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“The past is never dead. It's not even past.”
So said William Faulkner, and though he was more exercised by ghosts of the gothic South, it's a quote that resonates increasingly as one's past grows.
Nearly 30 years ago Jason, Tane and Tony became close friends during 5th form at Otūmoetai College. They formed a band called From The Dark and made a brief splash on the local scene for a couple of reasons: their music was, particularly by staid Tauranga standards, wild; and they wore make-up on stage.
What is black metal
The music was “black metal”. Allow me to borrow Wikipedia's most excellent description: “Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw recording, unconventional song structures, and an emphasis on atmosphere. Artists often appear in corpse paint and adopt pseudonyms.”
That absolutely nails From The Dark, whose monikers were Laquz (Wind & Thunder), Belial (Fire & Lightning), and Stone (Stakes & Quakes).
From the Dark.
They came as something of a shock to other musicians here. Back then there was a far more homogenous scene. Everyone largely knew everyone and played together. You might have five bands on a bill, with a jazz opener, perhaps some country and a blues-rock outfit, closing with a little metal.
Unique look
So, make-up was a brave move, drawing both admiration and disdain. They also released a cassette album, In The Last Days Of The Sun, essentially a demo. Now Australian company Charnel Sanctum, specialists in extreme metal, is releasing it worldwide on CD. It seems we failed to notice history being made, right here in Tauranga.
To quote Charnel Sanctum: “In The Last Days Of The Sun by From The Dark marks a pivotal moment in the history of New Zealand’s black metal scene... this demo was one of the first to capture the essence of pure Black Metal from this location in a time when the genre’s influence was echoing beyond Europe and stretching to reach the most distant corners of the globe.”
There's more to come: an unreleased 1999 album they recorded with Shane Davis at the Noise Factory will be released later this year. The past is never dead. You can hear it on Soundcloud and YouTube.
Other music
And after moaning last week about naff media releases, I should mention a brilliant one from Cheree Ridder plugging a new single from Wellington band Welcomer. But despite excellent communications and mainman Miles Sutton growing up in Kawerau that didn't really seem local enough to feature them.
Welcomer. Photo/ Christopher Menzies Brown
Then I was looking for playlist tracks to accompany the jazz festival, specifically for Steely Dan covers – since one band at the fest does that – and stumbled on a song called A Steely Dan Covers Band. By, completely coincidentally, Welcomer. It must be Kismet. I really like their smooth smart intelligent songs and sound – they're on this week's playlist along with others you might find interesting. No black metal, however.
Hear Winston's latest Playlist:
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