Post by nocturnaliridescence on Oct 24, 2019 20:24:42 GMT -6
Note: This review is for the release on Annapurna / Clavis Secretorvm. There was supposed to be a version on Temple of Death with a different tracklist, but it appears this version was never released.
Your evaluation of this album will probably vary depending on your previous experiences with the music of Reverorum ib Malacht and Dödfödd. If you're already acquainted with these projects, you pretty much know what to expect, and it the music ends up being a bit "run of the mill". On the other hand, if you haven't listened to either of these bands before, well... get ready, haha!
Dark, cavernous reverb; indistinct voices calling out from the shadows; ominous, booming percussion; dissonant noise with little regard for the listener's ear drums; this is basically a nightmare put to music. Following in the style established on Malacht's "De Mysteriis dom Christi" and "Ter Agios Numini", and Dödfödd's "Demo 15", this album places a lot of emphasis on atmosphere. In the process, it downplays a fair bit of the traditional "metal" element of the music (ending up resembling dark ambient more than "metal"). Personally, I didn't hear a single guitar riff on this: there were occasional sounds that seemed to be coming from a guitar, but they were purely atmospheric, not melodic. This isn't a bad thing, though - traditional riffs, song structures, etc would be entirely out of place on this. Emil (... and whoever else is in Dödfödd these days?) know exactly what they want accomplish, and although their goal is unconventional, they absolutely succeed at said goal.
The backbone of this music is made up almost entirely of reverb. I won't even hazard a guess at what instruments or noises are being used to create this reverb. Apart from this, some low, droning synths and noise serve the purpose that bass would probably serve on a more "normal" album, adding some texture to the music. Drums are much higher in the mix, keeping this music close to "metal" territory, while also contributing a bit to the cavernous reverb. They're generally mid-paced, and add to the tension of the music, giving the feeling that there's some monstrous being in the darkness of this claustrophobic place, waiting for you.
There are a lot of vocals on this, which you might not expect from music of this style. Most of these vocals come in the form of vague, indistinct talking voices that almost resemble a preacher delivering a sermon - but of course, said preacher is at the far, far end of whatever corridor / sewer / abandoned factory this takes place in, so these words are quite low in the mix, and individual words can't be picked out. There are some (rather tortured/pained) black metal screams/shrieks thrown in, but these, too, seem to be more of a texture in the music, rather than a vehicle for a "message". There are other vague vocal "sounds" - obscure groans, half-screams, choral "aaah" vocals: all of these are low in the mix, and add to the eerie, oppressive atmosphere.
Considering this is ultimately one, single 40+ minute song, there needs to be a LOT of variation to keep the listener's interest. Thankfully, the music does succeed at this! Within the framework of the sounds described above, the music takes many twists and turns, so the listener never truly knows what's next. A section with the odd "shrieking" vocals and some drums, will give way to a shriller ambient/noise section, which will then bring back the percussion, and eventually a spoken vocal passage, etc. This goes on for the entire 40+ minute duration.
............... Here's the problem, though: If you have listened to newer Malacht or Dödfödd, you already do, in a sense, know what's coming next. While of course one can't tell precisely where the music is going, someone who is familiar with the style won't really be too surprised by whatever direction it takes. The music doesn't really introduce anything new. It excels at what it does, but what it does, has been done before on other releases, so this largely ends up being "more of the same". This is hardly a bad thing, especially considering the talent and passion that has clearly gone into this, but it does end up lacking a little bit of novelty when viewed in context, since it doesn't really tread any new ground.
Still though, there aren't a lot of bands doing this, so if you want more of it, this is your chance. And if you haven't heard it before, this is going to be one wild ride for you!
It's hard to give recommendations for this album, but if I say "music that's sort of metal, but at the same time, isn't actually metal", you'll know pretty much right away if this is something that will interest you.
Available on Bandcamp here.
Available on CD here.
Was available on 12'' vinyl here, but at the time of writing, it's sold out.
Your evaluation of this album will probably vary depending on your previous experiences with the music of Reverorum ib Malacht and Dödfödd. If you're already acquainted with these projects, you pretty much know what to expect, and it the music ends up being a bit "run of the mill". On the other hand, if you haven't listened to either of these bands before, well... get ready, haha!
Dark, cavernous reverb; indistinct voices calling out from the shadows; ominous, booming percussion; dissonant noise with little regard for the listener's ear drums; this is basically a nightmare put to music. Following in the style established on Malacht's "De Mysteriis dom Christi" and "Ter Agios Numini", and Dödfödd's "Demo 15", this album places a lot of emphasis on atmosphere. In the process, it downplays a fair bit of the traditional "metal" element of the music (ending up resembling dark ambient more than "metal"). Personally, I didn't hear a single guitar riff on this: there were occasional sounds that seemed to be coming from a guitar, but they were purely atmospheric, not melodic. This isn't a bad thing, though - traditional riffs, song structures, etc would be entirely out of place on this. Emil (... and whoever else is in Dödfödd these days?) know exactly what they want accomplish, and although their goal is unconventional, they absolutely succeed at said goal.
The backbone of this music is made up almost entirely of reverb. I won't even hazard a guess at what instruments or noises are being used to create this reverb. Apart from this, some low, droning synths and noise serve the purpose that bass would probably serve on a more "normal" album, adding some texture to the music. Drums are much higher in the mix, keeping this music close to "metal" territory, while also contributing a bit to the cavernous reverb. They're generally mid-paced, and add to the tension of the music, giving the feeling that there's some monstrous being in the darkness of this claustrophobic place, waiting for you.
There are a lot of vocals on this, which you might not expect from music of this style. Most of these vocals come in the form of vague, indistinct talking voices that almost resemble a preacher delivering a sermon - but of course, said preacher is at the far, far end of whatever corridor / sewer / abandoned factory this takes place in, so these words are quite low in the mix, and individual words can't be picked out. There are some (rather tortured/pained) black metal screams/shrieks thrown in, but these, too, seem to be more of a texture in the music, rather than a vehicle for a "message". There are other vague vocal "sounds" - obscure groans, half-screams, choral "aaah" vocals: all of these are low in the mix, and add to the eerie, oppressive atmosphere.
Considering this is ultimately one, single 40+ minute song, there needs to be a LOT of variation to keep the listener's interest. Thankfully, the music does succeed at this! Within the framework of the sounds described above, the music takes many twists and turns, so the listener never truly knows what's next. A section with the odd "shrieking" vocals and some drums, will give way to a shriller ambient/noise section, which will then bring back the percussion, and eventually a spoken vocal passage, etc. This goes on for the entire 40+ minute duration.
............... Here's the problem, though: If you have listened to newer Malacht or Dödfödd, you already do, in a sense, know what's coming next. While of course one can't tell precisely where the music is going, someone who is familiar with the style won't really be too surprised by whatever direction it takes. The music doesn't really introduce anything new. It excels at what it does, but what it does, has been done before on other releases, so this largely ends up being "more of the same". This is hardly a bad thing, especially considering the talent and passion that has clearly gone into this, but it does end up lacking a little bit of novelty when viewed in context, since it doesn't really tread any new ground.
Still though, there aren't a lot of bands doing this, so if you want more of it, this is your chance. And if you haven't heard it before, this is going to be one wild ride for you!
It's hard to give recommendations for this album, but if I say "music that's sort of metal, but at the same time, isn't actually metal", you'll know pretty much right away if this is something that will interest you.
Available on Bandcamp here.
Available on CD here.
Was available on 12'' vinyl here, but at the time of writing, it's sold out.