SHADOW OF THE DESTROYER With its corpsepaint, spiked leather coats and occasionally druidic robes, Shadow of the Destroyer’s black metal hearkens to Norway’s nihilistic early ’90s more than the idealism of the recent Pitchfork-praised resurgence. And as much as I love Wolves in the Throne Room and Liturgy, 2011 was — quite bafflingly so — the year of too much black metal. After all that, it’s refreshing to encounter a band that doesn’t try to make high art of the genre. Shadow of the Destroyer’s music is aggressive, oppressive and harsh with bleak, growled lyrics. These guys seem like they’d be making this music, resurgence or not, which you gotta respect. $6-$7. The Milestone.
This article appears in Jan 10-16, 2012.
