Chuck Schuldiner Project

Saturday, November 12, 2022

Godkiller - We Are The Black Knights

I have always had a soft spot for medieval black metal. The darkness of the sound, the power of the music and the ancient vibes have captured my imagination since I was very young. These are all concepts that Godkiller have always mastered, and now, decades into their career their early demos are finally being collated into one release, We Are The Black Knights. These remixed and remastered demos feature material from the 1994 Ad Majorae Satanae Gloriam EP as well as the The Warlord EP. They are, in a word, breathtaking. 

I had first heard these demos as a teenager off of some shitty what.cd download or perhaps a rip from a Russian site (Remember when that was how we found weird demos?) and thought the ideas were cool but was frustrated at the low recording quality. While these recordings still have some of those dungeon qualities, they remain really strikingly powerful and engaging. There is a very real sense of might and magic that fuels so much of what is being done on We Are The Black Knights as the project really lays the groundwork for so much excellent medieval black metal that would come later on in the game and inspire the masses. 

We Are The Black Knights is a truly impressive release. Rather than feeling navel gazing or completionist in its nature, this is a truly potent record that really sits right next to so many of the bands modern day peers quality-wise. This is a primer in the power of early medieval black metal, but also a record that, in my eyes, is unafraid to showcase its own particular burnished magic and the transcendent larger than life power that this music can have. It's such a delight to get lost in the eerie castles of sound that Godkiller craft here. Join me. 

Pre-order the album!

https://godkiller666.bandcamp.com/album/we-are-the-black-knights

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