Genre - Avantegarde Black Metal
1. Emitting Memories
2. Hallowed But Hollow
3. The Coming Of Wake
4. Mirrorstains
5. Traces Of Decay
6. Transmigrating Corridors II
7. Surreale
8. Emptyroom
9. Transparent Vibrant Shadows On The Breathing Walls
The industrial style of black metal is a tough nut to crack.
You’ve got arguably the genre’s perfectors Blut Aus Nord now performing at
their peak and a whole slew of other acts somewhere in between aiming to try
and recapture some of those same evocative images and nebulous atmospheres
desperately ever since the emergence of Mysticum back in 1993. Transparent Vibrant Shadows is the debut
of Lithuanian act Haeiresis and aspires to fall somewhere in between the vast suffocating
celestial atmospheres of Darkspace and the horror induced progression of The
Axis of Perdition.
Unlike traditional black metal it doesn’t aim to unsettle
the listener through a mass of satanic propaganda and exhaustive blasting, it
follows a more reserved approach aiming to disorientate you through harsh impenetrable
dissonance. There’s shrill industrial rhythms abound and together with the inaccessibility
of it all proves a hard listen for the uninitiated to the genre. The guitar
passages are excessively technical and are what really brings the comparisons
to The Axis of Perdition; nonstop treble high atonal and obscure leads together
with off-beat riffing. Technically I would have to admit the guitar playing here
is fantastic, but it lacks any real flow and structure and you’ll end up
finding yourself overwhelmed by a whirlwind of incohesive and lifeless noodling
which detracts hugely from the atmosphere.
Of course as now appears to be the accepted norm in a genre
such as this, S.B. employs the use of a pretty shitty drum machine in an aim to
strengthen the industrial racket which really only succeeds in increasing the monotony
of it all. The vocals, to be frank, are fucking awful; thickly muffled incomprehensible
rasps that sound like someone dragging a plank of wood across a concrete floor,
I mean if there was as much effort put into the vocals as the guitar work then it
wouldn’t be so bad. It’s not all bad though, “Transmigrating Corridors II” forsakes
all metal elements completely for a vast sweeping spatial atmosphere that
genuinely is horrifying. This is the sound I expected to hear coming into Transparent Vibrant Shadows and it only
plays a brief cameo. It’s certainly something more in the vein of Darkspace and
maybe something he should focus on more in the future for it’s the best track
on the release.
Technically the other songs are all well performed but it
seems too much emphasis was placed upon the guitar and not enough in other
areas which are severely lacking. It’s completely devoid of any personality and
sounds all too detached lacking the dreaded, nerve splitting and apocalyptic soundscapes
that the other bands mentioned do so well. For what it is it’s just about
passable, I’ve heard much worse attempts in this area, but it’s just far too
lacklustre and soulless to ever threaten the upper tiers currently inhabited by
bands like The Axis of Perdition and Blut Aus Nord.
5/10
Sounds like - Blut Aus Nord, Darkspace, The Axis of Perdition
Originally written for The Metal Crypt
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