Kampfar :" Til Klovers Takt"

There continues to be a lot to love about Norway's Kampfar who allow their sound to get bigger and more melodic. The band's 9th album finds them still playing black metal, but not allowing themselves to be limited into the narrow confines of what the genre could be compressed down to if more homogenized. It stands to note thattheyhave been making music since they mid 90s they are legit true Norwegian black metal as much so as bands more commonly thought of in the role like Mayhem.  metal the chorus to the opening track is sun, but the throb of the song is not hampered in any way by this. There are blast beats on this album these guys just do not live and die by them. 

They use many woeful folk elements without an ounce of frolic to them. The mood to a song like "Fandens Trall"is a balance of aggression and a more adventurous Viking streak. The chanting is a low and eerie when it creeps into the song. They are kind of occupying the space Dimmu Borgir once held, though not a grandiose or symphonic, rooted still in the pagan culture and less invested in satanic theater. Like Dimmu their singer plays drums. He still fills the role in the studio where Dimmu has been through a few drummers at this point/. "Flammen Fra Nord" is more of a scathing blast fest, thus conforming with the expectations of black metals more hateful side.  They only hit it that hard for the first two minutes before more melodic and sung sections evolve. it breaks all the way down to a bass line. 

"Rekviem" thunder down a similar sonic path. It stars off at a more rapid pace that they gradually gain control of as the song unfolds. It ends up in that big epic march much of their music in recent years as thrived in.  The sonics shift and darken for the last song which manages to stand uniquely apart from the previous song as it bears different sonic colors that open new doors for the band. Even dabbling in things as small as vocal effects makes a difference.  I will give this album a 9.5, as it finds the long running band still offering fresh takes on familiar sounds, we have heard from them before. 

Kampfar : "Ofidians Manifest"

Do you need this band to be black metal ? Or have you accepted those days are pretty much , unless you count the few smattering the throw in like on the second song. The vocals are the most blackened thing about their sound now. It is an angry mid range rasp that has scathing scorn in it's snarl. I do like the grooves they stumble upon.  Is this darker and angrier than your average metal band? yes , things like the female vocals leading into "Dominans" is a nice touch. T`hey should opt for double bass over blast beats on a regular basis, not that there is a ton of blast beats on this album in the first place. I think their song writing benefits from the fact they have grown beyond the typical trappings of black metal. This is not to say that this album is really all that experimental. They just put some nice touches of atmosphere in the right spots.

We do get something more black metal on "Natt". I think the fact they use more chanted vocals on this song helps stay in their sound, with the song taking on more of a throb. This song also finds a heavy groove to work off of in the second half. This is so well done that even when they do give you flash backs of their black metal past, it's like why bother when what you were just doing was cool. "Eremitt" falls into more of a formulaic throb that it feels like we have already heard from them . There is piano line that breaks things up a little . They do flirt with black metal more than any other sub genre, though sometimes there is a death metal feel.

"Skamlos" is an uptempo straight ahead metal charge with no surprises. "Det Sorte' is darker and more melodic. It flows with more of a pulse than being driven by a gallop of chug alone. The vocals are a commanding bellow more than a growl, though not quite sung.  Overall this album is really well done, Kampfar wrote actual songs and did not drown you in the drone of blast beasts while creating a grim backdrop

5.3

Kampfar : "Profan"

Taking another step away from their black metal roots, Kampfar come right out of the gate on the first song they employ sung vocals that are layered over the growls. They do lean into a more straight forward almost classic metal approach with "Profanum", before blasting for a minute before a thrashing bridge. But falls short of living up to the bar the first song set. "Icons'" was the first single off this album, for I suppose whatever radio station in Europe plays Kampfar. It has the kind of blackened thrash that Vreid engages in. But this is not really opening as many or any new doors for the band like the first song promised.

They find some redemption in the groove that "Skavank" finds, before racing off. Without a doubt the drummer is on point. They also found a pretty mighty metal guitar tone, so the album sounds great, it might just not be as well written as their last one. More sung yet almost croaked vocals emerge on "Skavank". "Daimon" finds the band in a darker place, almost Behemoth like. Lower sung vocals chant before the pick up the pace. The chorus is more sung before the blast mcnasties come in. Some of the more classic metal sensibilities emerge amid the blast beats of "Pole in the Ground". The tom pound agains the more sonic build is one of the song's best moments. It pushes the album into a darker and more melodic direction.

"Tornekratt" has a more modern black metal feel to it. It could almost be one of the more aggressive moments on the new Deafheaven. Then a more Emperor elements hover in with the vocals giving a more dramatic flare to flare. They eventually come across more shouted than screamed , before transitioning into being actually sung, think Sentenced here. Overall the album is aggressive and sounds great, they eventually rise to the occasion and live up to the greatness of the first song. I'll round this one up to an 8.5 as they challenged themselves on many occasions here and do not let the boundaries of black metal confine them.

The Top Ten Metal Albums of 2014 .... so far

Metal Sucks has put out their progress report card for the year, and gods know the sort of  mall metal those guys are pushing, with exception of our friend Grim Kim . So it is time look at whats the best of real metal, according to my Last FM, this is based off of what has been in the heaviest rotation on the ole iPod so here we go.

10- Black Anvil's "Hail Death"

It is losing a little steam with me now , but when it came out this slab of hooky black thrash with the hardcore leanings the band tried to deny got quite a few spins.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/04/black-anvil-hail-death.html

9- Young and In the Way -  'When Life Comes to Death"-

Not sure if this one will make the purge for the road trip to the beach this week, but it's dark metallic hardcore tinged with black metal, that is darker nastier and heavier than the Black Anvil album, often making me think of what Converge might sound like if they were less spastic and into black metal.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/05/young-and-in-way-when-life-comes-to.html

8- Hexis-" Abalam"-

This might be the heaviest album of the year. That doesn't mean it's the most well written, but to be as heavy as it is there is something there in the songs to have earned this many listens or I was a lot angrier earlier in the year.
http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/01/hexis-abalam.html

7-Kampfar -"Dejevelmakt"

Behemoth might have made it on many lessor lists, this album hit the place for me that Behemoth use to when they were worth half a shit.
http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/01/kampfar-djevelmakt.html



6- Cynic -"Kindly Bent to Free Us"

Since coming out of the closet, you have to rethink the meaning of the album title. This almost isn't metal , but it is well written and well played and likely to see a return for the beach trip.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/02/cynic-kindly-bent-to-free-us.html

5- Alaskan - "Despair Erosion Loss"

The vocals are what hinder this album for me , but there are some great riffs and dynamics other wise that had me returning to it. Not sure if this will make it to the top ten of the year or not.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/01/alaskan-despair-erosion-loss.html

4-Night Fell- the Living Ever Mourn

So here we get into the following four bands that have the staying power to make the end of the year list. This hits all the right dark spots for me to have staying power.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/02/night-fell-living-ever-mourn.html

3-Mayhem- Esoteric Warfare

The best "real" black metal album thus far as the two after this one only have elements or used to be black metal. Mayhem keeps it as true as fuck with out sounding shit , nor are they afraid to try new things.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/05/mayhemesoteric-warfare.html



2- Hail Spirit Noir-"Oi Magoi"

This one was crazy in all the right ways. Taking what a band like Opeth does and black metalling it up a t bit without resorting to all the tired old tricks of the trade.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/02/hail-spirit-noir-oi-magoi.html

1- Agalloch-"the Serpent and the Sphere"

The mood of this album has earned it a lot of listens and I am a fan of their past work so was eager to hear this one.  

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/05/agallochthe-serpent-and-sphere.html

Kampfar: "Djevelmakt"

I am more than guilty of dissecting something down under the genre microscope, to try and figure out  if it's black metal or not. The lines are sometimes blurred in a positive ways particularly with black metal project that have been around since the 90's, such is the case with Kampfar's much anticipated  Djevelmakt or  Devil power. It opens with a piano line and explodes into some pretty nasty grooves from there.

By most standards this would be considered blackened in the same way Vreid has crossed over, They do return to the blast and do so within the album first two minutes. They also include some clean vocals, which hold more rasp than what Enslaved does, but creates a similar mood. The drums are pretty amazing and the playing on this album is impeccable. Folk elements are still intact, though the forest the occupy is set on the songs outskirts.

"Kujon" or coward, tramples you under the double bass and the monolithic riff, as the vocals take on more of chant. Cleaner vocals chime in like a battle cry in the background. This one pretty much hammers you like their older stuff, just in a much more refined manner.The nuanced song writing is where most of the growth has occurred ,as despite the hype, this is just a logical evolution from "Mare", though not too far removed from it at all.

There are moments of straight forward in your face rocking , in fact they occur more often than not.The vocals generally stay in a similar harsh space. Keyboards on songs like "Blod,  Eder og Galle" are warmed up by the synths in the background, these moment should appease longtime fans who want something familiar.  

Of course the albums darker moments are the highlights for me. "Swarm Norvegicus" has a creepy throb to the riff, the bass comes up in the mix . The vocals are really well produced, creating a cavernous sound for them to roar out into with out them getting lost in the black hole they occupy. The call and response section is some fine tuned song writing on every front, making the vocals a priority to this album rather than just the icing on the cake.

They tend to not relent on the speed factor, especially in the latter portion of the albums, though things like clean vocal chants do crop up, but I don't think this should repel long time fans or even make them doubt if this is black metal. The symphonic interludes are nothing older Dimmu hasn't employed, they really add more kick to the sections when they punch back in.There momentum can at times propel the album at such a thundering blur, until it fades into the rumble of the background.

The closing track "Our Hounds , Our Legion" offers a respite from the pounding , by opening up with an acoustic guitar.The song roars back with a lot of groove to it's accented intensity, before reverting back to the blast. So to compare them to Rotting Christ in terms of straying from black metal is not accurate at all. This album is pretty fucking good, though the song writing is more innovative in the first half , I'll give it an 8.5 and see how it grows on me.      

The Top 100 Greatest Metal Albums - 100 to 91

Ok here's the first installment , I worte this for another blog I write for but it seems a shame not to post it for you guys here.I only chose one album by each band, side projects don't count. Last Fm did most of the heavy lifting, in terms of sorting these out, but things like how these album have stood the test of time factors in.



100- Accept-Balls to the Wall

This one is almost just an honorable mention, as the last time I listened to this 1983 album was on cassette not long after it came out. Despite the homo erotic elements  of this German band  they are harder than most hair metal, even if at their core they are a poor man's Judas Priest.



99 - Incantation -Onward to Galgotha

This band brought a darker rawer sound to death metal with their 1992 full length.



98- My Dying Bride -Turn Loose the Swans

As you will see from this list the 90's were a better decade for metal than we often admit, this album set the stage for what would latter be called funeral doom.



97- Lizzy Borden - Love You To Pieces

An underrated band who faded into the Sunset Strip scene of the 80's .



96- Fear Factory - Demanufacture

They eventually became mall metal, but this album was pretty well written and brought the more melodic and industrial elements to the forefront.



95- Down - Nola

Phil's first of many side projects after "Far Beyond Driven" he slowed things down with bong water drenched Sabbath riffs.



94 -Tiamat - Wildhoney

This album was way ahead of it's time, they were adding Pink Floyd like elements to death metal.



93- Skid Row -Slave to the Grind

This album is more metal than your average Gorguts fan would care to admit, and set the band apart from their more poppy hair metal debut.

 92 - Overkill - Under the Influence

These East coast thrashers had an ear for writing catchy songs with a lot of drive to them.



91- Kampfar - Mare

This folk tinged black metal band from Norway, created an album that grows more interesting with each listen.