Tuesday 17 January 2012

[ALBUM REVIEW] Satanized/Framferd/Plutonian Shore/Katari - Nocturnal Tyrants



Genre - Black Metal

1. Satanized - Xahhak
2. Satanized - Doctrine Of Thralldom
3. Framferd - Aatseleter
4. Framferd - Med Blottet Nakke
5. Plutonian Shore - Invoking Ereshkigal
6. Plutonian Shore - Lunar Rites
7. Katari - Darkening all
8. Katari - Mutilated and Reversed

Recently out on Turkish label ‘Extreminal Productions’, Nocturnal Tyrants, a split comprised of four up and coming black metal bands of various styles showcases the talent (or lack of) that these artists have to offer. Personally I have never really seen the point of split albums containing any more than two bands, they tend to lack any sort of continuity and end up feeling like some sort of half-assed promo, which is essentially what this feels like.

Satanized actually get things off to a brisk start, from Istanbul they bring to the table a style of Black Metal I’ve only really heard before in Saudi Arabian band Al-Namrood. The ethnic riffing weaves around Angramainyu’s deep deathy gutturals and bolstered by an almost Melechesh-esque atmosphere, Satanized actually sound fairly sharp and promising if these two tracks are anything to go by, which is more than can be said for the next band Framferd.

Out of Norway, the supposed ‘home’ of black metal, you’d probably expect them to be rather more accomplished at this than their Peruvian or Turkish label mates. Far from it in fact, for their two tracks are the weakest on this release. If monotonous raw black metal with horribly uninspired thin guitar riffing is your thing, then fire away. Personally I prefer my black metal with a touch of imagination. Dragging along without ever remotely threatening an interesting riff, you can pass these guys up and not be too worried about missing anything.

Plutonian Shore thankfully raise the quality again with their brand of melodic black metal awash with keys that’s not too far away from latter day Ancient or Swedish band Noctes. The drums are very muffled, though both songs contain some fantastic passages, especially “Lunar Rites” and its triumphant feeling to its guitar riffs. Along with Satanized, they’re definitely the only two who show any promise and any potential longevity.

Katari don’t fare much better than Framferd with their take on the raw end of the spectrum. The vocals are far too weak to have any impact for one, and the riffing thoroughly unremarkable for another, there’s just nothing that stands out and would ever make me want to listen to them again.

In fairness, none of these bands are doing anything revolutionary, but they’re all young enough and there’s plenty of scope for improval there, it’s just that some have a lot more to build upon than others.

5/10

Originally written for Metalcrypt

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