ÓREIĐA : "the Eternal"

This Icelandic black metal project embarks on an impressive excursion into atmosphere that is moving rather than pondering. Record labels are quick to compare things to shoe -gaze or post-punk since the acts who broke from their cvlt status into more mainstream recognition, followed such a path. I do not think Thor here is seeking to jump on any such band wagon,  The melodies merge from the din of sound in a more post-rock manner. There is a more folk inspired melody that drones in the sonic storm that is brewed up on the second song. He allows things to drone more when the album opens , but the second song drops to a more subdued minimalist folk guitar sound. There is a chanted vocal tone that rings out as the song swells, but aside from that vocals do not play a role. 

"the Climb" finds the buzzing tremolo guitar that is more traditionally black metal sounding taking a larger role. There is a great deal in play in the sound of these songs that reminds me of Burzum's more atmospheric post-prison work. "the Climb" feels like it conforms closer to what you expect from black metal instrumentation, and is not as impressive as the first two songs, that take more chances with the sonic swathe they create. "the Apex" finds a balance, it plunges into a darker mood , while still digging into a heavier mood, with a denser wall of guitars attacking. This is set against the back drop of more melancholy melody that echoes in the back ground. The synths on this song work well to create a more dismal shading. The absence of vocals, which I imagine would be the more typical black metal rasp, does not leave the voice expected. 

More authentic than Russian Circles forays into more black metal influenced moments, though they are three highly skilled musicians and this is one guy. Thor sounds like he is more of a guitarist, the way the cymbals hit feels programmed , so it is not fair to weigh him against three people. Not that there have bot been many great one man black metal albums made, they just do not normally weight up against full bands, yet what he does here might fool the casual listener. The last song drones with a great deal of feeling, and makes you wonder how vital is the standard black metal rasp. The vocals tell more of a story and provide the static layer of emotional, not sure how much this would benefit from that but I like what is happening in it's current state I will give this album a 9. 

Black Metal History Month - Azoth : "Magnitude of Extinction"

When this band hits you with blast beats it is because they have already massaged your ears. You have something to contrast it with. They are from Portland they new hipster capital. Hipsters no longer listen to black metal. It's too 2012 for them. They are now into industrial. These guys do create a cascadian drone. What is in the water of the Pacific Northwest that makes them lean that way, or better yet what is in the weed might be a better question. They are able to step away from the blast beat to soothe you with post rock for a little bit before raging back into blackness. Fell Voice's earlier work is a good reference point for where they are at in their sonic escapades.

It is not until the third song t hat vocals come in. They are a very distant and almost whispered rasp. Like the ghost of an old dying man is crying out. It could be production choices but it doesn't sound like there is a great deal of power behind them. Perhaps this is why they waited three songs in for them. Most American post- black metal bands will be influenced by Deafheaven at this point. If they are it's not obvious aside from the fact they are in the same sub-genre. More intense that the more recent Deafheaven for sure. The vocals play less of a role. The ebb and flow between their two polarities is not predictable  Sometimes they are darker than others. Solemn and moody are two words better coloring them than dark. The clean guitar tones really shimmer. The title track is almost more of an interlude. It floats around in  pretty places.

"Seabringer" close out the album  This song finds the band back in a more dense and intense place. There are lots of blast beats here , but it is balanced out by the stirring atmosphere. There is dynamic range , but the frequency of defaulting to blast beats to convey the feeling of black metal does begin to give the songs a more uniform sound. All the same the sound might be stronger than the songs, but this was a listen I enjoyed over all I will give this an 8.5 as I think it was a success in what they set out to craft.

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, feels like more of an intro and less of a song to me. "Weapons of Refusal" carries more of a snarl. The sonic buzz of the tremolo picked guitar is well done, though not invoking the sense of darkness I want from black metal. I am not saying this is not black metal or false, but certainly comes at it from a lighter angle. There is an almost folk break at the six minute mark. Not a new trick for the band, but done in a more introspective manner. The guitar tones on this album are incredible . The over all production is very crisp. Perhaps if it had been dialed in a little rougher like say a Craft album, any questions of blackness would be mute

There is some great guitar playing going into the song "New Inertia".  We can say this is post whatever. It is a blend of melodic playing countered by the hateful vocals. These screams sit atop the song which still sweeps you away with it's majesty despite the band vomiting the obligatory blast beaten sections. If you miss when Deafheaven once played something closer to metal then this will appeal to you. They are not just going for a sound, but a well layered and dynamic approach to song writing.  "Renouvellement" is slower and more atmospheric with actual sung vocals surfacing midway into the song. It almost sounds  like it is an intro to a prog rock song.

There is a more casual rock feel going into "Last Empty Tradition' with guitar playing that will appeal to fans of shred guitar though this is more tasteful than a barrage of wanking arpeggios. The vocals are marginally lower growl. Still surrounded by dazzling guitar playing, though not heavy or the dark dissonance one might associate with black metal.It seems like they have grown away from the expected confines of the genre. There is a wonderful shift in mood midway into the song, though this does give way to a build up that has more aggression, thus fitting closer into being black metal. Though I do not feel anything that is particularity dark about these moments. `

Bass leads off the last song, that is more mid paced. This deliberate tempo offers more opportunity for layered guitar melodies.This is sacrificed in order to pick up the pace and go into the more typical American black metal sound. In the songs final minutes they bring it down to a mellower strum. Overall this is one of the better sounding albums in the blackened zip code I have heard this year . I will give it a 9.5. I think I gave you enough reasons why you might like this album, so no need to sum that up. Give it a spin.

Black Metal History Month - Downfall of Gaia : "Ethic of Radical Finitude"

 I am done with American Black metal for the month , unless I check out the Vimur album, aand prefer my black metal to be from Northern Europe . I think it is fair to call this German band atmospheric black metal. It's more of a gray metal.They do pack in th blast beats but that is not the bread and butter they live off of. This band is good at what they do which is not centered around droning you into submission. When they do really rip out something metallic on the 3rd song it lashes out with convincing anger. The atmospheric sections they wander off into provide a dynamic shift. "We Pursue the Serpent of Truth" does go into the sonic blasting but sets it up with more breathing room. The drummer is pretty stellar and plays fills around the tremolo picking. Then a low spoken vocal breaks up the screaming, before they head into Deafheaven's zip code by dropping into half time. The snare sets up more of a march as they float into their more post rock side. The more predictable blast beats falls into a slower section with a gang vocal chant.

"Guided Through a Starless Night" pretty much goes right where you would expect this style of black metal to go with a sweeping swathe of rage. This only surprise is when the song shifts into a minimal guitar line against a wall of ambiance with a girl doing spoken word over it. "As Our Bones Break to the Dance" is well done but straight forward with the guitar solo the only thing that reaches out from the blur to grab my attention before the attack of a tense chug. For the sub-genre of black metal they deal in these guys are somewhat compact in their song writing not going past the 9 minute mark.

The last song opens with more of a post rock thing, then they thrown them into the more explosive black metal section, before slowing down for a sung male vocal to join in. It sounds like it could have come from a pagan metal album, but these guys are German. Then a spoken woman"s voice seems to be sampled as if reciting poetry . I'' give this album an 8.5 it's really well done and while I have enjoyed the listen I have given it, I am not sure I will listen to above and beyond those as I already have plenty of albums that fills this need. If you like the post-black metal that is not as shoe glazed then these guys are worth your time. No Agalloch, but more thoughtful than the bands jumping on Deafheaven's band wagon.

Falaise : " My Endless Immensity"

Returning with a new album this band uses the  layers and dynamics of the composition to  sell "You Towards Me".  More of a post rock shimmer to them than any kind of raw emotive depressive black metal feel. "Crimson " almsot feels more like an interlude, but does a good job of making the most of the time invested in it and builds into a very sonic slice of heaven. The blasting buzz of "Dreariness" just by me in a dizzying blur and fades into becoming background noise. Granted the drone of even the best black metal such as early Darkthrone can enfold you in a white noise of sorts, but I feel it is being done here as it is not as focused on dynamics as some of the earlier songs on this album.

Granted if you are a band playing this kind of black metal Deafheaven is impossible to ignore. These guys are not pulling the most obvious page from the Deafheaven play book but there is something about the more indie rock like strum to the guitar on "Abyss" that does have more of the Deafheaven kind of feel to it. "Sweltering" might be one of the album's strongest songs as the guitar melody draws you in and the vocals have more of a convincing snarl to them. There is a darker majesty to "Pristine Un.." that draws me into it. The atmosphere has more of a true black metal feel to the synth sounds and is not trying to be post rock. The post-rock does return with more of a Explosions in the Sky feel to it's tenderness on the ten minute title track. These guys have been pretty good about not getting to carried away with long sprawling songs. I don't think the song should have ebbed all the way down. It makes it feel like two separate songs. When it dos kick back in it's par for the course when it comes to this type of black metal, so they are not redefining the process.

They did manage to capture some really interesting guitar tones on this album. So if you like post-rock , but are looking for something with more metallic teeth then this is worth your time. They take a more straight forward almost rock sound with their Amesoeurs cover of "Les Ruches" and build on it from there. Overall this album is solid and sounds great . I'll give it a 8.5 , though I am sure it might grow on me more if I were to give more spins. It comes out the 8th of Sept on a Sad Sadness Song.

Dreariness : "Fragments"

Is there hope for depressive black metal? The upcoming AU Champ Des Morts certainly hints this genre could be seeing some life breathed into it. This album came out back in November, the 20th to be exact, so we are not to late to the part on. They open with a dream like elegance similar to classic Alcest and the more venomous elements of this band are not unfurls until half way into the song. Going into the second song the vocals are not as focused but thankfully the guitars dial things back in at the two and a half mark. When I put headphones I finally figured out the vocals were a girl singing. They ebb things back down into a more tender atmosphere that is closer to Deafheaven's zip code on "Essence" which is the first flawless song they deliver. T


he tone darkens into the first thing that really fits the bill as being depressive in my book on " In the Deep of Your Eyes". This feels a little more like an interlude than a fully realized song, though I appreciate the Skinny Puppy vibe haunting it. I'll let it squeak in as a song for the purpose of the review as it does go somewhere and build up. It also gets points for originality. Sadly things are not as inspired for the rather luke warm- yet fittingly morose "Somnium" , it would have worked better if they had found a way to work the interlude that follows this song into it and giving it something to make it stand out from what we have already heard. The album ends with the sixteen minute "Catharsis". From the first strains of fragile guitar I can envision this going into more of an Explosionsinthesky post-rock direction. The black metal doesn't come until we are five and a half minutes in ,but I like what they do when they do chose to kick it by layering the vocals so the clean vocals float over it. They from a stark blasting thrash to a bleeding sonic swell that is some how graceful.


I'll give this album a 9 as it's pretty rucking solid with only one song that doesn't feel like it nails it as hard as they others , but even then it is a positive shade of progress for this genre of metal. I don't really hear them as an Italian band but that is what is going down.