Krieg - The Black House & Patrick Bateman

By Dave Schalek. USBM forefathers Krieg probably don't need much of an introduction, but little has been heard from the band since the release of The Isolationist a couple of years ago. However, regardless of the relative lack of activity

By Dave Schalek.


USBM forefathers Krieg probably don't need much of an introduction, but little has been heard from the band since the release of The Isolationist a couple of years ago. However, regardless of the relative lack of activity, Krieg appear to still be very much alive and well as mastermind Imperial has expanded his band's presence on Bandcamp. Two classic releases from Krieg, The Black House and Patrick Bateman, are now available for purchase.

Krieg 2012. Photo by Carmelo Española.

The Black House was originally released in 2004, but has regained a higher profile in metal's collective consciousness recently by being named as one of the Top 100 Black Metal albums of all time in a recently released special edition collector's issue of Decibel Magazine. Coinciding very nicely with the album's inclusion on that list is the release of the album on Bandcamp.

A vile blast of misanthropic hate, The Black House is an abrasively loud example of fast black metal that is probably closer to its Scandinavian brethren than most USBM released at the time. A fine example of pure black metal, The Black House is highly recommended.

Krieg 2012. Photo by Carmelo Española.

Patrick Bateman, an EP exploring the title character of the book American Psycho, also was originally released in 2004 and pretty much continues where The Black House left off. Fast black metal with riffs cascading up and down the fret board, Patrick Bateman is characterized by a slightly deeper sound than The Black House, but is stylistically very similar. What shines through on both releases, though, is Imperial's vocal delivery of pure hate, the obvious backbone of Krieg.

Here's your chance to get acquainted with some classic releases from Krieg.