Von (band)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Von


Img_capt = Von live in 1991
Img_size =
Background = group_or_band
Origin = San Francisco, California, USA [http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=2302 Von] @ Encyclopaedia Metallum]
Genre = Black metal
Years_active = 1989-1992
Label = Nuclear War Now! Productions From Beyond Productions
Associated_acts = Abscess Eatmyfuk
URL =
Current_members = Goat, Snake, Kill
Past_members = Unnamed bass player

Von was a Second Wave black metal band from San Francisco, California, USA. They are thought to be the first American Black metal band, and have strongly influenced the second wave of black metal.

Members

*Goat - guitar, vocals
*Snake - drums
*Kill - bass

Biography

Von was formed in 1989 by Goat (then using the pseudonym Von) and Snake. An unnamed bass player was in the band before leaving in 1990. After the bass player's departure, Goat and Snake played one gig as a duo. In early 1991 Kill joined the band and the trio recorded their first demo, "Satanic Blood". During 1991-1992 Von played a couple of live gigs and recorded another demo, "Blood Angel", which was never released on its own. The band disbanded shortly after the release of "Satanic Blood" in 1992.The interview in the booklet of "Satanic Blood Angel", available at Von's MySpace [http://www.myspace.com/von666 page] ]

In 2003 Nuclear War Now! Productions released "Satanic Blood Angel", a double CD compilation featuring the band's demos on one CD and a recording of a live show on another. Beside the "Satanic Blood" demo, it remains the only official Von release.

Very little is known about the individuals behind the band. Kill is known as Joe Allen of Abscess and Eatmyfuk, but the identities of the other three remain unknown to the public.

tyle

Von played highly simplistic black metal with short songs based on almost continuous blast beats (occasionally accompanied by drum fills) and repetition of only from one to three riffs, each containing only about three or four power chords. [http://www.geocities.com/satanicbloodvon/ Unofficial site] ] [http://anus.com/metal/von/ Review of a bootleg from 1999] ] The vocals were performed in a guttural growling fashion more characteristic of death metal than black metal.

Von can be seen having been ahead of their time, playing minimalistic black metal on a time when the genre was virtually non-existent, especially in the thrash-oriented West Coast.

Cult following

Von have gained a cult following in the black metal underground since their disbandment and the few recordings of Von are considered classic and pioneer black metal. Prominent black metal bands have covered Von, either on record or live (or both), including The Beast, [ [http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=45260 Album information] , track 4 is a Von cover] Dark Funeral, [ [http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=1886 Album information] , track 10 is a Von cover] Enthroned, [ [http://www.smnnews.com/board/showthread.php?t=145411 A thread concerning covers at Enthroned's forum, post #3] ] Krieg, [ [http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=12130 Album information] , track 18 is a Von cover] [ [http://www.angelfire.com/fl5/von/trib.htm Online tribute to Von] ] Taake [ [http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=118439 Album information: A Norwegian Hail to Von] ] [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF7IyADAMYc Taake: Lamb (live) at YouTube] ] and Watain [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-CbuS4LFFM Watain: Watain (live) at YouTube] ] (who are also named after a Von song [ [http://www.geocities.com/mirgilussiculorum/interviews/watain.html A Watain interview] ] ), to mention a few examples. Also, in addition to spreading copies of the "Satanic Blood" demo, Varg Vikernes of Burzum did arguably direct promotion for Von by wearing their t-shirt in one of his murder trial sessions. [ [http://www.burzum.org/eng/gallery03.php?id=photo01 Photo of Varg Vikernes wearing a Von t-shirt on a trial session] ]

The band's name

The band's name is sometimes falsely thought to be an acronym for "Victory Orgasm Nazi(s)". Varg Vikernes used those words to spell the band's name during a phone interview because the interviewer apparently didn't hear the name correctly. According to the band, the name stands for "nothing but images of darkness and blood." Ironically, the word "von" means hope in some of the Scandinavian languages, from where the band's main musical influence is originated.

Discography

Demos

*"Satanic Blood" (1992), recorded in 1991

Some sources [ [http://www.myrrthronth.de/bands/v/von.htm Example of false information on the year of recording at Myrrthronth.de] ] report that this demo was released in 1988, but it was actually recorded in 1991 and released in 1992. [ [http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=9443 The demo's entry at Encyclopaedia Metallum] ]

*"Blood Angel" (unreleased), recorded between 1991 and 1992

The demo was never released on its own, only as part of the "Satanic Blood Angel" compilation released in 2003.

Compilations

*"Satanic Blood Angel" (2CD, 2003), Nuclear War Now! Productions

Single disc version also exists, released by From Beyond Productions. [ [http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=18868 The compilation's entry at Encyclopaedia Metallum] ]

Bootlegs

Several bootlegs exist, mostly containing the "Satanic Blood" demo, one notable example being a split compilation with Dark Funeral entitled "Devil Pigs", released by Karmageddon Media. [ [http://www.imperiumi.net/alb_2.php?id=2416 Review of the bootleg, in Finnish] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.myspace.com/von666 Von] at MySpace
* [http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=2302 Von] at Encyclopaedia Metallum
* [http://www.geocities.com/satanicbloodvon Unofficial Von site]