Von (band)
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2008-07-09T20:37:33Z
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{{Primarysources|date=March 2008}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| Name = Von
| Img =
| Img_capt = Von live in 1991
| Img_size = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels -->
| Background = group_or_band
| Origin = [[San Francisco]], [[California]], [[United States|USA]]<ref name="ma">[http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=2302 Von] @ [[Encyclopaedia Metallum]]</ref>
| Genre = War [[Black metal]]
| Years_active = 1989-1992
| Label = Nuclear War Now! Productions<br/>From Beyond Productions
| Associated_acts = [[Abscess (band)|Abscess]]<br/>[[Eatmyfuk]]
| URL =
| Current_members = Goat, Snake, Kill
| Past_members = Unnamed bass player
}}
'''Von''' was a [[Black metal#The Second Wave|Second Wave]] [[black metal]] band from [[San Francisco, California]], [[United States|USA]].This is the first American [[Black metal]] band, but has 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.<ref name="sba">The interview in the booklet of ''Satanic Blood Angel'', available at Von's [[MySpace]] [http://www.myspace.com/von666 page]</ref>
In 2003 Nuclear War Now! Productions released ''Satanic Blood Angel'', a double CD [[Compilation album|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.<ref name="ma"/><ref name="sba"/>
Very little is known about the individuals behind the band. Kill is known as Joe Allen of [[Abscess (band)|Abscess]] and [[Eatmyfuk]],<ref name="ma"/> but the identities of the other three remain unknown to the public.
===Style===
Von played highly simplistic black metal with short songs based on almost continuous [[blast beat]]s (occasionally accompanied by drum fills) and repetition of only from one to three [[riff]]s, each containing only about three or four [[power chord]]s.<ref name="fan">[http://www.geocities.com/satanicbloodvon/ Unofficial site]</ref><ref name="bl">[http://anus.com/metal/von/ Review of a bootleg from 1999]</ref> The vocals were performed in a [[Death grunt|guttural growling]] fashion more characteristic of [[death metal]] than black metal.<ref name="bl"/>
Von can be seen having been ahead of their time, playing [[Minimalism|minimalistic]] black metal on a time when the [[genre]] was virtually non-existent, especially in the [[Thrash metal|thrash]]-oriented [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]].<ref name="fan"/>
===Cult following===
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:vikernesvon.jpg|thumb|Varg Vikernes wearing a Von t-shirt]] -->
Von have gained a [[cult following]] in the black metal [[Underground culture|underground]] since their disbandment and the few recordings of Von are considered [[Cult classic|classic]] and pioneer black metal. Prominent black metal bands have covered Von, either on record or live (or both), including [[The Beast (band)|The Beast]],<ref>[http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=45260 Album information], track 4 is a Von cover</ref> [[Dark Funeral]],<ref>[http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=1886 Album information], track 10 is a Von cover</ref> [[Enthroned]],<ref>[http://www.smnnews.com/board/showthread.php?t=145411 A thread concerning covers at Enthroned's forum, post #3]</ref> [[Krieg]],<ref>[http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=12130 Album information], track 18 is a Von cover</ref><ref>[http://www.angelfire.com/fl5/von/trib.htm Online tribute to Von]</ref> [[Taake]]<ref>[http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=118439 Album information: A Norwegian Hail to Von]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF7IyADAMYc Taake: Lamb (live) at YouTube]</ref> and [[Watain]]<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-CbuS4LFFM Watain: Watain (live) at YouTube]</ref> (who are also named after a Von song<ref>[http://www.geocities.com/mirgilussiculorum/interviews/watain.html A Watain interview]</ref>), to mention a few examples. Also, in addition to spreading copies of the ''Satanic Blood'' demo,<ref name="sba"/> [[Varg Vikernes]] of [[Burzum]] did arguably direct promotion for Von by wearing their t-shirt in one of his [[Varg Vikernes#Criminal record|murder]] trial sessions.<ref name="sba"/><ref>[http://www.burzum.org/eng/gallery03.php?id=photo01 Photo of Varg Vikernes wearing a Von t-shirt on a trial session]</ref>
===The band's name===
The band's name is sometimes falsely thought to be an [[acronym]] for ''Victory Orgasm Nazi(s)''.<ref name="ma"/> 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.<ref name="ma"/><ref name="sba"/> According to the band, the name stands for "nothing but images of darkness and blood."<ref name="sba"/>
==Discography==
===Demos===
*''[[Satanic Blood]]'' (1992), recorded in 1991 <div class="references-small">Some sources<ref>[http://www.myrrthronth.de/bands/v/von.htm Example of false information on the year of recording at Myrrthronth.de]</ref> report that this demo was released in 1988, but it was actually recorded in 1991<ref name="sba"/> and released in 1992.<ref name="sba"/><ref>[http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=9443 The demo's entry at Encyclopaedia Metallum]</ref></div>
*''Blood Angel'' (unreleased), recorded between 1991 and 1992<ref name="sba"/> <div class="references-small">The demo was never released on its own, only as part of the ''Satanic Blood Angel'' compilation released in [[2003]].</div>
===Compilations===
*''[[Satanic Blood Angel]]'' (2CD, 2003), Nuclear War Now! Productions <div class="references-small">Single disc version also exists, released by From Beyond Productions.<ref>[http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=18868 The compilation's entry at Encyclopaedia Metallum]</ref></div>
===Bootlegs===
Several [[Bootleg recording|bootleg]]s exist, mostly containing the ''Satanic Blood'' demo,<ref name="bl"/> one notable example being a split compilation with [[Dark Funeral]] entitled ''Devil Pigs'', released by [[Karmageddon Media]].<ref>[http://www.imperiumi.net/alb_2.php?id=2416 Review of the bootleg, in Finnish]</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==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]
[[Category:American black metal musical groups]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1989]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1992]]
[[de:VON]]