This band has quite a Black Metal history, featuring members of Urgehal, Djvel, and Koldbrann. They are pretty straightforward and feel more like they are from Sweden than Norway, but what they do work, as they are more riff-oriented than holding a static tension with the buzz of tremolo picking. This is just a four-song EP , but it gives you enough info to show you what these guys are about. The first song reminds me of Watain when they are in their more feral jackhammer-at-you mode. It works well enough for what it is, but not something I would want an entire album of. But that is ok because they do have the sense to switch things up and hit you with various tempos. In the fact the first song is one of the few moments where they revert to blast beats.
Their reluctance to blast the night away plays in their favor. This is not to say that all of the songs are more pulsing, in fact, they do return to blast beats on the last, song which puts them at fifty percent. This is a better percentage than most black metal bands. It is not that I do not like blast beats, I think there is a time and a place for them. These guys seem pretty confident that they are using them in the most prudent manner. In some ways, they remind me of Marduk, in how they are almost like a black metal version of Motorhead, stripped down, with no synths or atmospherics, the vocals are a coarse mid-range rasp that delivers the lyrics with the needed aggression, but nothing above or beyond that.
The last song is my favorite "Viva La Apocalypse". It pulls everything together and lets me know what these guys are about. There is nothing spooky or Satanic about them, but the fact that they are celebrating the apocalypse is enough for me. It goes to show there are other ways to be convincingly at one with darkness without being suicidal or satanic. Not that I disapprove of either of those sentiments, I would rather hear the angle this band takes than have some one just pretending to be depressed or down with the Devil. I will give this one a 9, they care about writing songs, and it pays off for them.
No comments:
Post a Comment