-

 Salacious Gods

“Oalevlukk” (Hammerheart Records, 2023)

For a while now I have drifted away, to a certain point, from the raw and visceral Black Metal I was used to. Those recordings full of dust and mold, buried in ancient tombs. Well, you get it. Haunting and claustrophobic melodies and atmospheres were a must, and mandatory for me to even accept it as real Black Metal. Absurd, I know. Truth is, I have been looking, more and more, for recordings that still hold that flame alive, but of more immediate absorption. Explaining: take a band like Black Cilice. This is an entity – more than just a Black Metal project – that lives off of your darkest emotions, it is not for everyone, and will never be of easy and immediate absorption and understanding, period. No need for further justifications, for I believe some Black Metal fans will understand my words and never take it as an insult. I do live quite well between these two sonic realities (Raw Black Metal and Black Metal, and yes, I do segment them, sorry), for both compose my Black Metal essence, in a way and not sounding arrogant.

I have a few bands I want to discover more about, as well as live their music to a larger extent, and Salacious Gods, a Dutch quintet, is one of them. “Oalevlukk” is a very consistent and strong piece of Black Metal, and their sound is this beast of Melodic Black Metal, of straight to the throat hits, great guitar riffs and a very powerful voice. As I have stated more than once whenever I comment on Black Metal which sounds from days of Past: this sounds Old, yet marvelous. It does sound like bands from the 90ies and all that innocence.

The album has great dynamics and a very solid flow. Consistent guitar riffs and thunderous drums that capture that evil and aggressive soul you want to project onto others. The Dutch Black Metal scene has always offered us special projects, like Urfaust and Denial of God, just to name 2 opposite – in a way – examples of the quality in the scene. Infinity and Vall are 2 excellent examples of how good the Dutch scene is, and this release by Salacious Gods is a powerful specimen of Melodic Black Metal. Very straight to the core, packed with melody after melody, well-produced, all is audible… well, very far from the Black Metal I identify with the most, but a great album, nonetheless.



Hammerheart Official Bandcamp

Comentários

Enviar um comentário

Mensagens populares deste blogue

-
Imagem
Beyond Helvete - “Anthem of Decay” (Immortal Frost Productions, 2022). Immortal Frost Productions has given us 2 tremendous Black Metal works this year: Corpus Christii and Pyra. Both different, but both within the realm of Black Metal (and Death Metal). This work, by Beyond Helvete, is the 3 rd IFP work I have access to, and we again drop into the universe of Black Metal. Slightly different from the already mentioned ones, but still ferocious and full of power. Beyond Helvete has been around since 2007, and Natrgaard, the man behind it, has been delivering the goods. Imagine the strength of a band like Marduk, that endurance, that consistent show of power… Beyond Helvete lives in a similar bubble, although not reaching the quality the Swedes have gathered throughout these many years of presence in the Black Metal Global scene. Nonetheless, it sounds as a good example to describe one of the facets of the German musician without limiting it to A or B. The track that names the alb...
Ler mais
-
Imagem
  Psychonaut 4 “… Of Mourning” (Immortal Frost Productions, 2024) Psychonaut 4 have been spreading their specific human condition for several years now, 14 to be more precise, and only now have I contacted their sound! The name was well-known, but the music was not. I have never been a fan of the more depressive side of the genre, and these lads live inside that sphere; thing is, their sound has small details that sound differently. There is a different dynamic in all their sound, an almost progressive and psychedelic approach. No, not a Floydian one, ok? They have guitar solos that sound quite cheerful. Wait… are they not on the depressive side of the globe? Maybe they are… The more you listen to this record, the more you are able to hear the different moments the band has crafted. Several emotions and stages of existence. Funny how their sound has these 2 opponent personas: sadness and joyfulness. Well, I can hear and feel moments of clarity and clear skies. But sadness does ...
Ler mais
-
Imagem
  Kratti “Matka Kohti Kosmista” (Signal Rex, 2024) “Kratti are the ascending newcomers of the bleak fields of Finnish Black Metal!” That is one bold statement, right? You need to be good at something before you go out and say that. Well… let’s find out. Kratti is a 3 man Finnish straight to the throat Black Metal act. They do have a point when they state they are the “…ascending newcomers…”, for their sound is stone cold ripping Black Metal. It is Finnish, and you can almost feel it in your bones. The melodies merged with that Finnish violence – that is not violence, but a harsher approach – that we all love. Come on! It is hard not to enjoy what the Finns have been doing for decades, their mastered sound, their own vision of Black Metal… Kratti goes down that path, successfully, and oh man! I was never into complex music, maybe due to my Hardcore Punk background, so when a band goes straight to the point, I am in for the ride. To say that these lads are doing something tha...
Ler mais