Black metal would become something very different as the years went by but the forgotten Black Death were the first real black metal band.
Black Death, the African-American metal band
The origin of black metalfor many, is in that underground scene of the early 80s from which they came Bathory, hellhammer and, with more media recognition, Venom. Black metal understood as the most extreme side of heavy metal, with malicious riffs, guttural voices, atmospheres as cold as a Norwegian forest in January and recurring satanic themes in the lyrics and usual imagery. But that’s not black metal. It’s black because the music is dark, but that’s pure posturing. What’s so black metal about a bunch of posh Scandinavian kids who want to get into trouble and start talking about Satan and evil? If we get serious, a parallel statement from the Tax Agency is much blacker and darker than all the satanisms that these kids from Watain can vomit. And taking photos of scattered brains like the legendary Mayhem cover has been done much better and more effectively by the Islamic State lately.
a forgotten band
No, gentlemen, true black metal is embodied by Black Death. And they did not leave Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, or the United Kingdom. They left the most in-metal town in the world: Cleveland, Ohio. A gang of African-Americans that started in 1977 and had to wait until 1980 to record their first song, called “Outcast” and that today is practically impossible to find. It was around then when they decided to start calling themselves Black Death, since until then they had no decided name. And Black Death is nothing more than the name of a fictional band that actor and comedian Richard Pryor created to parody American shock rock of the 70s and his search for the most difficult rock yet. In the 1977 television gag, Pryor kills his entire audience with drugs and a rifle, while the stage burns in flames and the band plays music closer to the proto-elementary heavy metal of the 60s-70s than to anything that can be described as as extreme.
The point is that the name must have resonated deeply with bassist and vocalist Greg Hicks, drummer Phil Bullard and bassist Clayborn Pickins, who ended up creating the band with guitarist and vocalist Henry Marshall. Shortly after Pinkin was murdered and Darrel Harris became the band’s bassist. The band recorded a couple of demos in the early ’80s, until they had interest from Auburn Records in Cleveland and recorded their first self-titled LP, which can be heard on Spotify. Black Death released their self-titled debut album, “Black Death”, in 1984, through the aforementioned label. This album is considered a cult underground metal classic.
Black Death’s sound was powerful, combining traditional heavy metal influences with elements of the era, such as punk and hard rock. The band’s lyrics often explored dark and controversial themes, reflecting both social reality and the members’ personal inclinations. But despite the quality of their music and the enthusiastic reception from fans, Black Death did not achieve the same commercial recognition as some of their contemporaries.
Following the release of their debut album, Black Death continued to play on the local and regional scene for some time. However, in the mid-1980s, the band disbanded, leaving behind an enduring legacy in heavy metal history.
However, today the band is still active after reuniting in 2009 with Greg Hicks, guitarist Ken Philipps and drummer Dennis Fuldauer. Black metal has become something very different, but if you listen to the songs from that first album by the band. like that “Night of the Living Death”, you can see how they are not that far from that first wave of black metal that Venom popularized. The difference is that they were true black metal.
