CMPT :"Na utrini"

 The latest entry of the year comes from this Balkan black metal band. They weave an impressive atmosphere rather than going full blast in your face. The band's sophomore release finds them pretty assured in what they are doing. The choked rasp of the vocals is what grounds the first track in the genre, as it moves at an eerie creep. It's not until the second song that they gain the momentum, that sets them alongside what you typically expect from black metal. This does not mean it's better, it just conforms to what the average listener thinks of when it comes to the genre. There is a more metallic buzz to the guitars.

There's a new Youtube video in circulation showing that when you strip away the distortion from black metal you are basically playing surf-roc, which is what the song "Mesecina" brings to mind. The folk instrumentation that opened the album does resurface, while it is not the most original aspect of the bigger picture of the genre, it does help to break things up dynamically. Once you get midway into the album things have taken on the racing buzz, that is tried and true, this is thankfully broken up by a singing chant to at least add a more organic shade of shadow to the sonic swathe. 

The tempo begins to charge into more of a familiar black metal fury, which then makes me listen for when they break away from sounding like everyone else and do their own thing. The rasp of the vocals conforms to expectations here. Some distant chanting surfaces to give a little ambiance.  They do back off into a more droning ambiance, allowing the guitars to ring out as folk singing echoes out of the gray landscape the song paints. The drums hold things down enough to bob your head to its throb. These more deliberate nuanced guitar melodies are this band's strength. and hope to hear them lean more into them in the future. It beats when they just blast along like everyone else. I will give this album an 8.5  This album is being released by Osmose Productions. 

pst641

Mournful Congregation : "The Exuviae of Gods – Part II"

If there was a part one then part two had to come. I would prefer that they just packaged the two EPS as an album, but studio time costs money, as does mastering album and such. This Australian band is one of my favorite funeral doom acts, but they are not dabbling in the same kind of sonics here that set 2011's "the Book of Kings"  at the top of the genre. The first song is a recording of "Heads Bowed" that was originally on their second demo tape. I can appreciate the fact they hold a song they wrote from 1995 in such high esteem that they were committed to go back and make sure it was fully realized. It is more metallic and less of the forward thinking ambience they would later work towards. It drones with melancholy that works for what it is. The fact that they were writing twelve and a half minute songs in the 90s is also pretty impressive as that was not the cool thing to do back then. 

The overall mood of the second song checks out as being consistent with what these guys are about. There is an angular hesitation that haunts the riff. The guitar solos are pretty stellar, as they are memorable melodies and not just a bunch of wanking. The growls wash over the song like the roar of the ocean.  Not their best produced album, though I will give another listen through head phones and see if it changes my mind. In under nine minutes they get a great deal accomplished, going to prove they do not always need to drag things out. 

The last song is almost 19 minutes long. The clean guitar parts leading into the actual song takes up two minutes. The actual metal does not crank up until five and a half minutes , which could have been abbreviated. They sail of into the ambiance of their own making, though at the nine minute mark I marvel at the fact we are only at the half way point. There is lots of skillfully nuanced guitar work, but I think like most elements of this album it could have been scaled back, but for what it is, the playing is impressive. Metal is a genre known for it's excesses, this pushes the point , and would endanger the song writing if the guitar playing on this album was not so damn good. I will give this an 8,5 it's better than what most doom band's are doing , but not at the top of this band's legacy. This is coming out May 26th on Osmose Productions in Europe and 20 Buck Spin  handling the American release. 

Black Metal History Month -Akrotheism : "the Law of Seven Deaths"

To break away from the Northern European black metal streak we were on I'll default to one of the only other countries I trust when in comes to black metal ...Greece. 15 days in and I was getting tired of the traditional takes on black metal so I thought I would give these guys a shot. It was the weird interlude in the first song when the sung vocals came in that sold me. They do rage with a raw fury. They do throw themselves into a hail of blast beats. They also are capable of playing at varied tempos. They carry a cavernous darkness to their sound. All things I enjoy in black metal. Their is something sinister and unhinged about them. Half the band has a black metal history in the band Astral Aeon. "Manifest" has some mean riffs that hook you in to further head banging before the blast beats come.

"Desmotr" starts off with a more doom like tone to it before it takes you on a compelling journey with dynamic swells. The sonic darkness these guys create impresses me. I have a feeling this might be one of the years most overlooked albums. "Virtue" keeps things a similar creepy pace almost like one of Slayer's serial killer love songs. Midway into the song they throw themselves back into crazed blast beats. But it is only for a few measures and they are back to the evil pulse. Then things begin to get weird. They lay on the ambiance thick. There is a soundscape of sonic chaos by the time we get to "Oracle". It's less song focused and abrasive atmospheric noise. To them point that it's more of a interlude than an actual song. This carries over into "Skeptom" which blends the ambiance with their more metallic sound more fluidly. It's that weird place where it sounds like the cross roads where occult death metal meets black metal. The vocals more of a black metal scowl and it does cross over into the expected blast beats . At about seven and a half minutes they lock into a riff so cool I wish that they would have extended it rather than just giving a sneak. There is also a quick melodic break down of sorts that is more ritualistic in nature.

The element of ritual carries over into the closing song, which is not really a song at all but a outro that drones on with trance like darkness. I'll give this album a 9. The murky storm they sail you through is very effective mood wise. Not the most easy to listen to, in the sense that this is not an album I would have on my iPod and listen to riding the train. It is a very dark piece of diverse black metal. It doesn't try to throw all the hip metal sub genres at you and things happen very organically. This album is worth your time. It is released on Osmose Productions March 29th.

Black Metal History Month - Dodsfall : "Doden Skal Ikke Vente"

When it comes to being true Norwegian black metal the stab this duo takes on it on their 5th album has more of a thrash slant to it not unlike 1349. It's not until the clean guitar that comes in on "Svarta Drommar " or  "black dreams"   that we get to hear something that really sets them apart. Even then they are quick to revert to nasty blasty . Their is a color scheme as musically they stick close to the previous song on "Gra Himlar" which means "gray skies". Some of the riffs are catchy, but you know the rule around here is cool riffs alone do not a good song make. The vocal  are an almost croaked snarl. More high pitched than a death metal growl, but far from a scream. They slow down going into  " Kampsalmer" or "Battle Hymns" which is pretty stereotypical subject matter for this kind of black metal, and breaks from the color theme.

They are really mean and can lock on some chugs with authority.This is not lo-fi cvlt as fuck metal , but at has the production quality of early Slayer. The cymbals can get a little washed out , but the point comes across.  The drums are much better when they use double bass more than blast beats proving that songs can not live on blast beats alone. Low sung vocals chant behind the buzz saw guitar of "In the Eyes of Death" . Cleanly strummed is also thrown in offering the most dynamics from one song yet on this album. Things are pretty thrashy.  This more thrash like leaning works best when they slow things down to more of a classic metal tempo, but when the speed picks up there can be a more uniform attack.

Towards the end of the album the riffing does get more focused, but it also is single minded in it's attack and lacks the kind of atmosphere that brings the darkness in black metal. This gives them more of a Kreator feel than invoking what I think of as black metal. As far as metal goes this is still very well done , it just is not a black as it could be. Mood is everything when it comes to black metal. The instrumental the album ends with is just an acoustic outro. I'll give this album a 7.5, these guys are good at what they do and the album was easy to listen to though it began to take on a uniform sound as it progressed.

Black Metal History Month -Slagmaur :"Thil Smitts Terror"

Is this black metal ? Is Behemoth black metal ? These guys from Norway have that kind of massive grandiose stomp to them. They are darker than your average death metal band and have more texture so we could possibly call them blackened death metal. If this wasn't Black Metal History month I might not be as ocd about finely categorizing these guys as they care about the songs and are good at what they do. There is a darker coating to the chords that ring out on the second song, but the vocals have more of a death metal bellow to their roar. The drummer prefers double bass to blast beats. The guitar is the most black metal element to their sound. "Werewolf" has a slower and darker throb to it that feels a little more black metal to me than the first song. They use choral chants to build off of the thickening atmosphere. The vocals and the drumming are really the only thing here giving it a death metal feel.

The guitar is much more melodic for the third song. If you listen closely you can hear some odd bits of percussion thrown in. When they get locked into the chug the distortion is a little overpowering in the mix, but is offset by the keyboards. "Heskritt" has dense groove to it and is powerfully heavy. At twelve minutes this does drone on a little, but you are never bored  "Hansel Unt" is another song driven by smart and sonically interesting guitar parts. There vocals feel more tortured here and are layered with weird middle eastern like chanting. "Vi Els' almost has an industrial feel to it until the big chorus of vocals booms in. It eventually hits it's groove and steadies out into a more deliberate pulse.

This album is a lot of dark twisted fun. It might not appeal to black metal purists , but much like Behemoth whose fan base might not be Darkthrone fans as well, this is good metal no matter then genre, blackened death metal might be the most fitting title to file it under, what ever the case I will give this album a 9.



like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/abysmalhymns/