Black Metal History Month - Funeral Chant : "s/t"

Not generally a fan of raw black metal, but in all fairness I am reviewing one such album during Black Metal History month and this is it. Glad I picked this one because for what it is these guys are pretty decent. This Oakland black metal band nailed the raw ambiance part and they have some pretty mean feral riffing kicking you in the ears on their self titled album. It opens really strong with the highly Darkthrone influenced "Spiral into Madness" which is way more cohesive than the song that follows, which is reckless barrage of blast beats, with riffs that sound more death metal. "Flood of Damnation" doesn't find them recapturing the level of song writing the showed us on the opener and opts for a thrasher sound that has more in common with altars of madness.

They throw even more caution to the wind come out with blustery banging over garbage can blast blast beat that is recorded in a manner that hits you like a jagged storm of riffs until they go into more of a gallop. A guitar solo goes down amid all of this and they even wind up on a darker more melodic progression, so if old Bathory is more of your thing then you will dig this song, I am not quite as impressed with it , but oh well. The more punk aspects of black metal are in play on "Morbid Ways", which might bring to mind a dirty version of Venom. It has more of a thrashing snarl to it. You can make out what it going on in this song better than the first. Diving whammy bar propelled solos give a wink to Slayer here and there before the song converges into a more locked it chug.

This album is book-ended by two songs that show this band can write song, but they often choose to take a sloppier path.If this sort of thing is what you are into then you are likely more of a punk who likes to dabble in metal than an actual metal head so all of my issues with this album are going to be the things you love about it. My friends over at Cvlt Nation are going to be right there with you.With all of that said I am rounding this down to an 8 which is a pretty high score for a sub-genre of black metal that I normally do not care for , so that means they are doing something right.

Black Metal History Month - Kreator : " Gods of Violence"

Of all the German thrash bands credited for being an influence on the second wave of black metal, these guys along with Sodom, can be heard in the dna of the genre today. This album is a little more grandiose than the band's earlier work and "Coma of Souls" is where I left off with these guys so some time has passed. I like "Satan is Real" better than the more feral snarl of the opening track. It is smartly written in a manner that holds up to the band's legacy, and this is after we have already gotten over the fact that Mille's vocals are never going to repeat "Extreme Aggression" again. There is a more meat and potatoes thrash feel to the angry shred of Totalitarian Terror ". The compromises being made with the vocals are made up for in the layers of guitar, which are so melodic they almost add a folk metal tinge to the titles track that takes a little of the bit out and leaves in feeling more  like Amon Amarth.

There is a more a Big 4 style of arena thrash to the beginning of  "Army of Storms". The vocals are lower and have more spoken grit to them. The chorus is bigger than most and like many of these songs so far have a good sense of hooks to it.  Guitar harmonies are given a lot of emphasis on this album. They almost remind me of Savatage on " Hail to the Hordes". This more melodic trend continues on "Lion With Eagles". What can be said is they have changed with the times and this sounds just as vital as any young band playing melodic thrash. Mille and the drummer are the only two original members remaining. Though the other players have almost been with the band for a decade so not wet behind the years by any means. Production wise, everything is dialed in close to perfect. Sometimes this strength can become the albums weakness as a little roughness around the edges might give this a heavier sound.

Almost more power metal, "Fallen Brother" sounds big and finds the vocals working with with the riffs to hook you in . Once again the leave room for shredding, another place where it's a matter of perspective as what some might hear as the album's strength could be seen as a weakness depending on the listeners threshold for wanking. I like the melodic guitar break in the other wise punchy "Side By Side " and the vocals get pretty close to really singing in one section, though it just begins to feel more folk metal there. Then it gets almost like something from Iron Maiden's "Fear if the Dark " album on "Death Becomes My Light" . When they lock in on a few of the chugged parts and continue to embrace a more Iron Maiden feel on some of the more winding turns to galloping. The guitar solo goes into a much cleaner tone and proves they can rip with the best of them.  I'll round this one up to a 9 because they nailed the sound they are going for even if it is not what I think of as classic Kreator and slightly panders to the current trends. Not sure this will make the trip to my iPod as it has a little too much of the 80s sounding power metal like interludes, but I have enjoyed the listens I have given it thus far.

Black Metal History Month - Falls of Rauros : "Vigilance Perennial"

Claiming the throne from Agalloch , this band from Portland really comes into their own from the sound of the majestic stomp that drives the opening track off their new album "Vigilance Perennial". The guitar playing is the strong point, staying equal parts melodic and aggressive , with much more metal riffing than some of the more hipster cascadian black metal bands. "Labyrinth Unfolding Echoes" could very well be an Explosions in the Sky song. This speaks to the quality of their clean tones, though this is ripped apart when the blast into the three minute mark. The vocals are a hateful mid range rasp. The drumming is the most raw sounding element to their sound, though the bass is typically buried somewhere south of Mordor. Some of the tricky timing of the punches winks in a more Liturgy like direction so you can certainly grow a cool beard to this.+

After the clean guitar interlude they play it a little safer on "Arrow and Kiln" we get some cool guitar harmonies, that are not on an Iron Maiden level, but for black metal pretty good ad then the bass player wakes up and we hear him emerge from a better mix.  Any guitar players under the impression that black metal guitar is boring and simplistic need to give this album a listen. This song doesn't feel like it is 12 minutes long so they are doing something right. The last minute finds a cleaner guitar tone creep in, and think the varied guitar tones are one of the strong points of this album. As long as there are layers you have a more appealing dynamic sound.

And the solid guitar playing keeps coming on the closing song. They do bring in tremolo guitars but it is layered against a more post rock shimmer and the effect is something other bands need to pay more attention to. The guitar solo to this song is really well done and tasteful and adds to the song rather than just wanking on it's chin. The vocals chime in with more of a gang vocal chant that makes me think these guys were into hardcore before they got into a black metal band. This album is great for what it is a very enjoyable listen I will give it a 9.5, but unsure if it will make the journey over to the iPod because the songs are so long.


https://fallsofrauros.bandcamp.com/

Black Metal History Month - Fen : "Winter"

It is clear that Fen misses old Enslaved as much as I do. The result on this album is the more atmospheric and folk elements have been scales back to the fringes of their sound in favor for a more bombastic epic charge of sound. The blast beat come even amid the long 17 minute , opener. At seventeen minutes you have time to work in every heavy metal staple that you can think of. This si their fifth album and they have clearly matured and everything sounds great production wise. The bass playing is still superb and sits better in this large take on their sound. The majority of the songs are over ten minutes. "Penance" has more adventurous guitar playing and reminds me more of their earlier work in the way the mix has a lot of space. The song swells into a gang cheer of some sort. I think this album is more focused and more black metal than what I remember hearing from these guys 5 or 6 years ago.

There is smoother jam in the calm before the storm to "Fear". It then builds up into a more feral fury that is very black metal, but not really mind blowing. There is a more post-rock instrumental feel to the first half of "Interment". The scathing vocals follow a more melodic vocal chant. Sure it sounds great but is a little on the more color by numbers side. "Death" emerges from the swell of feedback left over from the previous song which is a pretty fucking metal way to segue. The harsher vocals feel like this have a little more aggression to them this go around. I am more impressed by the nuanced prog metal like guitar parts that offer groove.They try to re-kindle their more atmospheric days of old by going all out for the almost kraut rock like closing song which comes back harder with a more metallic tone in the final two minutes of it's almost ten minute wandering.

This was a decent enough listen, not a huge fan of the band but appreciate what they do and think this is one of the stronger examples of what that is. The vocals have improved so I will give this an 8. Black metal has not been redefined at all, but this has a fan base that is eager to hear this well done and it is well done and very tasteful.

Black Metal History Month - Morast : "Ancestral Void"

This album from the German band is a puzzling piece of darkness. I think the fact it is so dark earns it's place to be covered during Black Metal History Month. It's a form of blackened deathly doom with the vocals coming across like a more brutal less sung version of Chronos, so varied versions of black metal are in play, it throbs with a dark dissonance that works for me. On forlorn this comes as a steady more relentless pounding. I can see where the deliberate pace and tone of this album would appeal to fans of doom, though it's more black metal than doom despite the lack of blast beats. The more creeping mood of the third song further erases clear-cut genre lines though if you have not already been drawn into the hypnotic pulse of this album flowing along the waters of the river Styx, then you might be overthinking it. Not that overthinking it isn't the nature of what we are doing here, I just find it easier to listen to the mood of the music here rather than break it down into pieces. The vocals do have a nastier growl here and the drumming picks up into the kind of double bass that drives death metal of the more occult variety.

The bass continues to set the dismal tone on "Compulsion". The one finds the chords ringing out with more melodic hints and the vocals having a more desperate rasp to them. It grows into a more mid-tempo creep. "Loss" falls out of the previous song and moves at an even slower pace. The guitar picks up into a more wavering black metal tremolo. The vocals also shift into a more Venom-like howl. I like it when the song finds its groove as it progresses. The steady mid-tempo beat to the title track gives it a sense of identity and before the guitar comes in it coats it with a creepier mood. While this might be one of the album's more powerful songs and I can appreciate it, I am not sure as I am as engaged by the closing song as I was the opener. At its best, the song sounded like Obituary jamming with Venom.

This band's strength is the sound they have woven easily blending the three genres of doom, black metal, and death metal, and finding where they perfectly intersect. What keeps this from being a contender for album of the Year is it rides the throb and song then is what it is rather than seeking to explore further. Granted to some this might be a minor complaint and it really speaks more the the limitations of operating in the confines of being an extreme metal band. They do this in a pretty tasteful manner and some listeners might be blown away by it, so maybe it's my jaded ears that are becoming increasingly difficult to please, but I did give the new King Woman a ten, many of you might say it's unfair to compare the two since in many ways it's apples to oranges, though they are both metal bands, I think it comes down to how far you want to push the song. That said I'll give this a 9.5  Still, if you want a cool blend of the sub-genres these guys are onto something.

King Woman : " the Image of Suffering"

There is an even more dream like haze cast over the doom-gaze of the band's debut full length than we found on their previous ep. This hits a sweet spot for me as it once again proves you don't have to adhere to the typical trapping of metal in order to be heavy.

Black Metal History Month : Helheim - "Landawarijar"

Norway's Helheim succeeds on many levels here, one of them being the trade off between the clean vocals and the harsher rasp work really and the creepy chords really make this stand out rather than these guys just to come out of the burning church with blasting. Speaking of burning churches the are from Bergen. So they come from a city with a rich history of black metal. Thee second song is not as engaging but gallops along and carries you along for the ride with  more of a folk metal type feel. By the third song that have established their momentum and it's the interesting choice of chord progression and their attention to details as song writers that really sets them apart from the rest of the corpse painted herd.

They are not afraid to leave room for guitar solos and if you are a guitarist who has always wanted to get more into black metal but finds the guitar playing to thrive more of feral crudeness than shredding then this is a band that you need to check out. They have a lot in common with Enslaved. The solos section does drift into the title track and every thing blended together until I notices a distinct change in the mood of the riff."Ouroboros " is a much more melodic turn for the band. The do not let up on the guitar wizardry. The build finds them taking a more death metal like tone. Where they really win me over is with the passage of guitar with more of a surf rock sound, this shows me they are thoughtful and not limited to what is expected. "Synir af Heidindomr" has commanding vocals that have a more Celtic Frost like tone to them. The music underneath this goes on cruise control . Ths song is structured in a much simpler fashion that recalls the first wave of black metal. They eventually build up into more of a blast beaten direction. They close the album in a more melodic and moody manner on "Enda-dagr". This one gallops at a slower canter and finds a clean chant of vocals creating a call and response. They do create some tense and release it in a big epic metal manner. I have no problem rounding this up to a 9 for the guitar tones alone. The pagan parts never get too cheesy and are pretty understated.