압록 - Discography (2026) (Upconvert)

   My first black metal from North Korea...

... was curious, had to try some, with no idea what to expect going in. As it turns out, of course these Koreans can make black metal as well (or not well, whichever the case may be) as anyone.

I have no iea what they're saying in the lyrics, and may never know, but for me and likely many others around here, this sentiment applies to a lot of music we enjoy, from a lot of places. But as "they" say among other things, the music is the universal language, not the lyrics. There's music sung in English which I can't understand, so it's fine.

In my opinion, the music is decent. I'm currently listening for the second time, as I got waylaid somewhere during the first attempt. Sound quality is decent too; the music is, on average, relatively heavy - possibly (for me) almost qualifying as heavy atmospheric - but it's definitely black metal, with solid drumming and other fairly typical-sounding black metal instruments; I heard very little Asian or "oriental" sound in this music.

Track titles reference well known landmarks in/of both South and North Korea; also, mythology surrounding the Taebaek mountain range in S. Korea. There are references to what one might imagine is the general state of being of many North Korean citizens, such as oppressed, abused, and isolated. And there is hatred - of whom or of what, I can't say. But I wonder if (some or all of) these musicians are NK defectors; it could explain the SK references. Or maybe they refer to things more historical - meaningful to all Koreans - from before Korea became divided.

To my very limited knowledge & understanding of N. Korea, I would think it somewhat difficult, though not impossible, to export music from that country, especially if the music is in any way critical of the leadership. I'm interested in any comments on this music, forthcoming from Korean members of MT; you could absolutely give a better analysis of it than I can.

Thanks Stormhatt, I appreciate the opportunity to hear metal from yet another distant & mysterious corner of the world, from which we rarely hear anything at all. I'll listen to this again. 

I am doubtful this is from North Korea. How would they get access / exposed to BM in the first place? Possibly Koreans (or people who claim to be Koreans) making this BM, creating lyrics about their knowledge of North Korean landscapes, ideology, beliefs, etc...

I am doubtful this is from North Korea. How would they get access / exposed to BM in the first place? Possibly Koreans (or people who claim to be Koreans) making this BM, creating lyrics about their knowledge of North Korean landscapes, ideology, beliefs, etc...

Thank you for commenting, KAOSWAR.

I don't deny the possibility you suggest, but I wonder, what would be the purpose, the motive, of some artist(s) claiming to be from somewhere they aren't from?

And..

Exposure / access isn't implausible; apparently (some) North Koreans can / do travel to places including to S. Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, and China. Also, there are (or have been) foreigners in North Korea on travel visas from time to time, for various reasons including study / education. And defections do occur with some regularity. They could be North Koreans, maybe creating / releasing this music from elsewhere, though that might indicate that this torrent's country of origin should be the country in which the music was made & produced. For example, if Koreans in the USA made & published some music and it landed here, it would be labeled as "USA", even if they're singing in Korean about Korean things, right? There are releases on MT by artists whose nationality, musical style, subject matter and language are not that of the country from which their music was produced; we have Russians in Brazil, possibly Icelanders in Germany, etcetera. Lastly: given the tiny physical size of digital storage today, smuggling digitized information (a.k.a. music in this case) in or out is possible, though it would be a risky undertaking. Music created in & smuggled out of N. Korea would qualify as "North Korean" here on MT though, wouldn't it?

Thanks again KAOSWAR. My curiosity is piqued about these artists; I hope there are more comments! 

 

 

I don't deny the possibility you suggest, but I wonder, what would be the purpose, the motive, of some artist(s) claiming to be from somewhere they aren't from?

 

People do things all the time to draw attention or starting some out-of-the-world speculation. If North Koreans travel outside their hermit world, Black Metal is very obscure to get access to. I am sure they would have easier access to pop music or whatever is on the radio/TV, etc... in the short amount of time they have outside N. Korea. If anything, this could be defectors, labeling themselves as being in North Korea.

They really are from DPRK! No they are not. Yes they are! No, they-- 

You may be right, it could be hype. I don't like hype, but enjoy an occasional mystery. For the moment, this is more interesting than washing the dishes, or whatever I should be doing.

Entering North Korean black metal into Gygl produces curious results about only two BM artists claiming to be from NK: Kuryong and Amnak. Of course, the internet is filled with crap & lately enough AI trash to sink 10,000 ships. But speculation for both sides of this argument is there for anyone interested. There's a Bandcamp page too - I didn't bother translating it from Korean.

There's a convincing story, apparently from the artists (who claim to be from Rason Special Economic Zone, DPRK, which borders Russia & China) explaining that the album(s) were recorded over 6 weeks with the permission of the state, in a state-run studio, using state equipment and following state regulations, and that the songs are about "our land" (our country, nature, etc...), all of which makes me think that if it is from NK, it's essentially DPRK propaganda in the form of not bad lo-fi BM. But a photo showing (the) two BM artists hanging out with Mr. Kim in what looks like a prison basement, ogling some buffet dishes, looks highly sketchy - Photoshop sketchy; it looks ~85 years old. Really weird for a couple of young guys to be in an 85 year old photo.

In related "news", there have apparently been a few state approved singles released from NK over the years and streamed on Western streaming platforms including the one with the apples, and the spotted one. Again IMHO possibly propaganda telling the world how wonderful everything is in DPRK, and how happy they all are over there.

For me, the net result (pun intended) of my own reading is: There's currently, and may never be a way to prove anything; and, I really like the word "apparently".

Купился на прикольное название, скачал, пока не слушал - жду душевного настроя