| GRAND
BELIAL’S KEY does not represent vampire adoration or any
other childish dress-up games associated with the black ‘glam
rock’ metal scene.
GBK have had a bumpy and controversial career since the band was
formed in 1992. Early on the band was plagued with internal problems
with vocalist Lord Vlad Luciferian (who later left to join Ancient),
who appears only on the first two demo releases. He was replaced
by “The Black Lourde of Crucixion” (CRUCIFIER) who
handled drums/vocals for the first 2 albums. His arrival marked
a more “professional” shift for the band, which would
release its first full-length album, “Mocking the Philanthropist”,
in 1997. The release was stopped dead in its path, however, when
German distributor Rough Trade refused to distribute the album,
claiming some of the booklet’s contents could be considered
illegal in Germany. The band’s label, Wood-Nymph Records,
refused to print a new booklet and was then left with no means
of distribution and went bankrupt. The controversy didn’t
end with the album: The band was frequently a victim of boycotts
and cancellation of its live gigs, and played live only about
nine times in its first nine years of existence.
The band then released a few 7”eps and more importantly,
their second fulllength album, “Judeobeast Assassination”
in 2002. The album showcased a marked evolution of the band’s
sound while sticking to their roots. The band is still going strong
while still fighting the ever present controversy, fueled partly
by their attitude, anti-black metal look & radical anti-Judeo-
Christian lyrics. While GBK’s lyrical themes are anti-JewishChristian
and/or anti-religion, the band’s detractors claim the contrary,
mixing the individual members’ personal beliefs or opinions
with the simple anti-religious message GBK is trying to promote.
The recording of ‘Kosherat’ was finished in 2005 and
it is their most professional and bombastic release to date. Incorporating
two new members on drums (The Gulag) and vocals (Grimnir) respectively
(same line-up that played on the PIMPS OF GENNESARET TOUR in December
2002) has only strengthened their approach and creativity. GBK
is scheduled to return to Europe in February of 2006 to play dates
in Northern Europe. GBK are considered to be one of the founding
fathers of the American Black Metal Genre (among a handful of
others), without emulating the soon-commercialized stereotypical
black metal sound so popularized in the last 14 years, regardless
of the way modern-day magazines prefer to think the USBM scene
developed. When GRAND BELIAL’S KEY started, there was no
such thing as a US Black Metal scene… |
