RABM: 12 key records

Practical guide by Semirutarum Urbium Cadavera

Some of us damned from the black metal collective with revolutionary ambitions ‘Semirutarum Urbium Cadavera‘ share the misfortune of living in Bologna, the city that hosts the tireless minds and arms behind the RadioPunk project. On the sidelines of an overpriced concert and a funeral rally without a single clash, we said to each other ‘well come on, at least we still have our shitty music’ and ‘but are we going to do a collaboration?’. Needless to say, we proudly claim that the music we support, black metal, is far worse than that promoted by RadioPunk, and so it goes without saying that it will be Tommaso and Zoe who will host our delusions.
So we got together to think about what to do: originally the idea was to produce a retrospective on an entheogenic black metal project, but we thought that was a bit too mainstream.

And so here we are with a very ORIGINAL list of RABM (Red and Anarchist Black Metal) records that you should know about, so IF YOU REALLY must take an interest in our shit (don’t, we’re proud gatekeepers) you can avoid looking like a poser by giving money to MGLA* for chrissake.

Here’s the list of RABM records that – at least one – you should listen to, buy the T-shirt of and wait for a live show that will never be there.

* Yes, they’re Nazis but don’t worry, they fooled us at first too.

#666 SORGSVART – “FORTAPT FRA VERDEN I VAKKERT SELVMORD”

SorgSvart, from Norway, was an anarchic one-man band, founded back in 1999 by Sorg, and one of the leading and pioneering groups of the RABM scene.
This record consists of five tracks, all rather long and influenced by prominent folk and viking elements. The influence of his compatriot projects such as Isengard and Storm is notable.
Too bad that after the release of only one more excellent record (‘Vikingtid og anarki’) the project will see an end.

#666 INVERTED CANDLES – “NOCTURNAL DEMONSTRATION”

Debut demo by this band from Texas, strongly influenced by a clearly Finnish-style black.
Ice-cold riffs, but not without a marked melodic sense, accompany the listener from the very first bars of the disc. Excellent work recommended to all lovers of the most classic and primitive black metal.

#666 BOOK OF SAND – “OCCULT ANARCHIST PROPAGANDA”

Dissonant, raw and yet atmospheric and hypnotic, if you are into the weirdest edges of black metal this record will satisfy that “I want more of this, but I don’t perfectly know what this is” craving. With a healthy dose of contempt and hate for the idiots rallying around the failure we call NSBM and all the “Hitlerian/wotanist/occult/cHaOs mAgIck”, speaking of “aryan eons” and other delusional bullshit, D. manages to blend anarchist philosophy and, well, occultism. It’s in the name, after all, and it shows in the music, aggressive but also somehow “esoteric”, ritualistic; it is like listening to the sound of a riot of Left Hand practitioners, charging with covered faces while screaming hexes to all that is shitty: hierarchies, nazis, exploitation.

#666 OPERATION VOLKSTOD – “ANTI-FASCIST BLACK METAL”

Right from the title and cover, depicting a proletarian crucified with a swastika, this anarchist one-man band from Frankfurt immediately makes its political stance clear.
The sound is a direct child of the comrade’s attitude, raw and minimal, perhaps not for all but certainly honest and sincere.
Suitable for those who like Iskra-style sounds.

#666 IRON COLUMN – “POWER FROM BELOW”

Also from Germany, comes this anarchic project characterised by a sound that owes much to the second Norwegian black wave, but with a melodic twist.
A record that flows pleasantly and is denoted by superb riffs that do not bore and keep the listener glued in. Truly remarkable.

#666 NON SERVIAM – “LE COEUR BAT”

Non Serviam are a Paris-based, militant collective, very prolific and protagonist of various musical experiments, even far from the extreme metal field (see Biollante).
The disc in question is characterised by very experimental and dilated sounds and a cybernetic and dreamy atmosphere at the same time.
The title track is remarkable, a 25-minute journey into the deepest depths of the human soul. Also very interesting are the insights and analyses produced by the collective and available on their website.

#666 SILICOSE – “AU FOND DE LA MINE”

We don’t have much information about this project. We do know that it comes from France, that the first and so far only record is a concept album about the struggle and misery of working in mines. Silicosis is a worker’s disease, affecting the lungs of those exposed to breathing silicon. And this band has made a condemnation and a denunciation. That of the plight of thousands of workers forced to choose between illness and starvation. Musically they offer a black/thrash with epic traits, the direct offspring of bands like Aura Noir.

#666 DODSRIT – “MORTAL COIL”

Epic and melodic black metal from Sweden. As an atmosphere, it closely resembles the typical ‘new wave’ sound of bands like MGLA and Groza.
Double bass, wild screaming and sharp riffs alternate with more reflective and introspective parts.
Highly recommended.

#666 PROFECIUM – “SOCIALISMO SATANICO”

In 1994, while those losers from the Norwegian inner circle were getting themselves condemned for not being able to get things right, Profecium was born in Argentina. In ’97 their socialist black metal manifesto with Argentinian characteristics was released. Socialismo Satanico has a symphonic vein found in the work of certain Norwegian ambiguous babes (Troll, Emperor), some more trashy passages and, for sure, a child-eating attitude that is unrepeatable.

BONUS: THEY COULD HAVE BEEN ANYWHERE, BUT INSTEAD THEY ARE OR WERE IN BOFOGNA*

*The author uses a wordplay between ‘Bologna’ and ‘Fogna’, which means sewer.

NACHTSCHWARZ – “ABYSMAL RUIN”

This anarchic band plays tight but at the same time very melodic black metal.
Recommended for fans of Naglfar and Dissection from the first two albums, but without the satanic-homophobic cringe. Excellent song-writing and production, a gem of which we hope there will be a sequel.

SPETTRO – “SPETTRO”

AAAARGHHH. Immortal from Bologna but without face painting. This is the band we all hope will find a live dimension, but we all know that all hope in black metal is consumed in the black flames of pain and panic. We produced the cassettes for them and you must buy them on our bandcamp.

THE MALNATT COLLECTIVE – “PIANURA PAGANA”

Yeah OK it’s not really RABM, maybe you could call it nihilistic social democratic black metal. But it rocks. It is (at the moment) the latest work by the collective that for years shared a name with the evidently superior Milanese racist band. They are old people who hate second wave black metal, not like us who are young 👀 and hate metal in general. To organise a gig for them has always been our dream but they are Alchemica people and actually in Bologna there isn’t even an occupation to propose to them in order to get a no by making us tick.

⚔️

“Ne approfittiamo per segnalare che come collettivo Semirutarum Urbium Cadavera saremo ospiti a Noise Attack! su Radio Città Fujiko lunedì 24 aprile dalle ore 23. Sintonizzatevi su radiocittafujiko.it per ascoltare le nostre stronzate e dell’altra musica brutta e non necessariamente rivendicabile.”

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Translation by Dee Sastrous

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