Neverending Winter : "Хиус"

So I was taking a break from Game of Thrones to get some writing done and it's pretty fitting I chose this albums as it makes for a good transition. In someways they are like Agalloch with out trying to bore you to death with long and winding epic songs. Not that Agalloch is boring , but all the band who tried to be like them sure seem to be. The vocals are rasps and snarled with such nasty animal like intensity that you can t even make out the Russian. They have a rough guitar tone, but it keeps the galloping riffs pretty mean with some weird black metal like breaks in-between that suggest some punk influence is in here some where.The song named after the band is more straight forward and benefits from a sharp guitar attack. They do dip into their more folk side and this song almost touches the 8 minute mark which is still pretty efficient with this genre.

This band can't be easily summed up as black metal though they are more black metal than they are folk metal. "Heeus" starts off a little darker then comes alive with a more commanding brand of metal. Five minutes in and the folk comes back starting to make this formula more habitual. The last song is "Sib Ir" . Which allows it's angry stomp to give way to the more coasting clean guitar passages. Art just over the nine minute mark this is the album's longest song. Double bass is one of this drummer's stronger suits. It is refreshing that he doesn't lay the blast beats on too thick. They dig into that more thrash like version of black metal that was perfected by Dissection. The riffs get really mean going into the four minute mark. The guitars are this album's strong suit for sure. The drummer gets the job done, but he still adheres to the bible of metal playing. Not to say the guitars don't do this as the bass player is probably the most creative member but sits back in the mix. The progressions the song build into could be something off a Thursday album as it rides the line between emo and hardcore.

The songs final moments go out on strummed guitar which I didn't see coming and had me waiting for the blast beats that never came. And that my friend is how to use blast beats. I'll give this one a 9 as I debate if it's going to make it over to my iPod or am I going to load "Storm of the Light's Bane" on their instead. Thats not to say these guys are Dissection rip of by any means, perhaps they would be more tempted to be if they were not from Russia. Any way this is a very solid album of blackened metal, not weighed down with blast beats and full of other textures. In short pretty bad ass.