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Ravens Dawn – “Precursor to Bloodshed” (Independent, 2022)
 

It is with fascination that I see how Black Metal has grown and evolved since the day a guy in Sweden, along with his mates, decided to create a sound that would top the bands of his time. He made it, and the genre grew, and grew, becoming enormous. It took on dimensions and shapes that did not please everyone, which led many musicians to “seclude” themselves in search of the lost art of the Primordial Riff. Black Metal is, in its core, a visceral, raw, primitive musical genre. Slightly like Punk, it lives off from emotions and feelings. There is this violence, this discomfort, that lures you in and keeps you there, warm, and alive. It will sound as a perfect cliché, but I still see the genre as more than just Music; there is something to it, you know? There is this, as said before, emotion and overwhelming feeling that make it such a powerful artistic genre.

 
Although I strongly support Artists evolving genres, adding more and more elements, developing the whole idea of what an artistic movement is, I see myself going back, time and time again, to those releases that have that 90s scent, that aroma of when things were much simpler and innocent. Ravens Dawn is a good example of Black Metal that resonates with me, quite easily, due to its melodies, its melodic constructions that have that Folkish element, that sounds old, even if they are not. This is a very recent artist, and this is a compilation of his first 2 releases: “Demo I” and “Carnal Desires” (single). More recently, the Artist behind Ravens Dawn released “War Upon the Sun” (single). The usage of keyboard, very well placed, makes this a very pleasant Demo.


No, it does nor reinvent the wheel, nor do I want it to. I am all for evolution, but said evolution does not need to apply to this fringe of Black Metal, does it? Look at Baxaxaxa, for example. These mates have been doing the same thing for years! They have mastered their vision, and sound, of Black Metal. Who dares ask them to change, to evolve… to get with the times? I seriously hope no one, please. Everything is simple about this release: from the Music to the Artwork. But bloody effective, right? Completely. Again, a bit like Punk: emotion, attitude, feeling… there you go: good Raw / Primitive Black Metal, or just good Music overall. I know I mentioned the fact that this release is a very simple one in turns of approach: no orchestrations, no over the top production, all quite simple and effective. And effective is the word, I reckon. It might a bit too simple to describe a Demo as “effective”, but it is effective.
 
Truth be told, Black Metal never left the Underground; bigger bands rose to the top, which sort of dimmed the light on those lesser-known acts. But that is good, in my opinion. Not wanting to sound like one of those old Black Metal fans, I believe that the genre should be left in the Underground; we can’t request, from every single Black Metal musician to pledge allegiance to an entity or whatever, nor is Black Metal exclusively about Satan and Eternal Evil; but I fear the genre will lose much of its identity if it spreads (and I know this sounds bad) especially when it already has…

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