and all the wording is the same as what the LLN produced. This was even recorded at the Black Legions studio!

Vermeth sounds like what you would expect from an LLN project, maybe this is really a continuation of what Torgeist was eventually going to sound like? To me, it sounds like a blend of Vlad Tepes, Mütiilation and Belketre. It has that raw fuzzy riffing common to the other bands, but as with Torgeist the music doesn't seem as messy. In terms of performance Torgeist was always one of the better sounding projects, the other bands eventually got a little better, but Beleth Rim was always a pretty competent musician and Vermeth is no exception here. The recording quality is still extremely raw, almost to the point where it gets in the way of the recording. Even though this was recorded in 2001 it doesn't to have had that much updates with regards to the studio sound, so if you were in love with that LLN sound, it's still pretty well preserved on this recording. It's also a lot better than a lot of the other LLN material, so it's a really great compromise for hearing what kind of music the LLN was actually trying to play.

Vermeth mixes up the LLN sound a lot more than the other projects, where I remember a lot of them being more mid-paced on most recordings, Vermeth tends to speed things up a lot more. They have their mid-paced moments, but there are some far more intense moments, which wasn't that common with the other bands. Vermeth really brings back memories of the old demos and for that I think there is a special place for this project. After this there might not be much of a place for music like this, because Black Metal has changed quite a lot in the late 90's, but if Vermeth can keep at least a small portion of this style alive it will be interesting.