Black Metal History Month : VERHEERER - "maltrer"

This German band is not what I expect from Fallen Empire as they are way more melodic. There is plenty of atmosphere. They use keyboards well and combine traditional black metal with sweeping sonics that encompass a sound of their own making. The vocals are crazed growls. They are not afraid to really get metal and gallop. There is even a breakdown in this song that shows a powerful sense of dynamics. The drums on "Vertigo" slow down as the band hits a more throbbing groove. The vocals are a throaty mid range. I can begin to hear the German influence when they hit a marching beat.

The title track almost starts like a Metallica song.It throbs more than Metallica, though the harmony guitar melodies sound like a marginally more depressed take on classic metal. It does go into more of a traditional black metal blast beat here. When they keep the going to storm into "anima sola" the sound more like everyone else and I hear less of their distinctive voice that we got earlier in the album. When it gets to what would be the chorus they slow into more of a thrashing section. This reminds me more of Possessed. The chanting that is sampled in towards the song's second act helps re-establish the needed atmosphere they had begun to forsake.

"Nachtfall" finds the band slowing down going into the song. This gives them the breathing room they need and you can actually hear the bass. Before the minute mark they are back into the blast. This makes them sound more or less like the bulk of other black metal bands. There is a sweeping gallop to it and the drummer prefers double bass to blast beats most of the time which certainly helps. There is a cool unexpected shift into more of a groove about five minutes in which is what the song needed and sets them apart. They need more of that. They close the album with something slower than the pace most of the album has been at the song fades into the back ground so nothing to make me look away from the computer to take notice, but from what I did key in on the guitar melodies are on point and it doesn't suck.  I'll give this album an 8 , if you like black metal that is straight forward metal, but still adds a spin of it's own then this is worth a listen.

Black Metal History Month- Verheerer : "Archar"

I found this one prowling Bandcamp for new black metal. Here is a black metal project from Germany that proves on the opener of it's new album it can nail both the atmosphere and the raw animalistic attack. They do hit you with blast beasts in the last minute to remind you this is a black metal band, but they have already trampled you with a wide array of other mean spirited riffs. They have girt to the production with out sacrificing quality. You can hear the bass an it gives their over all sound that much more punch. On the title track that follows their powerful intro, they follow a slightly more standard path. They are tagged with sludge and though I would not call them a blackened sludge band they do pack a similar punch, just at higher speeds and with a more venomous intention.

The vocals are a throaty scowl more long the lines of Goatwhore, just not dropping down into he lower more death metal tone, so more like what Sami does. They throw in samples that are well placed and provide a narrative to some of the more droning riffs as they are being layered. On the thirds song their momentum doesn't relent, but it also runs into a blur and sounds like every other black metal band so I am less impressed. The closing song which is named after them finds the locking into riffs that mean more and the song it self has more space to breathe. The drummer and bass player are locked in to make it a juggernaut. The vocals snarl at you in a make that doesn't hide the lyrics are their thoughts on the bastard world, which is something a little more convincing than just dialing in the Satan. The guitars are really well layered here and make the most of the 8 minutes this song consumes. This album is pretty solid, I think it starts at the strongest point and then finds them trying to reclaim those sounds summoned at the height of their powers with out slipping back into the mire of sounding like every other black metal band. I'll give it an 8 , which is high praise for these guys considering I just gave "Plaguewielder" and 8.5. Not that they are in the same league as Darkthrone, but they are finding a well earned spot for themselves in the charred halls of black metal lore.