Vimur : " Transcendental Violence"

 

Where in the past Vimur has often struck me as more of a blackened death metal band, their new album churns with more anger and darkness to convince me of their allegiance to black metal. They hit you with a storm of furious guitars and malicious pounding, but as with most extreme metal no matter than genre it falls I  would normally find myself asking "Ok , but can you write a song?" , but their last album I gave a 9 out of 10, thus the question becomes , how consistent are they as signwriting?   A question no without merit considering how they title track that follows pours on even more speed. With this is the more typical blasting I expect from every run of the mill black metal band. Black metal that excels and has staying power, might use these tropes as tools but sculpts sounds that are uniquely theirs's with them.  Sure you can play really fast, but that is less than impressive when every other black metal band in my in-box can do that. 

What catches my attention are more memorable riffs like the one that opens "Infallible Contra Animus". The vocals dip down into more of a growl and guitars ride on with a triumphant gallop not unlike the kind Immortal used to employ. But once again things get mired down in becoming a blasting speed fest. This is a prime example of the motto here, "cool riffs alone does not a good song make. While that riff started strong, if they just rely on feral blasting power , things become sonically monochrome and begin to bore me. There are a few melodic chords that end the song, but by then it is too little too late.  "Emanations from the Sun Behind the Sun" seems eager to fall into the same speed trap  Perhaps if they dialed things back 20 bpms it would have been deliberate enough to make some of these ideas count more. As there is a melody that wants to emanate from behind the buzz they a churning , but all too often becomes a blur. To their credit there is one riff in this one that has more of a classic metal feel, but that riff alone can not turn a song to gold. 

The songs are not long sprawling epics, perhaps due to the supreme speed with which they are assaulting them with. They prove my point on "the Greatest Dying" which in places finds them slower ever so slightly so nuances can surface. When they finally do slow down it is almost frustrating to think they could have been doing better all along. It is not like the suddenly shift into a doom band and is every bit as black metal without the blast beats. The album ends with "the Warrior Seers". It does lean on the faster side, but does not recklessly hurtle into the abyss with the same intensity. Three minutes in there is a cool creepy riff and it makes me wonder why they could not have done more with it as it would have made the song more memorable. I will give this album an 8 as it loses a greaqt deal of it's potential due to speed, however they are still great at what they do and there are many fans of black metal who settle for nothing but in your face speed with a few cool moments to break things up, I however doubt this will grow on me beyond the few listens I have already given this album.It is being released on Boris Records.     

Top 10 Black Metal Albums of 2019

It's that time of year again, to sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, then use them, to compile the top 10 albums of the year. Later in the month I am making  the top 10 lists for the decade, though to be blunt  this is the decade's weakest year for music.  Especially when it comes to new artists,  9 of the 10 bands are veterans. When it comes to black metal I need more than blast beats, it one of my favorite sub-genres of metal, so the bar is high. As in  past years I am  giving a brief explanation as to why these albums stand over their peers in lower positions on the list. The very fact these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more.

After all we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Sure you can bitch and complain about your favorite band not being on the list. However  I listen to five new albums a day so yes I heard your favorite album and was not impressed. No,  I do not care what you think about it.   I do hope you can find your next favorite on this list  and  have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyways here are the top 10 Black Metal   albums of 2019 .

10- Deathspell Omega - " The Furnaces of Palingenesia"


 This French metal band needs little introduction. Serious as heart attacks my favorite album from these guys is 2010's "Paracletus" . This one is not as angular of a ride , but the darkness and dissonance is there. The delivery puts them closer to Ulcerate than Emperor. There is a more straight forward chug to the dense heaviness.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/05/deathspell-omega-furnaces-of.html

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9-Crowhurst- "III" 


The band is embarking into a new darker sonic space .The guitars are now really doing some interesting things which requires the drummer using the restraint to give them the space to do so. If you showed up for a another run of the mill black metal album you might be disappointed or confused , this blog is probably not for you anyways, so I will save you time and show you the door now. More song oriented than Deathspell.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/04/crowhurst-iii.html

8-Falls of Rauros - "Patterns in Mythology" 



 The fifth album from this Portland band finds the boundaries of the black metal label a little to confining. Five albums in can you blame them ? This is felt from the opening instrumental that could be one of Russian Circles more metallic moments.The guitar tones on this album are incredible . The over all production is very crisp. This might be a turn off for the trve neck beards. It was pretty close call with Crowhurst the over all sound giving this album the edge.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/07/falls-of-rauros-patterns-in-mythology.html

7-Zohamah- "Spread My Ashes" 

 At one point I might have predicted this to be the number one album. It is heavy as fuck. The scathing vocals are the most black metal element, aside from the oppressive mood. The guitars are big and powerful like more death metal, but conjure a more depressed mood. This often finds the album at my favorite sonic corner where black metal and doom meet. Falls of Rauros might have a better produced album, but these guys are more oppressive in the sonic wall of blackness.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/02/black-metal-history-month-zohamah.html

6-Vimur- Triumphant Master of Fates

This is more black metal than the last album which was more blackened death metal. They don't get throw blast beats at you, but also carry some weighty chugs. Its a more matured effort for this band and finally finds them finding the darkness. It's the moment where this darkness has room to shimmer that is what gives this album it's own unique place. The overall aggression balanced with the cavernous atmosphere gives them the edge over Zohamah, simply because I listened to this album more. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/03/vimur-triumphant-master-of-fates.html

5- Darkthrone- "Old Star" 

 It is my love for these guys that keeps them on the black metal lsit rather than the thrash list. It is a funny turn of events where Darkthrone is the least black metal band o na list like this. I guess it depends on what era your are talking about. The Celtic Frost influence is all over this one. At the end of the day it has tyhe grim mood of black metal and the songs hold to their other black n roll moments pushing Vimur aside. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/05/darkthrone-old-star.html

4-Mephorash- "Shem Ha Mephorash"

 The left hand path is clearly marked with what this band does. They seem to be more into the occult than just blasphemy to be shocking. Ritual is drama and they are dramatic in the scope of what they are creating. They pull this off better than Behemoth's more recent efforts. They beat Darkthrone out for this place as they encompass a wider sonic scope here.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/02/black-metal-history-month-mephorash.html

3-Gaahl's Wyrd : " " GastiR - Ghosts Invited"

 In days where supposed fans of black metal and even other black metal musicians of lesser quality are calling into question church burnings, black metal needs someone who will stick to their guns. Gaahl's integrity as a person shines through in his music. That does not mean he is content with blast beats, in fact I was surprised how progressive this album is. He shows a wider breadth of what black metal can be. This range sets him above likes of Mephorash even as ambitious as they are.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/05/gaahls-wyrd-gastir-ghosts-invited.html

2- Blut Aus Nord - "Hallucinogen"

 A French band with a German name who sounds like they are from Norway. They are so forward thinking at one point they were not even black metal. They are more blackened this time around thanks to the darker atmosphere they creates a flowing drone and the steady under current of double bass propelling them. At times vast and symphonic, though not in a Nightwish way, but retaining their own sonic flavor that almost had them at the number one spot.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/09/blut-aus-nord-hallucinogen.html

1- Vous Autres - "Champ Du Sang"

This album grew on me. The top four album did some shuffling, but the more I listened to this album the more clarity I gained as to where it belongs. The heaviness comes from dealing in darkness more than blast beats. They o prove themselves capable of deviating from pulverizing you to incorporate dynamics with atmosphere, this gives a creep glaze to the monolithic stomp of the heavy riffs, we have darkness ,depression and creepy , is it any wonder this is number one. The feelings are made sounds and sonic in a way no other band tapped into like this.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/04/vous-autres-champ-du-sang.html

Vimur : "Triumphant Master of Fates"

After covering an entire month of black metal for February, you might think I would be sick of it. Sick of it is a stronger sentiment, there are just albums released from other genres I put on the back burner and I am now trying to check out. This one however made me curious.  Atlanta has always been behind the ball when it comes to black metal. New York is the first city in America that I think of when it comes to the genre. Death metal and thrash make more sense when you think of at Atlanta as it has deeper roots in punk rock, so when metal became cool again  15 years ago, then the band wagon gained speed. This is more black metal than the last album which was more blackened death metal. They don't get throw blast beats at you, but also carry some weighty chugs. When they do come barreling at you full bore, it's not their strongest moment. Not that they can't play their instruments, but it loses personality. When they relish the more moody aspects of their chord progressions then their sound has more of it's own voice. It loses that when they stumbled over the momentum of their blast beats. The double bass is pretty impressive when it come in flurries.

 It is the more nuanced riffs that have a better chance of winning me over . When they attack you with more tension in their gallop it works much better. At times they do devolve into using speed as the primary weapon in their arsenal, but the more melodic interludes balance this out to some extent. There is a bigger more epic death metal thrashing to "Nuclear Desecration" . It drives hook you in, and even though I typically prefer black metal, this feels like a more fully realized version of who they are. "Our Dearest Hopes Lie Buried Here" has a more gray coat of doom tinged gloom to the more deliberate pacing. This gives the song room to breathe and might be one of the best songs on this album for that very reason.

The 12 minute closing song begins with blast beats and I think "This is going to be a very long 12 minutes because how the hell are they going to keep this up?" They don't . After two and a half minutes they relent into more of a gallop. The more interesting sections of the song become book ended by these temper tantrums of blast beats.  I'll give this album a 9. Its a more matured effort for this band and finally finds them finding the darkness. It's the moment where this darkness has room to shimmer that is what gives this album it's own unique place.

Vimur : " Traversing the Ethereal Current"

This band is a bit of an anomaly as Atlanta is not known for it's black metal. So it stands to reason that black metal is not the only element that makes up this band's dna. Sure they have plenty of blasting and it lashes into it right from the first song, which also finds a very thrashy riff cropping up amid the blast beats. The vocals are pretty buried into the guitars , they tend to lean towards a more typical rasp with lower death metal roars chiming in. "Leech of Humanity" is the first song taht really takes a dynamic shift as it slows into a more Agalloch paced riff. The majority of the time song races along , though one of the band's strengths is compositionally they can shift easily from riff to riff and do not rely adhering to a verse chorus format.


There is one cool riff in "the Pernicious Doctrine" , but the song is a little too thrashy and doesn't engage me a much as the previous one.Next up in this blastothon is "Ephemeral Sentience" which has a brief breakdown toward the intro then goes of into blasting. There is an "Angel of Death" like scream randomly tossed in way in the background. "By Black Winds Oppressed" finds more melody even with the lower growls booming in. The guitars also become more adventurous dipping into a more progressive sensibility somewhere between Agalloch and Krallice.<"Professions of the Heresiarch" thankfully gallops more than it blasts. Even if this is doing in more of a thrash manner. The title track eventual converges into a more compelling gallop, but the song numbs me out as the songs begin to become a blur losing my attention.

They start off more melodically with "To Abide In Eternal Grief" which has a darker almost doom like throb. This change of pace was what the album needed as I was starting to lose interest.They speed things back up for "Memory of Heathen Reign" and the blasting commences . There is a gallop that rides in to save the song from being a blur of snare. Things don't really switch up until about the five minute mark. Then they speed back up again.his album came out back in 2014, but just now hunted it down after attempting to contact the band, gods forbid I would be forced to leave the computer and venture out to one of their shows which every time I have planned on seeing them gets cancelled , hoping to catch them with Negura Bunget soon.If you would like Krallice to make more sense and approach more basic metal sensibilities then these guys are for you. I'll give this album a 7, give it another listen and see if it grows on me at all.

6.3