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Blut aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue with the Stars |
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Written by Philip
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Thursday, 18 March 2010 20:58 |
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Candlelight Records Having come a long way from their powerful beginnings, Blut Aus Nord are no less powerful and ambitious today than they were in 1993. Though, referring to Blut Aus Nord as "they" or "them" may be technically incorrect even if there are multiple members of the band. To my knowledge, Vindsval is still the sole creative force behind what started as a one man band known as Vlad to later be renamed to Blut Aus Nord. Since there is now a full band, I will continue to treat it as a band rather than a singular artist. If their current sound is any reflection, they've grown from purveyors of raw, epic, hauntingly evocative black metal to purveyors of less raw, equally epic, and perhaps even more hauntingly evocative black metal with albums such as The Work Which Transforms God and now their seventh full length, Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue with the Stars, which show a stunning command of the advanced ideas hinted at in earlier works.
It's a complex spiral of darkness and mind-altering layers of ethereal, cascading webs of trance-inducing melodic movements and soundscapes that makes this album what it is. Drums that, though they are reported to be performed by a human, sound a little too mechanical to my ears to beleive in any human intervention aside from programming, are similar to what we heard in The Work Which Transforms God. They provide a strong rhythmic base, but offer no flare or attention-grabbing moments, allowing the listener's attention to be fully given to the beautiful and ominous opus of constantly changing progressions of dark melodic themes explored in great depth by Vindsval and company. |
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Last Updated on Friday, 19 March 2010 18:06 |
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Read the full review [Blut aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue with the Stars]
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Written by Philip
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Thursday, 18 March 2010 11:56 |
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Debemur Morti Productions Arckanum's latest full length has been out almost a year now and I'm only now getting around to it. This is actually the first in a series of reviews I'll be doing about a year or so late. I'm a bit slow, sometimes.
Arckanum released a stream of albums in the mid to late 90's and then did a bunch of random small releases for 10 years until Shamaatae decided to do a full album again. That's not this album. This is the next album, after that one. I won't pretend to know how you might go about pronouncing this album's name unless you want to call it "eleven similar runes", or something. As far as I can tell, it's just an acronym for the titles of the songs on this album, all of which happen to start with that precious rune that looks like a p.
I didn't even know this album was coming out. I saw it in stores a few months ago and picked it up, remembering my love for Fran Marder and Kampen years ago. I must say, I was overall pleased with what I heard. |
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Last Updated on Thursday, 18 March 2010 21:14 |
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Read the full review [Arckanum - ÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞ]
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Woods Of Ypres - Woods 4: The Green Album |
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Written by Liu
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Sunday, 24 January 2010 20:33 |
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Practical Art
Woods Of Ypres is a Canadian independent metal band masterminded by David Gold. Ever since 2002, they've been quietly churning out albums that should be getting them a lot more praise than they are currently getting. Their last one, Woods III: Deepest Roots And Darkest Blues, was somewhat of an overlooked masterpiece, containing a fine blend of black, doom and progressive metal. Following the ideas of that album is their latest, Woods 4: The Green Album.
Whereas Woods III was in essence a blackened progressive metal album with select doom metal influences, Woods 4 has a more distinct doom metal presence. Most people who know me already know my intense dislike for the doom metal genre. Indeed, there are only a handful of bands who have managed to do doom metal in such a way that doesn't make me comatose, and Woods Of Ypres is one of them. Perhaps it is the immediate association to the previous album, but whatever the case may be, Woods 4 is an album to behold. |
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Last Updated on Sunday, 24 January 2010 20:34 |
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Read the full review [Woods Of Ypres - Woods 4: The Green Album]
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Peste Noire - Ballade Cuntre lo Anemi Francor |
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Written by Philip
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Monday, 08 March 2010 11:53 |
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De Profundis
Jesus fucking Christ I love French black metal. It must be something in
their water, or maybe they've got special oxygen that the rest of us aren't
allowed to inhale. The Black Legions, loved by few, hated by many,
insignificant to most, put France on the map for raw, ultra-harsh and bleak
cult black metal back in the 90's with their mass of demos and bootlegs and
impossible-to-find official releases. In the later 90's and early 00's, other
French metal acts such as Antaeus, Blut Aus Nord, and Deathspell Omega
undoubtedly did a lot to help France solidify its position as a country fully
capable of exporting quality metal. Peste Noire belongs on any list of notable
metal acts from France, and by now should be placed toward the top in terms of
ambition and ability.
While the Black Legions are long gone and traditional old-school black metal
from France isn't its prize export, bands such as Deathspell Omega, Blut Aus
Nord and Peste Noire make France a powerhouse in terms of giving birth to
interesting, innovative, amazing bands.
Peste Noire's story begins in 2000 but I'm not going to tell it. Following
their barrage of demos released through the first half of the decade, they put
together their first full length which was remarkable. It took everything good
about black metal, highlighted the dark and beautiful and disgusting and somber
elements and dominated the world. I don't care if you didn't hear it. It
dominated the world. It should stand as a black metal milestone, something to
measure other modern black metal works of greatness by. |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 16 March 2010 11:33 |
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Read the full review [Peste Noire - Ballade Cuntre lo Anemi Francor]
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Devin Townsend Project - Addicted |
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Written by Liu
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Friday, 18 December 2009 16:17 |
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Inside Out Music
The Canadian mad genius has embarked on a new project. Named the Devin Townsend Project, it is a series of four albums of various different moods and styles. I did not write about the first album, Ki, though I could cover it with this quick review: it's like lounge music and its boring. This second one, Addicted, is far more to my liking. It is decidely more rocking and heavier. Oh yea, and some gal named Anneke van Giersbergen sings on it.
The acquisition of Anneke amongst his ranks may have been the smartest thing Devin Townsend has ever done. If he had chosen to handle all of the vocals himself, the album would still had come out pretty good. But Anneke's presence makes all of the difference. Her magnetic voice takes what was already a very good project into the heights of heavenly bliss. It's hard to properly describe Addicted. It definitely isn't the full on blast of metal that Strapping Young Lad is. It's more like a danceable heavy power pop rock album with sprinklings of the industrial ambience that Devin loves so much. Yes, I used the word "danceable". You can shake your booty to this. |
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Last Updated on Sunday, 24 January 2010 17:37 |
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Read the full review [Devin Townsend Project - Addicted]
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