Band's List Unblack Horde Hellig Usvart

I believe, by now, it is rather known of my vehement, outspoken hatred of the sound-alike black metal scene. However, I happen to like a band that has been associated with that sound. Does that mean I hold a double standard?

Unfortunately, for you seeking to entrap me, that is not true. I hold Horde up to the same standards as I would any other band. I am sad to say that they don't pass muster either. It was, as most other bands of the scene are, a sound-alike band with crappy audio quality and poor musicianship.

So why do I like it, you may ask. Well, for as much as it adheres to the typical sound of black metal and has very little in regards to musical skill, there is something fundamentally different about this band. That, of course, is the lyrical content. You see, Horde is an "unblack" band, who replaces growled lyrics of "Satan!" with growled lyrics of "Jesus!"

But it's more out of just plain amusement that I like the band. For some reason, "Love your enemies" doesn't fit with the dark, nihilistic and misanthropic atmosphere of black metal. Though obviously different in one tiny aspect than the majority of sound-alike black metal, that does not excuse Horde for sounding like everybody else.

Taking up the Cross is nothing new in heavy metal, but doing so from out of the sea of black metal is about as inflammatory my reviews on Burzum albums would be. Many would find "Drink From The Chalice of Blood", "Crush the Bloodied Horns of the Goat" and "Invert the Inverted Cross" to be a little too forceful for Cross-bearing music, though obviously the riffage on the last one is good, despite being ridiculously easy to execute.

In the end, what we see is what we have seen with all other bands, metal or not, which have taken up the Cross. They focus solely on lyrics, and the rest of the musicianship fades into utter crap (similar to the black metal scene proper). Musicians should love their music, every aspect of it, and treat every instrument with the same respect as with the pen that writes the lyrics. This is why I don't like contemporary christian artists, because they fall into the trap of lyrics over quality. Unfortunately, Hellig Usvart falls into the category of lyrics-over-music, which is sad. It gets ten of twenty for unoriginality in musicianship and sound quality, but for daring to be different lyrically (and for some sweet riffs on the eighth track)