black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emp ...
band from
Kharkiv
Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Ukrainian black metal scene and pioneers in the early
National Socialist black metal
National Socialist black metal, also known as NSBM, Aryan black metal, and Neo-Nazi black metal, is a political movement and subgenre within the black metal music scene that promotes neo-Nazism, Fascism, and white supremacist ideologies. NSBM ...
("NSBM") scene.
The band has claimed to have moved away from their neo-Nazi political stance and lyrical themes; however, those claims remain in question due to their appearances at neo-Nazi events.
History
Nokturnal Mortum was originally formed as a death metal band called Suppuration in 1991, then turned to black metal and changed name to Darkness but "had to change the name back in 1993/94 to Nocturnal Mortum because there already existed a band with that name in Western underground". They have stated this about the current name and spelling: "We changed a letter so that we wouldn't find a band with the same name again like it was the case with Darkness". Nokturnal Mortum gained recognition in the underground Black Metal genre with the release of their debut album '' Goat Horns'', which had two keyboardists play on the album (often on the same song) and for mixing traditional Ukrainian folk influences with BM. They focused heavily on atmospheric BM with themes common in classic nature-romanticism, often inspired by regional or local ancient folklore, mythology or journeys set in pagan landscapes. Early album art usually always depicted vast forests, swamps, sunsets, desolate mountains in wintery nights, and so on.
The band's first albums were released through The End Records and (as licence pressings) by
Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...
, but the label and the band separated at the time of the album releases of ''NeChrist'' and '' Lunar Poetry'', both releases suddenly containing political support to neo-Nazi and
White supremacist
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...
causes. The band began to change from being in the more popular extreme metal scenes to becoming one of the leading groups in the National Socialist black metal scene in Eastern Europe. Varggoth himself said about the conflict with the label: "We had a contract with The End Records but it was broken. We have different points of view. They didn't like our policy, we didn't like the way they do business. They owe us some money. That was enough for a conflict."
Underground artist Igor Naumchuk (Lucifugum) had close ties with Nokturnal Mortum — who dedicated the album ''To the Gates of Blasphemous Fire'' to him — until all relations ceased due to ideological disagreements. Despite this, both bands are still likened to one another.
In autumn of 2014, band frontman
Knjaz Varggoth
Yevhen Hapon ( uk, Євген Гапон), also spelt Eugeny Gapon and Ievgen Gapon, better known by his stage name Knjaz Varggoth, is one of the foremost figures in Eastern Europe black metal and far-right musicians.
Biography
Yevhen Hapon ...
published a statement declaring that he and Nokturnal Mortum had begun to distance themselves from politics in order to avoid rumors concerning his personal views and band ideology; however, the band played live at the Neo-Nazi festival Asgardsrei in December 2016, and have played at several other alt-right festivals since.
Initially, the band described their music as "lunar black metal". On their 1996 demo ''Lunar Poetry'' the band advocated for the killing of Christians, the destruction of churches, and Slavic paganism, along with describing Jesus as a "crucified hippie". Later, when releasing their EP ''Marble Moon'' and also the ''Nechrist'' and ''Lunar Poetry'' albums, they included anti-Semitic lyrics with neo-Nazi and
white supremacy
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...
messages and imagery.The Music Sound. Author: Nicolae SfetcuReichsrock: The International Web of White-Power and Neo-Nazi Hate Music. Author: Kirsten Dyck
As the more popular non-political black metal scene (including many shops and concert events) began distancing themselves from their ideology, the band instead became prominent in the early Eastern European
National Socialist black metal
National Socialist black metal, also known as NSBM, Aryan black metal, and Neo-Nazi black metal, is a political movement and subgenre within the black metal music scene that promotes neo-Nazism, Fascism, and white supremacist ideologies. NSBM ...
scene, and is today often considered as one of the groups that shaped the Slavic subcultural NSBM movement. They also began using
swastikas
The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...
in their logo, on albums, during shows, and praising the
Third Reich
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and the
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
openly in various side-projects. Knjaz Varggoth, in one of several side projects, also voiced support for the so-called " racial holy war" idea. Nokturnal Mortum's album ''Нехристь'' (''Nechrist'') features a song called "The Call of Aryan Spirit", which includes anti-Semitic lyrics and glorified pogroms. The album's original release included a swastika design consisting of four
AK-47
The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms d ...
's.
In interviews, appearances, merchandise and on their website, the band showcased neo-Nazi opinions but their music style itself was described as " pagan black metal". Statements and texts show neo- neo-völkisch as well as neo-paganist ideas, and a tendency to
ariosophy
Armanism and Ariosophy are esoteric ideological systems that were developed largely by Guido von List and Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels respectively, in Austria between 1890 and 1930. The term 'Ariosophy', which means the wisdom of the Aryans, was i ...
.
In 2008, the band's vocalist and guitarist,
Knjaz Varggoth
Yevhen Hapon ( uk, Євген Гапон), also spelt Eugeny Gapon and Ievgen Gapon, better known by his stage name Knjaz Varggoth, is one of the foremost figures in Eastern Europe black metal and far-right musicians.
Biography
Yevhen Hapon ...
, claimed that he had no interest in political tendencies and that he had, "never viewed Nokturnal Mortum as a political band".Asgardsrei festival 5, line-up In 2014 the group again stated that the band had severed ties with NSBM ideologies and political themes, but at the same time and in the following years, they remained active in white supremacist circles and has played live at neo-Nazi and far right shows, in collaboration with the NSBM label "Militant Zone".
Discography
Albums
* 1997 – '' Goat Horns''
* 1998 – '' To the Gates of Blasphemous Fire''
* 1999 – ''Нехристь'' (''NeChrist'')
* 2004 – ''Мировоззрение'' (''Myrovozzrieniye'', ''Worldview'')
* 2005 – ''Weltanschauung'' (''Worldview'')
* 2009 – '' Голос сталі'' (''Holos stali'', ''The Voice of Steel'')
* 2017 – ''Істина'' (''Istyna'', ''Verity'')
* 2022 – ''До лунарної поезії (Do lunarnoyi poeziyi, To Lunar Poetry)''
* 1996 – ''Veche'' (split Lucifugum)
* 1997 – ''Path of the Wolf / Return of the Vampire Lord'' (split Lucifugum)
* 2007 – ''Eastern Hammer'' (split
Graveland
Graveland are a Polish pagan black metal band which was formed in 1991 by Rob Darken (born Robert Fudali). They began as a black metal band before adopting a pagan and Viking metal style. The lyrics and imagery of Graveland are strongly inspi ...
Graveland
Graveland are a Polish pagan black metal band which was formed in 1991 by Rob Darken (born Robert Fudali). They began as a black metal band before adopting a pagan and Viking metal style. The lyrics and imagery of Graveland are strongly inspi ...
)
Compilations
* 2001 – ''Return of the Vampire Lord / Marble Moon''
* 2004 – ''Eleven Years Among the Sheep''
* 2016 – ''22 Years Among the Sheep''