Welcome to Revelations of Doom, Metal Injection's friendly little periodic reminder that there's more to metal than Mastodon and Metallica. Kvlt correspondent Grim Kim toils away ceaselessly in the basements, back alleys, and blogs in which the essence of true underground metal thrives to find the best of the Beast, and, as always, has come back a little dirtier, a little crustier, and bearing gifts of ravishing grimness and unending brutality. This time around, we're heading back down South, past where the iron crosses grow and into the overgrown battlegrounds that once played host to a million doomed souls, that are still stained with the blood of empires. It's not all sludge and Skynyrd down Dixie way, as Richmond's sons of Southern darkness make violently clear…
I've known about Antietam 1862 for awhile now, simply by virtue of their inclusion in the ever-fertile Richmond, Virginia scene that has spawned both modern metal behemoths like Lamb of God and Municipal Waste, and a viciously intense cadre of underground bands like Cannabis Corpse, Battlemaster, Inter Arma, Bastard Sapling, Occultist, Ravn, and tons more, but never took the time to really get into their tunes. Once I finally got around to it, though, I was immediately hooked. What's not to love about the unholy marriage of vintage '90s death metal grooves with bestial black metal, some deliciously chilled Dissection worship, and a decidedly punk-as-fuck attitude? The correct answer is, nothing. it wasn't until I saw them live, though, that the full power of this band's potential hit me like a ton of fucking bricks to the face. Their carefully constructed odes to war and dishonor were meted out with deadly precision, and their filthy black'n'roll tendencies were even more apparent in a live settling. Antietam 1862 are one of the few American black metal bands I've encountered who gave not only accepted the fact that they'll never be as effortlessly grim as their Scandinavian brothers, they have embraced it, as this statement from thir website makes abundantly clear:
"Tired of Westerners with no merit poorly imitating the brutal Scandinavian scene ANTIETAM stands by what we of our homeland identify with, wars our fathers fought and wars our brothers are fighting. We are the Sons of Southern Darkness."
So there you have it – Antietam 1862 are pure American black metal, and judging from the array of influences they've embroiled in their blackened offerings, have taken the melting pot mentality of our multihued homeland to heart as well. Do yourself a favor and check these guys out!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sn3TPya9uM[/youtube]
Download a free mp3 from their latest release, Burial Party, here:
