[ALBUM REVIEW] Darkest Era - The Last Caress of Light

1. The Morrigan
2. An Ancient Fire Burns
3. Beneath the Frozen Sky
4. Heathen Burial
5. Visions of the Dawn
6. To Face the Black Tide
7. Poem to the Gael
8. The Last Caress of Light Before the Dark

There are a huge amount of bands in Ireland that are constantly vying to catch the eye of some bigwig metal exec hoping to propel them on to bigger and better things, some more deserving than others, but at the end of the day if you put in enough effort and get your name out there through whatever means necessary, if your motives are clean, then there's nothing stopping you.

Darkest Era have proved exactly that, through endless gigging every bar in the country and cementing themselves on some high calibre support slots throughout Europe, they caught the attention of the high rollers up in Metal Blade. That's not to say the fantastic demo The Journey Through Damnation didn't have any part to play in that, it certainly did, but your 'fantastic new awesome' demo release isn't worth the plastic it's recorded on if you don't put in the effort to 'get it out there' so to speak. I'm not naming names but there's many bands in Ireland who should take precedent from the sheer amount of blood, sweat and tears that got them into the position they are now. The fact they had a decent amount of exposure in Europe as early as the demo release, eventually culminating in a distribution deal with Northern Silence speaks volumes in itself.

One thing which seems to be completely unavoidable with Irish bands these days is the inevitable comparisons both musically and non-musically to Primordial. Maybe it's to do with what the media expects Irish metal to sound like, and it's a stereotype which can't and probably wont ever be shaken. It's everywhere and I'm sure most bands are sick of it, but with Darkest Era it is certainly justified to an extent so they might as well make the most of it, but they are much more than just a cheap Primordial knock off. The influences permeate from every nook and cranny throughout the album, whether its the classic Slough Feg approach to the guitar leads, the atavistic doomy atmosphere with which Primordial are synonymous to the traditional Irish folk music influence.

“The Morrigan” is one of two songs which survived the cut to make it onto The Last Caress of light from the demos, and just as well too, as it was the stand out track from The Journey Through Damnation. It's one of those songs that encapsulates the whole paradigm of everything metal is and should be, evocative, powerful and downright invigorating. With it's NWOBHM influenced guitar riffing and Krum's commanding vocal performance reinforced by a thunderous drum performance, you really couldn't ask for more. The monotony of the vocals are my only slight gripe, and remains an issue throughout the album, but it's only a minor issue at that, the sheer effort and vigour in the delivery more than make up for it.

This is the standard pretty much throughout the whole album, from the surging “Beneath the Frozen Sky” with its vocal lines bearing a striking resemblance to Storm Before Calm era Primordial to the desperation shrouded “Heathen Burial” to the eleven minute opus of “The Last Caress of Light Before the Dark”, a spine tingling journey of foreboding and anxiety, and one of those riffs at the midpoint which basically reaffirms why you began listening to metal in the first place. Utterly phenomenal. They even managed to fit in an acoustic number, “Poem to the Gael”, a gorgeous bleak introspective ballad of Irish melancholy with nothing but Krum and an acoustic guitar for the most part, almost like what Agalloch would sound like if they were Irish.

It's infectious, galloping folk metal, but without all the pretence and frills that only the Irish know how to do, and not a fiddle or tin whistle in sight. None of your saccharine and synthetic faux-folk tripe most of central Europe is peddling these days, it's music performed straight from the heart and with an unbound maturity which only shows just how far Darkest Era have come in these few short years. And long may it continue.

90/100

Myspace

Originally written for Archaic Magazine

[ALBUM REVIEW] Nychts/Mortualia - Nebelstern des Nichts

1. Nebelstern des Nichts

Fresh off the back of the tremendous Let the Devil In released at the back end of last year, the ever industrious Shatraug returns with Mortualia this time, and teams up with Swiss stargazers Nychts who themselves have been on the receiving end of a fair bit of acclaim lately. If you've heard “Zwischen Leere und Nichts” off the split with Wedard then you should have a good idea as to what Nebelstern des Nichts sounds like, and when combined with Shatraug's ability and experience the foundations are there for something very unique. Each band has their own 'movements' of sorts, they don't play in unison as I first thought, but Nychts handle the first twenty minutes or so and the last five, while Mortualia take the reins for the middle, with each section entwined by sampling and ambient work handled by the mastermind behind Nychts, Trähn.

Some brief electronic gibberish gets the ball rolling we're engulfed by Trähn's meandering guitar wash pierced by his wretched screams which I suspect wont be to everyone's taste, but when you're a Silencer fan I suppose you can pretty much stomach anything. I've yet to hear a metal band who can capture that astral sound anywhere near as good as Nychts, the way Trähn utilizes acoustic guitar, organs, piano and that Tangerine Dream like ambience is astounding, it's the same sort of sound present on Limbonic Art's Moon in the Scorpio but with more of an overall desolate and vacuous semblance with a massive funeral doom influence beneath it all. Some of the sounds and samples are just downright bizarre, emphasizing the sheer alien nature to Nychts music. Diverse doesn't even come close, hell we even get what appears to be a guest appearance from something that sounds suspiciously like Darth Vader at the nine minute mark. Trähn's vocals are strange, they aren't actually harsh in the typical black metal manner, more of a wailing scream submerged among the huge wall of spatial obscurity, creating an overall vibe that this track is one big acid trip through an astral wasteland gone horribly wrong. They've been described as 'musical jewelry' and in a way seems a very apt description, scintillating and absolutely enamoring.

After an interlude of a few minutes of strange beeping and a heavily echoed bass drum the Mortualia section kicks in and is a lot more orthodox than Nychts contributions, the vocals are raw and vicious, unmistakably Shatraug, a lot of the focus is centered on the guitar riffs and colourful lead work which remains tasteful throughout. The drumming is another excellent aspect about this release, it's comparable to the way Summoning programmed their drums on their later work, focused centrally around building the atmosphere first rather than just a backbone for the music, the sound off the bass drum is vast, echoing in the background as if it were a bell tolling doom. The last five minutes where Nychts take over again are incredible, the culmination of the destitute guitar melodies and Trähn's lost vocals backed up by that huge drum sound along with the night like ambience and what even sounds like a backing choir is pure audacity, but absolutely genius.

Ambitious would be one word, the concept of two bands performing alternating passages back and forth together throughout a forty minute song is something which as far as I'm aware has never been attempted before in black metal let alone metal itself. You'd expect something as elaborate as this to have some slight faults and potential conflicts and inconsistencies between both bands, but the execution and seamlessness with which it is performed and stellar arrangements which are truly astonishing. You can tell when each performer comes in and leaves again, but at the same time it doesn't sound as if it's two separate projects at all.

Bands like Darkspace etc take note, this is how it's supposed to be done. Atmospheric black metal which is as limitless as the universe itself, Nebelstern des Nichts is a terrifying journey into the undiscovered infinities of the cosmos; black metal which is utterly platonic and thoroughly engaging throughout every single minute of this release. The sooner Nychts release a full length album themselves the better. With Nebelstern des Nichts, these two black metal wizards unleash what could only be described as one of the finest attempts ever in the black metal genre at putting to record everything that is contained in the thought devouring wilderness of night's firmament. Essential.

98/100

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[ALBUM REVIEW] Wald Geist Winter - Teufelskreise

1. Heimkehr
2. Der Nacht entrissen
3. Schwärze zersetzt die Farben des Morgen
4. König Lorak
5. Leblos im Moor
6. Kalter Schein
7. In so manch rauer Nacht

'Atmospheric' is one of those tags that many bands seem to get categorized with, more often than not solely due to the lyrical themes and even album cover alone at times. It's a tricky type of sound to achieve, when it's executed right it can be extraordinary, but more often than not when it boils down to it, it's no more than a group of chancers trying to pass off repetitive minimal tremolo riffing and vocals slapped with a huge dose of reverb as cold, frostbite inducing black metal. When in truth it's not, and is the category that Wald Geist Winter fall into.

Teufelskreise is their debut, and is thirty three minutes of middle of the road raw black metal bearing a passing resemblance to the second wave Norwegian scene with some elements of DSBM thrown in for good measure. The musicianship itself isn't actually too bad, the drumming is tight enough if slightly repetitive and the vocals par for the course with much of this type of music, alternating between a Dakrthrone-esque croak and something that wouldn't be out of place on a Xasthur album. It's the guitar work and shallow production which are the cause of much of Teufelskreise's shortcomings. The guitar work itself is weak and without any real substance, monotonous and lacks any sort of presence, and at times falls remarkably in and out of tune and as a result is severely jarring. The riffing in general is just flat out forgettable, not helped by the poor tinny production. The album might as well be one thirty three minute song split up into seven parts, because they all sound exactly the same and follow exactly the same formula.

Where Wald Geist Winter go next remains to be seen, but if they're to make any sort of headway onto better pastures they could do with some fresh inspiration, for Teufelskreise doesn't contain any unique elements whatsoever to make it stand out from the thousands of other bands peddling the same thing. One of those albums you put away into your CD rack and find a year or two later and think “Oh, I forgot I even had that”. Must try harder.

42/100

Originally written for Metalcrypt

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[ALBUM REVIEW] Thallium - Armanenschaft

1. Intro
2. Return From Near Death
3. Our Dreams Belongs To The Stars
4. Ordo Ab Chao
5. Eagle's Eye
6. II
7. Lay In Desease
8. Outro

Thallium are a rather mysterious project from which the only member, Warwolf, also contributes to the vastly overrated Brazilian act Evil. What it is about South American black metaller's and their penchant for national socialist ideologies I'll never know, but they seem to be everywhere at the minute and are hard to avoid. The majority of them are absolute shit, but occasionally you do get the odd one who's worth their salt. Thallium happen to be one of them, and while being nothing revolutionary, do bring to the table an intriguing take on the notorious sound from the early nineties Polish scene from bands such as Graveland, Infernum and Veles.

With a title such as Armanenschaft and the works of Guido Von List as the pool of inspiration for this release, you can hazard a guess at what the lyrical content is, but regardless of ideologies Armanenschaft is for the most part a fairly competent piece of work but at times suffers from almost over-ambition and lack of ideas which is evident in the similarity of all the tracks bar “Eagle's Eye” and the throwaway interludes which serve no practical purpose whatsoever. This can be forgiven to an extent though as Darken's work is extremely hard to emulate with only a handful of bands such as Nachtfalke ever producing anything of note.

As Thallium are a one man project, Warwolf handles all the instruments and does so sufficiently well, the guitar isn't focused on technicality, Warwolf utilizes simple repetitive riffing which is raw yet retains a crude sort of melody and when combined with the interwoven keys similar to those that appear on Following the Voice of Blood, culminate in an emphatic atmosphere of victory and ascendancy. Exactly the sound Warwolf was aiming for I'd imagine, and is Armanenschaft's forte. “Our Dreams Belongs(sic) to the Stars” is testament to this with it's surging riffs and reckless drumming closing off in stunning fashion with a passage even Rob would be proud of himself. Unfortunately the rest of the album doesn't quite scale these peaks again but “Eagle's Eye” is a welcomed change in tempo, setting brutality levels to eleven with persistent blasting and wretched vocals. Warwolf's vocals are well performed though lack bite due to the large amount of processing used on them. They remind me more of Nazgul of Satanic Warmaster fame than the obvious choices on show.

Armanenschaft does contain some fatal flaws though, as previously stated the lack of variation and Intro/Outro and “II” which serve no conceivable purpose whatsoever other than to fill up space, and the production. The production is ragged and awkward and sucks the life out of what would otherwise be a couple of outstanding tracks. At times the music sounds like it's just going to collapse in around it's foundations, lacking an overall tightness holding it all together and would benefit from a lot more presence in the vocal department. Setting these predicaments aside though, Armanenschaft is still an enjoyable release, not least because its from a style of Black Metal which seems to be waning. They're not ever going to win any awards for technicality but that's not where this records vision lies. They've still a fair way to go yet before getting anywhere near the imperialistic sound of Graveland, but it's still a laudable effort indeed.

75/100

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Originally written for Metalcrypt

[ALBUM REVIEW] Dalriada - Ígéret

1. Intro
2. Hajdútánc
3. Hozd el, Isten
4. Mennyei Harang
5. Ígéret
6. Igazi Tûz
7. Kinizsi Mulatsága
8. A Hadak Útja
9. Leszek A Csillag
10. Leszek A Hold
11. Outro


Bands like Dalriada don't get much of a chance when in comes to the mainstream media. Apparently only two female fronted bands have ever existed of any worth, so when someone new crops up, they get compared to one of those two bands, Arch Enemy or Nightwish. With the press these days you'd think no-one else existed, and I'd stagger a guess that Dalriada are nigh sick on comparisons to Arch Enemy. Why? Because they happen to have a female frontwoman who growls. The truth is, Dalriada couldn't be any further from the sterile melo-death travesty that Arch Enemy have become. If you want a somewhat accurate representation of their sound, Russian counterparts Arkona would be a good comparison, but even comparisons to them are doing Dalriada a disservice, as they began a full four years before Arkona under a different guise, they just never seemed to get the breakthrough they deserved. Ígéret is, believe it or not, Dalriada's sixth studio release! That begs the question “Why have I never heard of them before?”, which is a question I presume many people will be considering. Many reasons maybe but I imagine being stuck on a tiny unknown Hungarian label with fuck all publicity doesn't help your case a lot. So with their latest effort they finally have a bit of a platform from which to get their stuff out there with AFM records, and it's not before time because Dalriada are just as good, if not better than Arkona.

A meadow of poppies and daisies. Doesn't exactly scream metal does it? Then again Dalriada aren't exactly metal's most masculine band. Satanic warriors and true defenders need not apply for Ígeret's roots are firmly buried in Eastern European tradition and the type of folk music Korpiklaani are infamous for. At times it's hard to keep straight-faced throughout the album, whether that's due to the overwhelmingly brazen and cheery attitude or Laura's unintentionally amusing clean vocals (which I've grown to love) I'll leave that open for debate. I'm not going to lie, I laughed when I first heard “Hajdútánc”, the way Laura delivers those clean vocals, it sounds almost like a karaoke version of the Numa Numa song, not least helped by the fact I haven't the faintest clue what she's singing about.. It's the type of thing if your mate walked in on you listening to, you'd turn the volume down as quick as you could to avoid any embarrassment. After repeated listenings though the song grew on me a lot. In-fact so much so I'd say it's up there with my favourite songs of the year so far. That chorus, one exposure and you're fucked, trying to get it out of your head is like trying to get rid of the clap. Then add on a fret tearing solo and you've got a formula you literally cannot go wrong with. This is one of (unfortunately) the few songs on the album where Laura utilizes her harsh vocals consistently, which is a shame because they're brilliant when they do appear and put so many of her male counterparts to shame. Think Masha from Arkona, they're pretty much identical.

Setting the amusing opening vocal lines aside, the rest of the clean vocals throughout the album are actually very good, especially on “Hozd el, Isten” and “Kinizsi Mulatsága”, though at times tend to suffer from a lack of variation. And back to the subject of Korpiklaani, Jonne performs guest vocals on track ten, which is the best thing he's ever put his vocals to, which wasn't really a tough feat to be honest. Metal-wise the album is firmly in power metal territory with the upbeat melodic guitar riffing and bridge-chrous structure, Andras and Mátyás contributions should not go unnoticed, along with Laura's vocals and the vast array of folk instruments are a major contributing factor in keeping the whole light-hearted vibe with the album.

They've come along way since the primitive beginnings of Fergeted, the development in the song writing and their ability is remarkable. With songs such as “Hajdútánc” and the title track, Igeret could well be a legitimate treatment for depression. Animated and with a wild, ragged enthusiasm, Ígéret finds that difficult balance between eccentric and serious, pompous and flamboyant. They sit firmly in the middle of both Korpiklaani school of “drink till you pass out” folk and the rather more subtle route of Arkona and Skyforger. Strongly recommended to all fans of folk out there, Ígéret is a damn fine effort by a band who are due some press, and with this album they just might get it. Drink, strange dances and instruments you never even knew existed, it's got to be Eastern European folk metal right?

86/100

Myspace

Originally written for Archaic Magazine

[ALBUM REVIEW] Mordgrund - Omnia Tereunt

1. Leere
2. Neca Memoriam
3. Omnia Intereunt
4. In Dunkelheit liegt Stille
5. Lethargia
6. Marsch in die Finsternis
7. Todessehnsucht
8. Apokalyptische Visionen

Little known black metallers Mordgrund released their début album upon the masses through Black Devastation records at the end of 2010. After the short, and quite frankly throwaway introduction which so many average bands seem to think is essential for a black metal, Omnia Intereunt kicks in to half an hour of unbridled, old school black metal mayhem. With an overall atmosphere and riffing style not unlike Imperium Dekadenz or Nargaroth, this release sounds incredibly 'German', which is no surprise as Mordgrund are in-fact from Germany themselves.

Intimidating riffing, thick basslines and some superb work behind the kit from Mephir combine to produce an extremely commendable first release for this band. One thing I like a lot about this release is the constant variation between the flat out, and at times almost thrash like passages and the more drawn out sections where the focus is primarily on the hellish atmosphere being created by the guitar riffing and prominent bass work. The vocals of Apokalyptor are full of intent and delivered with a large amount of force, they do at times remind me of Joel Grind in both sound and delivery. The standout of the release though has got to be the drumming, varied and concise, Mephir gets the balance of blasting just right, something a lot more bands should focus on.

Helped with the remarkable production work, Omnia Intereunt is a more than acceptable debut release from these Germans, and puts some considerably more well known bands to shame at the minute. If you're in the mood for some no frills, stripped down, bare bones hellish black metal done the traditional way, with a hellish atmosphere to boot, then Mordgrund should set you on the right path. It's not treading any new ground but on the basis of this they certainly have the talent and material to take them a lot further. A great effort.

79/100

Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com

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[ALBUM REVIEW] (aura) - Invisible Landscape

1. the furious march
2. vacuity
3. katharsis
4. parallel worlds
5. flowing textures
6. two steps for the gods
7. the faith woods
8. the frozen enchant of warmth
9. warm winter
10. cloud colossus

Rather than just being another run of the mill ambient/post-rock act, Portugese band (aura) have decided to shake things up a bit here, rather than doing what most bands do such as creating the music in their heads and then developing an image from that , (aura) have opted to do things the other way round first. Start out with the images and construct the music out of them. Andre has selected a few chosen works from photographer and fellow countryman Jose Ramos and attempted to build a story connecting the photographs (which are in the booklet) together in a sequence. Certainly intriguing to say the least, as the concept is something I’ve never come across before, but one which (aura) have left me interested in hearing more.

The influences on Invisible Landscape are vast; I can hear everything from Massive Attack-styled trip hop to echoes of God is an Astronaut and even contemporary classical. It’s an ambitious record and doesn’t really slot properly into one single genre, it’s extremely dynamic and compelling with a surprising amount of variation for ambient influenced works. From the fragile serenity of the oceanic lull of “The Furious March” and “Vacuity” right through to the glowing electronic overtones of “Warm Winter” and impending nature of “Cloud Colossus” it coils a mesh round you right from the very beginning. One special thing to note about “Cloud Colossus” is that it’s the only song on the album with vocals, which was a surprise as vocals in this style of music full-stop are a rarity. I would go as far as to say this is my favourite track on the album, the sombre guitar picking with the distortion and almost post-punk styled vocals works extremely well together, and as much as I love my post-rock, I would love to see the band continue down this route.

Invisible Landscape is a great debut effort by this Portuguese act, they manage to blend all the different styles together pretty much seamlessly and the whole album has a great continuity about it. The music does fantastic justice to the photos which I must add, are absolutely stunning themselves. It may not hit you at first listen, it didn’t for me, but then this is one of those albums you have to sit down alone and listen to with headphones in and immerse yourself in it. If ever there was a better argument against the mp3 fad, this is certainly a good one, for without the booklet, it wouldn’t even be half as enchanting.

85/100


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[ALBUM REVIEW] Negative Plane - Stained Glass Revelations

1. The Fall
2. Lamentations & Ashes
3. Angels of Veiled Bone
4. The Third Hour
5. The One and the Many
6. Charnel Spirit
7. All Souls
8. The Number of the Word
9. Stained Glass Reflections
10. Stained Glass Revelations

Et in Saecula Saeculorum caused quite a stir in the underground back in 2006, and not without good reason. Out of the blue, this album appeared and floored everyone. Why? The fact that something so ingenious and erratic was still possible in a genre in which many have dismissed as exhausted through and through of anything innovative and original. This is true to an extent, black metal is a genre which has been suffering majorly from a drought of inspiration of late, though occasionally a band comes along every once in a while to try out something new and against the grain. Sometimes it works, but more often than not it doesn't and said band fades away to languish in obscurity. This is always going to be the way because black metal fans more than most are always skeptical of changes, they can be a tough bunch to satisfy at the hardest of times. This is where Negative Plane come in. If you've ever listened to a band for the very first time, and after one listen to the album sat up and thought to yourself “Wow, this is unlike anything I've ever heard before, yet absolutely astounding; these guys are going to be big” then you've felt the same as to what I felt when I first heard Negative Plane. They retain enough of the traditional ethics and basis of traditional black metal and fuse it with a bizarre amalgamation of gothic horror and archaic styling that will unite even the most fickle of black metal fans.

Picture yourself in a vast cathedral, enshrouded in an ancient horrific mist, gradually dragging you down into a fear induced delirium, a swirling myriad of primeval voices strangle the remains of any rational thought you may have left like the rat in it's dying throes to the python. Extravagant, yes, but an album such as this deserves nothing less. I have heard various people liken it almost to a Lovecraftian horror soundtrack, and in a way there could not be a more apt definition for the sound of Stained Glass Revelations. It's ominous, foreboding and terrifying, yet at the same time it has this almost ridiculous macabre carnival-esque atmosphere. This is due in no small part to the contributions of Nameless Void, who provides both the guitar work and the vocals. The guitar is swathed in layers of reverb and with the slightly more prog route they have taken in regards to the guitars this time around they have veered off into a more definitive psychedelic route, something along the lines of “A Church in Ruin” off their debut. The sheer variation and multiform nature of the guitar work is astounding, no second riff is ever the same, one minute NV is playing something similar to Celtic Frost, the next it's a totally abstract guitar lead where every note reflecting off every corner of your mind. I mentioned Celtic Frost before, and they probably are one of Negative Plane's main influences. Certainly on the debut at least, maybe less so on this album which is so unique it's a challenge in itself to try and compare it to anything. At times the album doesn't even sound metal, as I stated before at points it morphs into something almost like dark, twisted circus music, and the vocals of NV are the voices of cast; twisted and unhinged and spitting corruption. “The One and the Many” is a great example of this, rising and falling around the vocals of Nameless Void. The bass and drum work definitely shouldn't be ignored either, the bass resonating beneath the chaos above it and one of the main components of the overall atmosphere, while the drumming is best described as extremely unpredictable and unconventional. Bestial Devotion is a big fan of his cymbals, chaotic and complex at the same time with no holding back on the quality.

The atmosphere pours out of this record in waves, it's an atmosphere not dissimilar to that of Drawing Down the Moon or De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, one which is extremely dense, ambiguous and warped, an atmosphere that completely makes the album what it is. They also are one of the few bands who actually manage to use interludes to their full effect and not just for aimless filler, using them to build the suspense in between each song, and avoid using shitty samples and actually composing the interludes themselves. If I had to pick one song which would sum up the album thoroughly, it would be the enigmatic “Angels Veiled in Bone”. As dark and as depraved as the dungeons of Hades while throughout it all flicking a wry smile. Grandiose riffing and chromatic leads, psychopathic vocals and an atmosphere that puts almost every other band out there at the minute to shame.

With Stained Glass Revelations, Negative Plane move up to the top rung of the ladder and it would be a horrendous injustice if they don't get more recognition on the back of an absolute gem such as this. The move in a more psychedelic direction was an utter masterstroke by them, but I still don't think it's their 'pièce de résistance' as such, because I honestly think they have even better in them. I guess only time will tell. A work of unassailable genius. Obscure, mysterious and at times downright petrifying, all the while wearing a masque of perverse humour. Two words; get this.

99/100

Originally written for Metalcrypt

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[ALBUM REVIEW] Todesweihe - Necronomicon Ex Mortis

1. In den Nachthimmeln Transilvaniens
2. Tränen des Dionysos
3. Mit einem Herzen voller Verachtung
4. Instrumental
5. Das Sterben
6. Return of the Necromancer
7. Nacht des Werwolfes
8. Das Schloss
9. As Flittermice as Satans Spys
10. Mit einem Herzen voller Verachtung (live)
11. In den Nachthimmeln Transilvaniens (live)
12. VON (live)
13. Nacht des Werwolfes (live)

Every genre of metal has its own group of wide-eyed imitators aiming to recapture the sound of their heroes, it's part and parcel in the process of evolution within a given genre. On one hand you have the bands who bring new concepts and elements to the traditional sound, and then on the flip side, you have bands who have no qualms replicating the sound of their idols note for note. Todesweihe sit firmly on the latter side of the coin, and having read that they've previously played with Warloghe and Inquisition, two fairly reputable bands, first impressions were positive. But it's all downhill from here.

From the 'I'm too lazy to come up with an original cover so I'll just use the old faithful Gustav Dore' option to possibly the second most covered Darkthrone song ever, everything about Necronomicon Ex Mortis (or rather the sound of Todesweihe as a whole as this is a compilation) is amateur, derivative and downright tedious. Refraining from just pressing the stop button as I sat through this was frustrating to say the least.

Necronomicon Ex Mortis is a compilation of their second demo, Nachtmahre, their EP and a bunch of live tracks, but reviewing them separately would be fairly redundant as each song is equally as excruciating as the next. The vocalist does his best to capture Nocturno Culto's ice cold rasp and it does come slightly close but lacks in delivery and no amount of reverb will mask that. It's the best aspect of this release, but when placed against the guitar work and drumming, that's not saying a lot at all. The riffing is insipid and just flat out weak, following the three chord tremolo pattern but containing no discernible qualities whatsoever, none of Darkthrone's signature 'cold' sound or catchy riffing. For the most part it sounds like a couple of kids in their garage miserably attempting the “Transylvanian Hunger” riff over and over again. The drumming is no better either, haphazard, sloppy and lacking any sort of variation or timing whatsoever, anymore and I'd be wasting my breath.

The two EP tracks off the Nachts am Alten Friedhof release are of better quality than the rest, only marginally though, and are what save this release from getting an embarrassing score altogether. Whenever Todesweihe slow things down, they are actually surprisingly listenable. The guitar tone has some muscle to it and the music doesn't sound like a washing machine stuck on spin. Unfortunately this is only present on the two EP tracks. As for the live tracks tacked on at the end, they aren't even worth discussing at all. I guess if you're a completist they might be of some value.

Todesweihe may need to reconsider their vision of what they want to be if they're to make any sort of an impact, because as a Darkthrone clone, it doesn't work. There are much better bands out there who do it so much more effectively. They need to find the appropriate balance between their infatuation with Darkthrone and some distinct element to set them apart from the others. At the end of the day this is all demo material, so the shoddy production can slide, but it's still no excuse for crap music.

17/100

Darker than Black"

[ALBUM REVIEW] Nachtvorst - Stills

1. Dawn of End
2. Murmurs
3. Stills
4. Wandering
5. Epitaph

Whenever someone metions Dutch black metal, the first bands that initially come to mind would be Countess and Urfaust. Not one of the Netherlands most productive genre's that's for sure. Nachtvorst's debut album Stills, released by Black Devastation Records in 2009 presents an extremely fresh perspective on European underground black metal, for it's compelling approach at blending the 'post-' with the 'depressive'. And for an attempt at blending in a style of which is for the majority American by name and nature, it's a commendable effort.

With four tracks no fewer than eight minutes long each, and an instrumental thrown in for good measure, Stills is no easy listen. Everything from funeral doom, sludge, death, depressive black metal and even post-rock is present in Stills, it's an assorted mix of genres which when combined most of the time can just sound awkward, but Nachtvorst manage to execute it well. Right from the off, opener “Dawn of End” comes crashing down like a colossal wave of misery, constantly lashing away with the ebbing guitars and heavy bass. The bass is prominent throughout the whole album, which is something which helps gives Stills a touch more identity. It contributes a great deal to the ominous, asphyxiating atmosphere Erghal and Leopold are aiming for. And talking about a crushing atmosphere, one listen to track two “Murmurs” and you're utterly crippled. It's nothing more than a crude wall feedback and bile encased distortion of guitar and hellishly low bass. It's no easy listen and I can certainly hear a bit of SWANS influence among others here.

The final three tracks are more in the traditional vein of black metal but it's the constant diversity in every aspect of the music that keeps Stills so engaging. “Wandering” would be without a doubt the best track on the album, and at times feels like it could have been an outtake from Storm of the Light's Bane. It's one of the more 'upbeat' tracks of the album if you could call it that, and in total contrast, closer “Epitaph” is pretty much just that, with it's roots firmly buried in the depressive black metal scene with it's hollowed out guitar lines and fervent desperation.

Whether it's Leopold's transitions between his higher pitched nail spiked shrieks or his guttural death growls more akin to something off a Dismember album, or the guitar riffing ranging from traditional tremolo riffing, to post-rock interludes to dirging sludgy passages. If you're one who complains about black metal being too monotonous with lack of variation and talent then I can't recommend this album enough. For the majority it's a slow paced, meandering behemoth of oppression, ranging from depressive black metal to sludge and everything in-between, and definitely makes Nachtvorst one to watch for the future.

85/100

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Orignally written for Metalcrypt