One Hit Wonders (Fifteen Killer Albums) – Part III


burning witch

 

Burning Witch – Crippled Lucifer (Southern Lord, 1998)

Before he was lost in the murky drone world of Sunn0))), Stephen O’Malley knew his way around a doom riff or two and he demonstrated this with aplomb in the short-lived Burning Witch, arguably one of the most hideous and difficult bands possible to love. This was the sound of Black Sabbath forcibly injected with bad smack and made to get up and dance for the sick enjoyment of the assembled wasters in the shooting gallery as the relentless bad vibes of the likes of ‘Sacred Predictions’ and ‘Warning Signs’ bore down on the listener with pitiless intent. The drone sections hinted at horrors not yet to come, while the anguished screeches and mocking croons of deranged vocalist Edgy 59 were more than many could bear. Reissued several times with varied track listing, Crippled Lucifer is difficult to digest on every level and not something that can be endured by many. For those who crave the foulest of sludge however, it’s an addiction that can’t be sated.

 

weakling

Weakling – Dead as Dreams (tUMULt, 2000)

With rumours that only one copy was going to be produced, and later that hand-drawn treasure maps would provide fans with the buried location of copies of the album turning out to be record company mischief, the truth was that San Francisco’s Weakling were in no need of gimmickry, for Dead as Dreams, their only album turned out to be one of the finest records of that genre ever, and one of the most influential to boot. Who would have thought that a member of a band as different as The Fucking Champs could be responsible for the seething mass of darkness, wide-eyed insanity and crushing extremity that was captured here? Who knew that the agonised vocals, half comprised of actual lyrics, the rest gibbering screams would terrify and enrapture in equal measure. Who would have anticipated the impact that a debut featuring songs tipping the scales at 20 minutes would have on a black metal scene that had always lagged behind its European rivals? No one was prepared for Dead as Dreams but a hell of a lot of people paid attention and its legacy is felt to this day. Still the finest USBM album ever.

 

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THORNS – THORNS (Moonfog, 2001)

It’s fair to say that Snorre W. Ruch made some mistakes in his early days. After joining Mayhem as a second guitarist just before the recording of De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, one night he decided to take a car ride with Varg Vikernes to visit his erstwhile employer Euronymous and the rest is history. After a few years in prison he emerged keen to show the world what impact he would have made on the black metal scene had he been wiser in the company he kept. The result, with a little help from his friends was the towering, lethal and magnificent self-titled album under the THORNS moniker; a forty-eight minute assault on the senses that further dragged black metal kicking and screaming into the future. With far more emphasis on atmosphere and shifts in pace and tone, but still with litres of venom and a chilling, sterile atmosphere permeating every facet of the recording, especially Hellhammer’s artificially enhanced drumming, the likes of ‘World Playground Deceit’ sound challenging and evil as hell to this day, and that is Ruch’s true legacy.

 

warhorse-ash

 

Warhorse – As Heaven Turns to Ash (Southern Lord, 2002)

No, not the Deep Purple side project, one of the finest examples of stoner/doom this side of Electric Wizard, who the band happened to be on tour with when the initial line-up crumbled. Operating as a three-piece, it’s staggering just how a band with only one guitar could be so monolithically heavy, so brutally crushing yet still find the time to forge memorable riffs and bluesy solos with such ease. Some brief interludes gave you time for a smoke-break, but it wasn’t long before the lysergic steamroller began moving again and the likes of ‘Devil’s Bride’ crushed you under its Jupiter-heavy weight, not that you’d want to stop nodding your head along enthusiastically. Music for dropouts, freaks and heads it may have been, but anyone who has ever enjoyed the music of an obscure band called Black Sabbath would do well to wrap their lugholes around As Heaven Turns to Ash before it collapses under its own corpulence.

 

67329_logo insect warfare

 

Insect Warfare – World Extermination (Six Two Five Thrashcore, 2007)

The shortest album on our list, and undeniably the most brutal. In fact, quite possibly the most brutal album ever recorded. If you thought Napalm Death and Brutal Truth were the heaviest grindcore had to offer than do yourself a favour and check out the twenty-two minute blast-a-thon that is World Extermination and when you’ve stopped crying and wretching on the floor, punch yourself in the face a few times for not having known about Insect Warfare and their ruinous, fast-as-fuck grind devastation. Despite a plethora of split releases as is the grindcore way, World Extermination is their only full-length release and one that pisses all over its competitors. Songs are short, ugly, chock full of screams, blasts, thrash-core, powerviolence and surprisingly catchy riffs and the album cover has a giant skeleton presiding over a swarm of bugs. What more could you want?

Disagree with our choices? Discovered someone new that has blown you away through this feature? Think we’ve missed someone? Let us know who you think about one-hit-wonder bands on our Facebook page, via Twitter or Google+

 

Read Part II here

Read Part I here

JAMES CONWAY