99.9% of the time, the phrase “one-man black metal project” spells disaster. On any given day, I get 5 to 10 emails from these types, asking me to check out their EPs. Once you’ve heard one, you’ve heard ’em all. Imagine, if you could, Burzum, but even shittier. That’s about the sum of these “one-man black metal projects”, or so I thought. Meet The Gauntlet. Comprised of singular member Ace Meggido, who hails from New Jersey and wears a fucking motorcycle helmet, The Gauntlet lives up to their/his name, running the gauntlet of black metal before it became typecast by tremolo riffs and blast beats, AKA “first wave black metal”.
Now I’m sure some neckbeard will make their way into the comments with a clever retort along the lines of, “But Joe! First wave black metal ISN’T black metal!” Really now? So Venom, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, and Bathory among others were merely playing a raw, evil sounding brand of metal that just so happened to sound like no other acts of the era, but it WASN’T black metal? If you can answer this question with “yes” and a straight face, I’ll kindly show you to the door. If first wave black metal isn’t black metal, than Black Sabbath is a hard rock band, although I’m sure enough morons would agree with this sentiment as well. After all, it is 2023.
On their debut full length, Dark Steel and Fire, The Gauntlet takes us back in time to black metal’s earliest days, between 1981 and 1985 roughly. However, it is far more than a rehash or throwback affair. The attention to detail is stunning and many of these compositions wouldn’t sound out of place on Bathory’s self titled debut (1984) or The Return…… (1985). The album opens extremely strong with the one-two punch of “Where Heroes Go to Die” and “Beyond the Limits”. With the former being a blackened doom monolith and the latter an exercise in violent black-thrash, they certainly contrast each other, but set the tone for what is a truly wild ride.
Cuts like “The Signal to Attack” and “Winds Without Mercy” channel classic Venom, sleazy riffs, pounding drums, aggressive attitude and all. Call ’em black n’ roll, call ’em blackened metalpunk, call em’ good ol’ fashioned black metal; whatever you wanna label this demonic duo, they smoke nevertheless. So does the darkness and evil (pun fully intended) inspired “Damnation Calls with Haste” and “The Final Guard”; pure infernal sorcery captured on tape. Yet what stands out most about this release are the unusual but welcomed epic and traditional metal influences, specifically on “Those Who Will Not Return”, “Armored Hearts”, and the colossal title track. Mark “The Shark” Shelton would be as proud of these compositions as Quorthon, and that says something right there.
If you’re looking for a more worthy black metal album to accompany you these last dozen or so days of January, good luck finding it. Dark Steel and Fire sets the bar high, not just for “one-man black metal projects”, but for black metal as a whole, and 2023 has only just begun. So if you’re like me, a self-admitted snob who prefers his black metal on the first wave side of the spectrum, I invite you to immerse yourself in the Dark Steel and Fire of The Gauntlet. Burns and lacerations aside, you won’t regret it.
8 out of 10
Label: Nihil Verum Nisi Mors
Genre: Black Metal
For fans of: Bathory, Venom, Tormentor