THE COLD EARTH SLEPT BELOW (1995)

Judas Iscariot is one of the most well-known of the underground American black metal bands. It is the brainchild of one man--"Akhenaten." What J.I. plays is primitive Darkthrone-styled black metal (reminds me of a cross between Blaze in the Northern Sky and Panzerfaust). The only problem is that there is not alot here to differentiate it from Darkthrone. There is talent here, yes. There are some excellent guitar passages, yes. And the droning of the guitars is hauntingly melodic at times, too. But all in all, it is not different enough from old-school Darkthrone to merit 5 stars. The one thing that is very interesting is that Judas Iscariot's sound--especially in the title track--has a mournful quality to it. Where other bands might spew forth hate or wrath or misanthropy, J.I. adds some melancholy to the mix.