by Niklas Göransson

Lust for Fire – as Brutal Truth made its way to Europe, Danny Lilker discovered the emerging Scandinavian black metal scene. This new obsession changed his musical trajectory once again, drawing him into the Hemlock fold.

 

DANNY LILKER: I knew that black metal was becoming a worldwide thing, but I didn’t really start checking out the Scandinavian stuff until BRUTAL TRUTH toured with FEAR FACTORY in January ‘93. We played a show in Germany, and someone had forgotten a ‘zine called Darkness backstage. I still have it around here somewhere.

Danny had found the second issue of Darkness Magazine, featuring bands like BEHERIT, IMPALED NAZARENE, BELIAL, and MASTER’S HAMMER.

DANNY:  It also had a BURZUM interview – and this was before Varg’s whole weapon-wielding tough-guy phase, so he was still using corpse paint. I thought, ‘That looks like what Paul Ledney does with PROFANATICA. They’ve also got that white shit smeared all over their faces.’

US black metal pioneers PROFANATICA were wearing corpse paint in 1990 already. Prior to that, MORBID and MAYHEM vocalist Dead had been experimenting with his own take on it, giving him a death-like, ghastly appearance. This aesthetic was later adopted by the wider Norwegian black metal scene.

DANNY: I found the extremity of these kids’ attitudes interesting. You could tell that they’d taken their lodestars from the 80s – BATHORY, HELLHAMMER and all that stuff – and kind of pushed it forward. I’ve had this conversation with Fenriz (DARKTHRONE); he also liked REPULSION and TERRORIZER, but those influences never made it into the mix.

On the Vienna leg of the FEAR FACTORY tour, Danny visited a record shop owned by someone from PUNGENT STENCH. Browsing the shelves, he discovered his first second-wave black metal album: DARKTHRONE’s “A Blaze in the Northern Sky”.

DANNY: The sound on albums like “A Blaze in the Northern Sky” was pretty startling. But on the other hand, when I heard “Seven Churches” (POSSESSED) in 1985, that production was equally jarring compared to “Ride the Lightning” (METALLICA).

“A Blaze in the Northern Sky” was released by British label Peaceville Records – which also had Danny’s hardcore project EXTRA HOT SAUCE on its roster – in March 1992.

DANNY: Upon receiving the master tape for “A Blaze…”, Hammy (Peaceville) thought, ‘What the fuck? Did something happen in transit?’ Then, when Fenriz sent Peaceville the artwork for “Transilvanian Hunger”, it came out of the fax machine in black and white. Instructions followed: ‘Here’s the cover. Note that Transilvanian is spelt with an I. Make sure to get it right. I have friends in England, and you could be dead by the weekend.’ Knowing Fenriz now, he probably wrote that while smirking.

 

What did you think about the emphasis on taking the subject matter seriously?

DANNY: Reading old interviews with Euronymous (MAYHEM), I thought, ‘This dude is really into the stuff he’s talking about, like Satanism.’ But I know better now – Necrobutcher (MAYHEM) told me they were basically just kids who got wrapped up in some sinister shit. It’s a cumulative thing when people hang out and egg each other on; it’s easy to get enveloped in something that then starts feeding off itself.

It’s not really my place to debate whether Euronymous only pretended to be a Satanist – but if I’ve learned one thing over the years, it is to take Necrobutcher’s reminiscing with a grain of salt. Furthermore, MAYHEM drummer Hellhammer and Slayer Mag editor Metalion, both of whom were close confidants of Euronymous, have contradicted these allegations.

DANNY: Well, I’m just going on what a really good friend of Euronymous told me in what I believed was an earnest way. So, um, he might’ve been wrong – or perhaps he wasn’t completely honest. But I’m also aware that when Hellhammer gave interviews, he sometimes liked to drum up a little drama. Metalion though… I know that dude, and if he disagrees with Necrobutcher, then that’s fair enough.

Regardless of what Euronymous really was, he and Dead left behind a tangible spiritual legacy. Many of the genre’s originators – VENOM being the prime example – either didn’t believe in what they were singing about or grew out of it as they matured. Nevertheless, what this wave set in motion took on a life of its own and created true believers.

For an adolescent, listening to black metal with the earnest belief that there was something authentic imbued in it could absolutely induce what one might call a ‘mystical experience’. This, in turn, is what spurred many to start digging deeper into actual esoteric traditions unrelated to metal.

DANNY: A lot of people claim to ‘be’ black metal – but to my knowledge, WATAIN and ENTHRONED are the only two bands who don’t fuck around. They’re pretty fucking hardcore with that shit. I’m sure Jon from DISSECTION was the same. I bet Mortuus from MARDUK and FUNERAL MIST is too; he’s an intense dude.

I can say with some confidence that I’d be able to expand this list quite a bit. Given Danny’s obsessive nature, I’d wager that he, too, would’ve adopted a similar mindset if he’d been born fifteen years later and spent formative years taking 90s black metal seriously.

DANNY: Perhaps. I grew up in an era when we were more… obviously, some of it was influenced by hardcore, and some of it was just apocalyptic. But no, we didn’t have strong ideologies like that. We’ll never know, but you’re right that I tend to get really wrapped up in things. That’s probably what got me to where I am as a musician – being so focused, obsessed even. It’s driven me to play what I play and do what I do.

 

In the spring of 1993, while BRUTAL TRUTH toured Canada with NAPALM DEATH, Danny met the BLASPHEMY members in Vancouver, British Columbia. Presumably his first encounter with black metal skinheads.

DANNY: Yeah, there weren’t many of them around back then. BLASPHEMY had all these little hangers-on, junior skinheads, which I found amusing. I remember being out front, puffing and hanging out with some people, when Sean… I mean, uh, ‘3 Black Hearts of whatever the fuck’ – who was actually a non-skinhead – came up and said, ‘Dude, I play drums in BLASPHEMY. Take this tape, you’ll fucking love us; it’s like a blastbeat for half an hour.’

At the time, BLASPHEMY’s second album, “Gods of War”, had been recorded a few months earlier and was set for a July release by Osmose Productions.

DANNY: Listening to it, I remember thinking, ‘Wow, this is fucking intense and dark.’ I later read an interview with their singer, Black Winds, about how they wanted to play BATHORY-style black metal but then heard REPULSION and threw the speed in there. That really made for something quite intense back then, because you weren’t getting both of those at once.

When BLASPHEMY released “Fallen Angel of Doom….” in 1990, bands like BEHERIT had started combining the dark, atmospheric elements of black metal with the speed and aggression of genres like grindcore and death metal.

DANNY: It was either some nasty, ratty REPULSION sounds or mid-tempo stuff like HELLHAMMER. I met BLASPHEMY a couple of times after that. I traded shirts with their guitarist, Caller of the Storms; there are photos of me online wearing a “Gods of War” shirt, which has now fallen apart because I’ve had it forever.

 

Just before “Need to Control” – BRUTAL TRUTH’s second album, released by Earache Records in October 1994 – the band spent two entire months touring Europe with MACABRE and PUNGENT STENCH. The Stockholm date at Kafé 44 has since become somewhat of a local legend.

DANNY: Oh man, people still talk about that night. If you mention it to someone who was there, they’ll go ‘Do you mean the gig on May 15, 1994?’ That was a wild fucking show because the people who put it on were these crusty dudes. Normally, it was hard to find weed over there, but these guys had tonnes of it. We play our best when the entire band is baked like a casserole; we just get into that vibe and focus on the same energies.

The late Timo Ketola – editor of Dauthus and a visual artist known for his style-defining contributions to underground metal – had some backstage photos of Danny smoking hash through a bong built from Coca-Cola cans.

DANNY: Funnily enough, the tour never made it to Norway. DISMEMBER’s manager booked the Scandinavian dates, and we told him, ‘Hey man, we wanna play Oslo!’ And he goes, ‘I doubt that’s a good idea. You might have a problem with the black metal people.’ And we’re like, ‘Okay, whatever. Fine.’ Probably due to the GOREFEST thing… which was actually animal activists, wasn’t it?

In November 1992, DEICIDE and GOREFEST performed in Stockholm, Sweden. During the former’s set, a bomb went off behind the stage. It had been set on the other side of a sturdy fire-proof door, but the explosion was powerful enough to knock it off its hinges.

It is still unknown who did this and why, but there were rumours about connections to the Scandinavian black metal scene. Others believed it was animal activists, due to DEICIDE frontman Glen Benton’s reputation for animal sacrifice.

However, the organiser’s reluctance to bring the tour to Norway was likely due to the PARADISE LOST incident, when their tour bus was attacked.

DANNY: Right. Would you kindly remind me of the PARADISE LOST thing? When you say ‘attacked’, did they, like, slap the bus with handkerchiefs or something?

According to Kerrang!’s infamous ‘The ugly truth about black metal’ article – published in their March ‘93 issue – the Brits were ‘victims of satanic terrorist aggression’ after their nightliner was ‘set upon by black metal followers’.

DANNY: Oh, dear me. The next year, I met ENSLAVED when they played in New York and spoke to them about this. They said, ‘That’s the dumbest thing we ever heard. BRUTAL TRUTH totally should’ve played; it would’ve been a great show with at least 250 people on any given night.’ That’s what I thought, but I couldn’t have provided any specifics. But it’s very telling about the weird aura surrounding black metal back then.

Did you meet any Scandinavian black metal personalities on this tour?

DANNY: No. But eventually, I got to know all those fucking people; at least the ones who were still alive. Since we didn’t go to Norway, I don’t know who we might’ve run into in Sweden. I doubt I met… let’s say, Morgan from MARDUK, that early on. When we played in Finland, I asked someone, ‘Have you ever met Nuclear Holocausto Vengeance from BEHERIT?’ and the guy goes, ‘Well, he beat me up once – does that count?’

 

In May ‘94, the same month the MACABRE and PUNGENT STENCH tour kicked off, came MAYHEM’s debut album, “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas”.

By then, the Norwegian black metal scene found itself in turmoil. Most notably, Varg Vikernes of BURZUM had murdered MAYHEM guitarist Euronymous in August 1993. This internal strife was compounded by a series of church burnings and other criminal activities involving key figures.

“De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas” captured all the intensity surrounding this era; it is one of the most iconic releases of second-wave black metal. The album became the official soundtrack of the downstairs ‘black metal lounge’ Danny set up with MACABRE’s frontman, Nefarious.

DANNY: I loved how “De Mysteriis…” had a sense of melody but was still darkly intense. That really appealed to me then and still does to this day. I remember how dense it sounded. Actually, one of the first things I thought when hearing Attila’s vocals – and everyone finds this hilarious, I’m sure you will too – was that he reminded me of an aggravated Marge Simpson.

After comparing Quorthon to Elmer Fudd, I would advise treading carefully.

DANNY: What? So, I shouldn’t go, like <shrill cackling> then? Okay, sorry. Besides that, “De Mysteriis…” is a great record. We found it funny how much reverb was on the rack-toms only. So, when he’s playing his regular fast beat and then does a fill – all of a sudden, it’s like a coin in the middle of Grand Canyon. I loved the bass sound, too. Come to think of it, I’m still not sure who the fuck… if Hellhammer went back in and tracked bass after the fact?

The bass on “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas” was performed by BURZUM’s Varg Vikernes.

DANNY: Huh? I thought Euronymous’ parents wanted his basslines over-dubbed? But yeah, as if they were gonna know either way. Well, that’s another humorous irony of Norwegian black metal – murderer and murder victim playing on the same record. I do like BURZUM, but as far as Varg’s personal ideologies go… that’s something I keep separate from the music. There’s none of that shit in his lyrics. But yeah, “De Mysteriiis Dom Sathanas” was fucking great.

Given your fondness for bass, were you aware of what NECROMANTIA were doing back then?

DANNY: NECROMANTIA… they were the Greek band with two bass players, right? Interesting stuff. I was briefly in touch with the vocalist, Magus Wampyr Daoloth. One of the other guys was called Baron Blood. You know, Sakis Tolis is another great dude, and ROTTING CHRIST are classic, but they were also quite melodic and Mediterranean-sounding.

The early Greek scene, as defined by the likes of ROTTING CHRIST, NECROMANTIA, THOU ART LORD, and VARATHRON, was characterised by a combination of melodic elements and synths, as well as an emphasis on mid-tempo rhythms and warm, almost mystical ambiences. This stood in stark contrast to the cold and desolate sounds of the generally more fast-paced Scandinavian black metal.

DANNY: The great irony was that the only Greek black metal I could find that was really brutal were bands like fucking DER STÜRMER. Do you know what I’m talking about? I read something about them and then just had to hear what their music sounded like. I thought, ‘Yep, figures – they’re vicious as fuck.’

What about Greek death metal?

DANNY: I like DEAD CONGREGATION. It’s very dark and brutal – they sound like my buddies in IMMOLATION.

After the MACABRE tour, Danny decided to contact a few of the black metal bands he’d discovered.  

DANNY: I was really getting into all the Scandinavian stuff. I wrote to several of these people and found that most of them were already aware of me. I’d been in touch with Samoth from EMPEROR for a while when he gave me Faust’s prison address.

In 1994, EMPEROR drummer Faust was sentenced to fourteen years in prison for stabbing a man to death in Lillehammer, Norway, two years earlier.

DANNY: I think I wrote to Faust because I figured he’d be bored and would appreciate a letter from me. It wasn’t an ego trip or anything; more like, ‘If this guy has to spend the next ten years in prison, perhaps getting a letter from Danny Lilker will brighten his day.’ Sure enough, he wrote back and was super-cool about everything.

 

In 1996, Danny joined New York black metal band HEMLOCK on bass. They’d first appeared four years earlier with a tape called “Demo 1992”.

After recording a promo, HEMLOCK were offered and accepted a record deal from Norwegian label Head Not Found, owned and operated by Metalion of Slayer Mag. Towards the end of 1996, HEMLOCK performed a number of shows with MYSTICUM – one of the earliest and most respected Norwegian black metal bands.

DANNY: Three years had passed since the unfortunate incident with Euronymous, so the sensationalism was in full swing. However, that might still have been a bit too early in what you might call the ‘US black metal scene’ for a lot of people to be familiar with them. HEMLOCK and MYSTICUM played a couple of shows together – but at some big festival in Long Island, BRUTAL TRUTH was also on the bill.

That would’ve been Deathstock. Besides the Norwegians and both of Danny’s bands, the festival also hosted the likes of ANGELCORPSE, CANNIBAL CORPSE, DYING FETUS, EVOKEN, and IMMOLATION.

DANNY: Kevin, the BRUTAL TRUTH vocalist, had taken to wearing a cowboy hat when playing live, hoping to piss off intolerant metalheads. ‘Those guys take themselves too seriously. Watch this, I’ll wear a fucking cowboy hat.’ But as we came off stage, Mean Malmberg (MYSTICUM) walked up to Kevin and said, ‘Dude, great fucking look with the hat!’ And Kevin goes, ‘Oh my god – a Norwegian black metal guy just complimented my hat. I give up.’

 

During the first half of 1997, HEMLOCK released a mini-CD called “Crush the Race of God” and a split with American powerviolence project BLACK ARMY JACKET.

That summer saw yet another S.O.D. reunion. I watched a video from one of the shows – at With Full Force in Germany – and was quite surprised to see Danny with short hair.

DANNY: I’d had dreadlocks since the mid-90s. But because my hair is so curly, the only way you could tell was that the curls looked longer and skinnier because I twisted each curl group into a dread. I got tired of it after a couple of years – and bear in mind, this was way before ‘dreadlock shampoo’ and such bullshit. I kept worrying about contracting fucking lice or something. So, I took a deep breath, cut them off, and started over clean.

When the flights were sorted for S.O.D’s summer dates, Danny asked the agent to book his return trip a week later. After the last show, he travelled to Norway.

DANNY: I was still in touch with Faust and told him, ‘Dude, I’m gonna find out if I can visit you.’ Of course, I had to go through all this red tape and bureaucratic hassle to get permission. I’d been in the country for a few days when I took a train to a little town called Kløfta to see him. I recall getting dirty looks from matronly sixty-year-old women because of how my arms looked; I believe I’d had a minor cutting session with the MYSTICUM guys.

How was it hanging out with the MYSTICUM maniacs in their natural habitat?

DANNY: MYSTICUM came from a little town west of Oslo called Asker. And don’t ask me how I remember this; it’s amazing what the brain retains, man. They told me when we met in New York the year before, ‘Dude, if you ever come to Norway, we’ll fucking burn down – don’t worry about it.’ I hung out with them because they liked to smoke a lot of weed.

Not only cannabis; MYSTICUM were well-known in Norway and Sweden as absolute drug fiends.  

DANNY: Yep, that’s why I went to visit them. MYSTICUM were kind of chaotic and… sure – maniacs, but mostly in the sense that they partied a lot harder than everyone else. Most Norwegians are quite reserved, even when partying. Take somebody like Frost (SATYRICON); he drank and smoked weed and everything, but the MYSTICUM guys did everything ten times harder than anyone else.