I did arrive late to this one… as I normally do with all
recent releases. That being said, I quickly jumped into the subject matter and
started feeding off the music. In a time and age where Black Metal musicians
seem to be stuck in this loophole that insists that you must copy what the mate
next to you did, it is always pleasant to see someone step outside the box and
gift us this sort of work. First off, the lad deserves all my respect for going
for that cover artwork, for not choosing an odd name to hide behind, and for
the music, most of all for the music.
The music he puts out is tremendous, in my modest
opinion. With a little help from his mates, he developed this 6-song EP that
carries so much essence, so much richness, so many layers of melody… his mates:
Crying Orc (Kekht Arakh & Felvum) and Wanja Mamykin (Felvum & Mrtva
Vod). So, as you can see, he does know who he should surround himself with in
order to achieve quality Black Metal. Musically speaking, what attracts me the
most are the melodies, sweet and delicate, that give basis to his music. Not an
ounce of heaviness was lost during the process, and his more “romantic”
approach ended up playing in his favor. He has the standard Black Metal vocal
approach, the guitar leads the way to that structure that we are accustomed to,
and the drums are minimalistic, but essential to the end result. The melodies
provided but the guitars are differentiated, and a track like “Jeg Reiser
Alene” is a good example of the twists-and-turns that the band provides for the
songs.
As mentioned in the beginning, I am far from being
informed on the current status of Black Metal as a whole. still stuck in the
Past and reminiscing past classics, so I do not know what bands are in or out.
Bands like Lamp of Murmur and Kekht Arakh, for example, seem to be adding
plenty of value to the scene with their personal vision and opinion on how
Black Metal should sound, and I tend to enjoy their approaches, mostly due to
their more romanticized method of making music. And in the end that is the core
of the matter: adding value without losing essence. I hear 90ies Norway in more
than one of the songs, and maybe that is what attracts me so much to this
release. One thing that I find quite interesting - and a positive aspect, of
course - is that very rarely the structure remains the same of very long time;
Richard and his mates give it a little spin, and there you go, a different
structure to an already amazing tune.
Not very much to say, honestly. This is an amazing EP,
one that should have been more publicized, and maybe it was, and I was just
sleeping and missed it. Anyway, going to keep track of what they do next,
because this is top-notch modern days Black Metal.
Sunnel - “Svatt as Kahl - Tusken
Klammen Gras“ (Avgrundsklanger, 2021)
Initially recorded in 2017 and released in 2021, only a
few days ago I came across this exquisite example of the quality of today’s
Black Metal. Sunnel is a German project that has only one release under their
belt… and that is it. I did not do a lot of research, to be honest; if it is
not on Metal Archives then I am not going to search the web for info. I prefer
to live without knowing, it makes it more mysterious.
“Rural Art - Rural Magic”, these are the artist’s words.
You know that music, that album, that band, that is able to create such an
atmosphere, that you are immediately transported to another place, a specific
location? Plenty of times have I felt that and been in that “place”. Like most
people, I look for music with which I can identify, music I can place in a
specific location that ends up being my location. The idea of having music that
projects a season of the year, a place, is something I look for in Black Metal.
Sunnel, as stated, label - I dare say - their music as Rural Art and Rural
Magic, and I can understand it. Norwegian bands of the 90ies, some of them at
least, painted a picture of dense forests and harsh Winters, and I loved it as
a kid, and still love it as a grown grumpy man! Sunnel has some of that magic,
some of that atmosphere. It reminds me of Auld Ridge, not that these are twin
entities, but that ability to create music we associate with a more rural
existence.
I have always seen Black Metal more as a Nature conductor
than a Satanic/Evil one, to be honest. Maybe that is why I can create a
connection with the more atmospheric bands. Sunnel, never failing to be a hard
Black Metal act, has those riffs, those details, those moments, filled with
melody and old sounds that we love so much. The production is spot-on, in my
opinion! Raw and Dusty if that makes sense. And the musicians - or musician -
states that it was recorded out of improvisation! Well, a structure they have
had, right? Nonetheless, what a beauty of an improvisation! The guitar riffs
are tremendous, just tremendous. The vocals are buried, just the necessary so
that you feel like they are coming from beyond the tomb… a tomb in an old rural
village, of course. “De Storm Towedder” showcases that these lads know how to
speed things up, but gladly they perform to go at mid-pace than full throttle. I would never dare say that their music is melodic, per
se, for we take the term “melodic” as weak; I, on the other hand, look at this
melodic side of their music as the richness in their work. I have mentioned the
production, which makes it sound harsh and old, but the melodies are delicate
and almost atmospheric (not those modern atmospheric bands put together for
hipsters). Harsh, dusty, rural, magnificent Black Metal.
Invicta Reqviem Mass Seventh Gathering Well, hello there. Getting close to this year’s finest UG Black Metal gathering, are we? Oh yes, we are! I was quite curious about who would the lads in Signal Rex select for their 7 th Black Mass, and what a nice bill it say, I say. 15 bands will join forces in one of Portugal’s most beautiful, and Black Metal, cities. Porto, Cidade Invicta, will once again receive the label’s annual Black Metal gathering, and let us go through the bands that will be performing. While there is still not a daily line-up, let us almost alphabetically stroll down the corridor and look at newcomers and artists that will be repeating their attendance. So here we go! Starting off with an act composed of musicians from different geographic locations, Burial Moon . Austria, Estonia, and Switzerland, perhaps? If I may be honest, their location is what less interesses me. Musically speaking this is straightforward Signal Rex Black Metal. The hypnotic side of t
Marthe “Further in Evil” (Southern Lord, 2023) I was completely unaware of the existence of this project, and only today stumbled upon it while scrolling on a very famous Black Metal group on Facebook. While reading the description of a photo, I saw The Devil’s Blood and Mediterranean Heavy Metal influences mentioned, as well as Antifascism and Italy. Scrolled down a bit more and read Bathory. Went straight to YouTube and added Tiamat, “Clouds” era (vocals at times), to it. It might sound a bit strange and misplaced, but let me tell you: it bloody works. Marthe is composed of one single musician, Marziona Silvani – stage/artist name, Marzia – and she has been around for some time. From what I understood, Marthe started out while Marzia was still rocking the drums in Ancient Cult, an Italian Heavy Doom band that since then closed the doors on existence. That gave way for Marzia to move forward and blast it all out with Marthe! Marthe is a very curious entity. Sound-wise, it ha
Infernal Angels “Shrine of Black Fire” (Immortal Frost Productions, 2023) 2023 has been, so far – and we are almost done with the year – a splendid year for Black Metal. Strangely enough I have been focusing more on bands and albums that have a deliberate melodic approach to the sound, rather than going for the Raw Black Metal acts. Not that we do not have been infernally blessed with exquisite works of Art, but the well-produced records have been calling for me, and I have answered the call. Immortal Frost is a bit to blame for that. Surtur has released, so far, at least 2 records I believe will be considered some of the best I had the pleasure to listen to this year: Infinity’s “The Untamed Hunger” and Deadspace’s “Unveiling the Palest Truth”; an honorable mention to Azaghal’s “Alttarimme on Luista Tehty”, that shows a band still pushing hard! The label’s latest release is Infernal Angel’s “Shrine of the Black Fire”, and we’ll jump right into the fire to see what we got here!
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