Black Arts in the Electric Garden...

The absence of new releases make the first days of January the best time to “catch up” with albums that have either totally “fallen off the radar” or simply require a revisit and a revaluation (and possibly a re-appreciation). I decided to dedicate the first newsletter of 2025, to 3 albums from Greek bands that are currently on constant rotation in my stereo system. I hope that you find something to like as well !

Six Steps Above The Earth / I, The Chaos - Sublimation

Nearly 30 years back when I started listening to music my family’s financial situation at that time did not allow me to own a full stereo system or even a decent record player. My first music listening experiences came mostly from tapes making me somehow emotionally connected with the format. Still nowadays I do not miss any opportunity to purchase music in cassettes and such an example is the split between Six Steps Above The Earth and I, The Chaos which I discovered while crate digging in a Greek record store during my holidays.

Sublimation, was released in 2020 and contains 4 tracks of experimental drone and ambient music (?). The single track that is featured on side A of the cassette belongs to Six Steps Above The Earth a band which described (I am using intentionally a past tense here as the band seems to be now defunct) their sound as heavy monotonous doomgaze, a description with which I could not agree more. Side B of the cassette contains 3 tracks by I, The Chaos which are relatively more multidimensional (to the extend of course that such type of music can be considered multidimensional) hence more interesting.

If avante-garde sounds are your cup of tea, this split is an excellent choice…

I must admit that the front cover of the album preoccupied me to listen something more closer to post metal but I could not be more wrong as Jupiter Fungus play a flute-driven prog-rock that could make Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull envious. While originality is not their strong point, the 48 minutes of the album are an exquisite artefact of 70’s influenced progressive rock.

…an oldie one, as the legendary split between Necromantia and Varathron was released back in 1992. Since then it has seen many rereleases (I own 3 different of them) and without undermining the side of Varathron, it is the 5 songs by Necromantia that have been formidable not only for the group and the Hellenic black metal scene but for the whole Black Metal genre itself. One should not forget that this was recorded back in 1992. While their peers in Norway were burning churches and stabbing each other, Greek pioneers were creating ghostly evil atmospheres using instruments such as piano and saxophone. Nothing less than a masterpiece…