Lamp of Murmur : "The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy"

 There are still a few black metal projects that are not called "problematic" and given a pass by the music press; this is one of them, so it's time to see if this album lives up to the hype. The synth sounds are rather high in the mix to tone down the charging of the gates; most bands like this do. The vocals are gurgled with ample effects dripping. The chorus to the first song reminds me of Dimmu, but with a lo-fi feel. 'Hategate' is even more riff-oriented, and the guitars have a bigger sound, despite some of the other elements, like the vocals, which did not receive as muhc love in post-production and are just a garbled frequency. 

"Reincarnation of a Witch" maintains momentum and features a cool, melodic middle section that works well. The catch with this album seems to be that the bigger, more polished production finds the overall sound more like everyone else, with the heavily effected, garbled vocal as the main thing that sets this apart from the pack, other than there is not much difference between this and any other band that tries to sound like Immortal. The racing thrash of the title track is more middle-of-the-road. The sung vocals do not help this cause. 

The "Twilight Orgasm" section of the title track is much more melodic with some tasty guitar playing. The vocals are more spoken and mixed in the background; the tension makes it the album's best song." The Fall" locks into a predictable Immortal style gallop. Some refined guitar licks crop up in this song; it's apparent he is more of a guitarist than a drummer on this album. If you told me AI was used to help construct this album, I would believe you. The last track is a strummed folk outro that feels like Death in June. I will give this album an 8.5 as it sounds great, but it is not that original. However, an improvement in presentation. 

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Black Metal History Month- Lamp of Murmur :"Saturnian Bloodstrom"

 When this project first came out there was emphasis in what I read about them placed upon their death rock and goth influence. That is largely shed for a bigger more metallic sound as they have come to rage into the black metal core of their sound. The production value of their earlier work was not as impressive leading me to believe this album might be what brings the act into the larger audience of black metal. The challenge for this album before if build too much momentum with it's Immortal like gallop is how dynamic is it going to be? The first two songs have a very similar which will grow old for me by the next song if we stay on this path.  

Things are marginally different as the riff for "Seal of the Dominator" shifts from the triumphant gallop to something more deliberate and slightly Mercyful Fate like in the riffing , there is also a shift into darker atmosphere I appreciate. The low snarl of the vocals is not the one element that need more dynamics. The two songs however that follow find the sound locking back into a more homogenized black metal sound, which might appeal to people who ask less and just want the  full speed ahead attack, as it just became a blur of back ground noise of me, not demanding my attention. 

There is more melodic and atmospherically nuanced sounds worked into the last song. This is enough to keep the buzzing blur of guitars from turning into sonic mush, even if those moments are short lived. The vocals prove to be a one trick pony and make me glad this album is only six songs as it would become tedious otherwise unless the music really compensated for this. Up to this point it has not been a deal breaker and the riffs and energy have generally kept me engaged, so I will give this an 8. The album drops March 26th.