Tuesday, 14 January 2025
Burzum "Det Som Engang Var" (1993)
Friday, 10 January 2025
Burzum "Burzum" (1992)
I've never been that keen on this record. Varg's writing at this point is yet to be refined. Returning to it decades later highlights the dissatisfaction yet also illuminates my lack of appreciation for the vision. Spell Of Destruction's mental break down consisting of enduring wretched screams and similarly Feeble Scream From Forests Unknown's slip into blurry dissonance and hurtful cries, created ugly sticky points I never got past.
Burzum encapsulates the raw rebellious ideology but lacks a finesse to character the essence of inspirations. A bulk of its lengthy tracks are pegged into a corner, pairing sloppy blast beats with endless strings of guitar riffs that entirely dictate the musical vision. Varg has the sense to shuffle percussive rhythms to aid the shifting moods of his power chord expressions. Twisted and woven throughout, iterations on the chords own structure play with dissonant melody to birth a fantastical sense of earthly darkness, devoid of cheese, frothing with cold suffering and tormenting loneliness.
Between these retroactively embryonic incarnations, we hear swaths of the maturity to come. Channeling lends its ear to the mystic tones discovered in classic Korg synths, laying the foundations for Dungeon Synth to emerge. Dungeons Of Darkness ends the record with a stroke of Black Ambient genius. A slow brooding suspense of ambiguous noise builds up a rumble of terror for what sounds like anguished souls to cry out in the depths of its foreboding visit. The Crying Orc showcases Varg's ear for Middle Earth inspiring melody, something to be developed on the next full length.
Then we have War. Fun and goofy, it plays like a Venom cover, or tribute to the first wave of Black Metal, its ending guitar solos reminiscent of Bathory's Heavy Metal energy. It showcases Varg's metallic prowess and yields to a new strain of dark anger. Before the records guitar driven presence concludes, A Lost Forgotten Spirit plays, another lengthy stint of primitive Black Metal ideology that will be immediately rectified on the next release. We hear glimmers of the genius yet to unfold, the difference between the two highlights a musicians growth, as aesthetic construct and tempo shifts arrive raw and unrefined, dispelling some of its enchanting and strange magic.
So there you have it, a mixed bag of ideas yet to settle into something concrete but taking us to a bewildered setting. Interestingly much of his music was written around this 91/92 era. What follows these songs will later be unimaginable in such crude and coarse form. Revisiting it again, a better understanding yet it has not grown on me.
Rating: 6/10
Monday, 28 October 2024
Oranssi Pazuzu "Muuntautuja" (2024)
Well accustomed with their hypnotic breed of abrasive psychedelia, Oranssi Pazuzu still play a class act to these ears. Muuntautuja falls shy of the powerful impact such an unforgiving delve into obscurity would normally bestow. Privy to their mania, the joys of fresh madness come from moments of relief to a seemingly unceasing nausea.
This latest installment toys with an Industrial grit, felt in its stiff mechanical pace and dirtied gristly aesthetics. Each song marches into a spell, grinding the axe through mesmeric repetitions. Dense webs of darkly noise amass to paint feverish sweats of isolated lunacy, a punishing tour through the cramp canals of mental derangement.
Not every song releases the mounting pressure. Sticking firmly to gritty drones of eerie discomfort, occasional magic emerges through glistening piano melodies and emboldened baselines flashing touches of groove. Often shadowy by design, the relief is a less evil that offers respite, only to keep one swelled within its teary darkness.
Hautatuuli steps back from axe grinding intensities to spin cinematic style horror scores to a truly chilling atmosphere. Its steady brooding intensifies into a angered rumble, restraining itself in contrast to the rest of the record. A keen highlight among a steady cruelty this harrowing trip through the shadows of the mind bestows.
Muuntautuja is brilliant yet familiar. Its aesthetic entanglement, an orchestration of menacing details, plays to great strength. The rountine drone of repetitious loops relegates much of its intensity to a familiar despairing mood. A few moments among its forty plus minutes elevates its magic for brief passages. Those were its treasures.
Rating: 7/10
Friday, 10 May 2024
Caldon Glover "Metrophagy" (2024)
At least, that is the vision that arises for me, perhaps its cover art planted the seed of suggestion for a such a vision to manifest. I see a futuristic cyberpunk metropolis laid to ruins, with the sense of something evil lurking within but the evil is the place itself, like a densely radiated city-scape hostile to life itself, where a gush of wind could yield fatality. This one is hard to assess, enjoyment depends a lot on mood, Accelerated Decay and Liber Spiralis where the most powerful cuts. Paired with a visual movie matching this theme would be utterly intense! One can only dream of such shuddering cinematics.
Rating: 7/10
Wednesday, 27 December 2023
Arkhtinn "三度目の災害" (2023)
Monday, 16 October 2023
Old Tower "Draconic Synthesis" (2023)
Heard through a candles flickering flame, wildlife sounds of night accompany a subtle tropical flavor on its lingering melody. A dusky opener signaling new sounds, Draconis Arcanum has beautiful balance. One could imagine it as the backdrop to a Diablo theme alike game. Ruins and Horned Glossolia ressurects this direction with its lonely steel acoustic guitar, followed then by Sacred Carvings. This song leans fully into this cultural resonance superbly, akin to Dead Can Dance's transformative magic.
Spirit Vessel has a similar incarnation, evoking forbidden spirits from the graves with classic dungeon dweller magics. Its a more "traditional" piece for this artists however the closing Crafting The Symmetry Of Aeons feels like their most ambitious work to date. With many distant clanks, rattles, drips and drops, ghostly voices breeze by forgotten corridors as the music strides into foreboding chambers of sequestered darkness. The emerging synths and percussion give one a sense of tainted triumph over what lingered before its arrival. The strike of a gong bringing it to a sudden close.
Rating: 8/10
Friday, 27 May 2022
Blut Aus Nord "Disharmonium - Undreamable Abysses" (2022)
Not every band has to bring something new to the table, especially when in a stride most appetizing to the listener. Blut Aus Nord's latest rapture of nefarious psychedelic hallucinations was initially intoxicating but in the shadows of unflinching familiarity, tit turned into a moody slog of unruly madness, churning away in the background. That's not to be dismissive of Disharmonium, its charm simply wore off rather swiftly.
If not familiar with this sound however, it would be a welcome invitation to the maniacal delirium these French veterans conjure. Far evolved from the fundamentals of Black Metal, the duo compose unraveling sways of reality shattering sounds. Their unsettled atmospheres brood through melodies that slip through the fingers, melting away through pitch shifts as if physical reality is falling apart. Its a few keen ideas that foster this rich, dense tapestry of mental mood, always on an unpredictable move.
Slow and meandering, ever shifting direction, the percussion rarely holds down a groove or pattern for long. It too sways in stuttering intensity, following the cues signaled by its bleeding, oozing wash of melody. The duality is wondrous as the dark unrevealing of damaged consciousness is explored within bleak walls. Despite the record having a rather consistent aesthetic and tempo, the ideas explored are so well executed that its seven songs serve one continual plunge into the abyss of the mind.
I'd struggle to pick out a favored song, or even moment. It feels as if everything has been crafted to offer no anchor or reference points. You are always in the perpetual motion as demonic voices call from the depths of its lofty tone. So to do swells of high guitar notation sometimes puncture through, however its no bright guitar solo but often a breakout expression that is swiftly engulfed. I love the maniacal madness this pair have created, this one was fun but as described quickly lulled in its familiarity.
Rating: 6/10
Wednesday, 22 December 2021
Arkhtinn "二度目の災害" (2021)
Translated as Second Disaster, this latest Arkhtinn installment was a typical blasting of exhilarated, ferocious Black Metal from the cosmic void. To break format with its often Dark Ambient counterpart, both halves, two meaty twenty plus minute songs, are comprised extreme music led in by the beeping of Morse Code. The second track always strikes me as the better of the pair. Its resounding thumps of chunky groove and slick pedal kicks haunted by ghastly screams brings about a rhythmic distinction to an otherwise endless romp of blast beats and deathly guitar shredding.
Before it reaches that all too common intensity, the song embellishes a little Burzum alike discordance, something I would liked to of heard more of. Instead the howling choirs of fallen angels aligns with its perpetual plunges into darkness, competing with itself in a race to the bottom. The song structure and writing feels more apparent. Perhaps this is the first occasion I feel as if its low fidelity aesthetic holds things back. I'm reminded a little of Dimmu Borgir's PEM record as its fantastical darkly synths paint quite the wondrous madness within its hellish onslaught of crushing sound. After a while, the theme and search of new peaks to scale does get a bit tiresome as its main ideas circle back on themselves for a conclusion.
The first track explores a similar dimension with plenty of whirling astral synths buried between instruments. It comes through with some strong Industrial rhythmic chops and plenty of breaks in the flow with ambient interludes and build ups that loose sight of the bigger structure in its lengthy stay. Again its residing in furious intensities can be a bit grinding and the shifts can feel a little sudden in execution, rather than natural and flowing. All in all, the music follows the path laid out and given this Darkspace inspired sound is still interesting to me, its was a fun experience, however as always, new ideas and progression for the sound would be most welcome.
Rating: 6/10
Sunday, 21 November 2021
Den Sorte Død "Den Sorte Død" (2021)
This context has given me a greater respect for the record but before learning of this, I was somewhat dulled by it, having anticipated a more adventurous set of songs. Instead its a grueling journey of pale sorrow, a defeated human spirit trapped in perpetual misery, drifting from place to place with no uplift insight. The occasional swells of dark and menacing music gives a sense of seeing the horrors, carcasses piled high and the burning of bodies, a particularly grim endurance for any soul.
Without the context, these aesthetics gave me strong cosmic vibes. Atmospheric synthetic strings and meandering saw wave melodies painted the astral skies at night. Thus initially it reminded me more so of Grimrik. There is also a ghostly wobbling synth instrument suggestive of cheesy old school horror soundtracks. Because of this it all felt a bit empty, set in the vacuum of space with an eternally drifting nature. I've come to enjoy it more now, the ending of Det Tabte Slag being a memorable note as it descends into gristly and unsettled territory but otherwise I could of passed this one by.
Rating: 4/10
Friday, 8 October 2021
Old Tower "The Old King Of Witches" (2021)
Embarking with a renewed spirit and refined aesthetics, The Old King Of Witches is both familiar and surprising. Having established a niche within the confines of Dungeon Synth, this ten track release of three to five minute spells has Old Tower side stepping their current conventions mastered on The Last Eidolon. Now we have what feels like the background ambience to a Horror movie, an impression marked by its ghastly jump scare conclusion on the opening track Wych Totem. At its conclusion a harrowing, tormented scream lunges out of the dark as the song then fades to black.
The following Night's Spell gifts us an astral respite, a contemplative soundscape not adrift from the likes of Steve Roach. From here, the plunge begins as ambiguous atmospheric ambiences and mischievous eerie sound design conspire. Brief reprisals of that astral charm can be heard infrequently but otherwise is lost between its dark, lonely voyages through shadowy caverns and hallowed grounds. It takes on a burdensome delusional experience, as flourishes of unsettled synth drones briefly add disorientation with a psychedelic quality, akin to a tiresome paranoid mental trip. Although the horrors of the opening track are never quite as vivid again, this spooky journey does end with a warmer note as closing track, Temple Of The Blue Sun, brings about a little of that cosmic charm again with its final passing cry.
Reflecting on Old Tower's previous sound design, the difference here is staggering. The temperament of its esoteric suggestions and the brooding ambiences of emotional unease are ripe for the imagination to run wild. The balance is charming and satisfying, feeling complete as a collection of songs. I'd also bring praise to the album art too. Corpse paint is a tired tradition but paired with the creepy skeletal fingers and candid nature of the photo, its suggestion of stumbling across a beast in a cave is fantastic and really ties up what this record is about. You can picture that cursed creature lurking around for eight of these ten songs. The Old King Of Witches is a very well inspired and executed concept.
Rating: 7/10
Saturday, 7 August 2021
Wampyric Solitude "The Splendor Of Loneliness" (2021)
So distant now from its curious origins and sparks of individual majesty, The Splendor Of Loneliness has me checking out from this artist as a clear downward trajectory continues. It is never fun to be critical but this record has been bloated with lengthy and repetitious loops of grating low-fi. Its ideas are obvious but the execution misses the mark too often. Its opening track holds its own, the sparse percussion and esoteric gong strikes from the deep push along a slow whirl of shadowy synths. Devoid of uplift, it stares into the cold, lonely abandon that lays before it.
The music has a chemistry between instruments that overcomes its deliberate distortion and wavering fidelity. The issue is, this approach to tonality swiftly falls apart with tracks like Crypt Of Vampyric Darkness, Eternally I Hate, Enthroned Amongst The Eldritch Shadows and A Putrid Stench From The Grave Of Hope. They all push minimalism on repetition with uncomfortable synth tones that miss the sinister, imposing or demonic presence they likely aim for, sadly faltering to become an irritant for the ears. Singular notes, or small groupings of, lethargically drone sluggishly, cycling incessantly with little sense of building up tension or atmosphere.
For me, it doesn't even work as mood setting background music. Ironically its two shortest songs have flashes of magic. Grave Syndrome ushers in a creepy yet charming sinister energy as its brooding acoustic guitar gets mustered into action as a devious baseline propels it along. Ultimately, I had very little to take away from this experience given I didn't vibe with the aesthetic. I do think a lot of this musicianship rests on a blades edge. Tricky to pull of the chemistry but step wrong and its game over.
Rating: 2/10
Monday, 30 November 2020
Arkhtinn "Astrophobia" (2020)
As one of my favorite discoveries from last years music journey, Arkhtinn has returned with another colossal twenty minute ravishing of extreme Black Metal fury from the void. As the first release to have a name of sorts, Astrophobia plays perfectly into their established astral tinged sound. One halve of a split record with Starless Domain, this lone track was a little difficult to love at first, its shear, howling screams an ear-piercing blunt force attack assaulting my mood. With some repetitions and adjustment, the music beneath its tropes and aesthetic harassment are quite brilliant in moments.
The format is as to be expected. Passageways of darkly scene setting build up tension for slabs of thumping rhythmic bass to drive us to expectant plunges into despair as walls collapse with the pummeling of instruments on full throttle. Channeled through its low fidelity aesthetic, one has to adjust attention to pick out the finer crafts of sound between its perpetual blast beats, manic assaults on the fretboard and devilish howls of pure exhilarated despair that penetrate it all with a vile menace.
Maddening whirls of astral synthesizers twinkle through the gaps like stars shimmering in the night sky. Its symphonic component is most exciting as the guitars tend to thrash into a drone of fury. When deploying demonic melodies in syncopated shifts, the music takes form akin to the like of Dimmu Borgir. Another ear catching element, a recurring operatic voice, was slipped in the distant regions of this dense mix. Cropping up inline with the howls and screams, its human intensity distinguished it from the synths with an air of cryptic mystic. Not utilized often but on the rare moments it arises the song found renewed energy.
The monstrous sprawl of a twenty minute song, perpetually plunging us into dizzying depths of extremity has its limits. The broader structure didn't seem to other much more in its duration than the elasticated of easing tensions to simply strike again. Although some elements reoccurred, the lack in differing extremes tends to drone on, most of the compositions making its mark early on. The format is as such but it does feel like room to forge something a little grander. As for the other half of the split I didn't care as much for it, so this blog simply focused on the band I was most interested in. I've never really brought into split releases and the pairing of tracks here doesn't convince me.
Rating: 6/10
Tuesday, 17 November 2020
Old Tower "Plague Harvest" (2020)
With a history of patchy release in Old Tower's beginning, a stride of good form developed into a unique craft of darkness, culminating with The Last Eidolon. It is a stellar record, the apex of the Dutch musicians scenic Dungeon Synth spell. News of fresh music excited but ultimately disappoints as its lengthy, fourteen minutes halves dabble in the black ambience that usually builds to bigger and grander things. Plague Harvest however, meanders in the moments before, its shadowy reverberated sounds of eerie mystique and foreboding despair barely enriched by the creaks and cracks of movement in the tunnels of darkness ahead. Being a creature of atmosphere, the music drags its way into denser constructs, with only a flicker of melody and brief sense of event as lightning strikes under the downpour of glum rain and howling winds.
These details of particularity return in the second stint as distant clanks echo against the crackle of a dying fire. Its light stays as light, airy synths of temporal presences sway in against the gloomy weathers, overtaking it to eventually hear the trickle of a river and sounds of life in the distance. Eventually the flickering returns and darkness prevails on a rather uneventful affair. Writing these thoughts out makes it all seem more obvious that this is an exercise in a different approach to story telling. Against the backdrop of what came before it, Plague Harvest often feels like the calm before the storm this artist had forged before. On their own, it does feel underwhelming but its temperament is its own. Expectations may of caused disappointment but I don't think so this time around.
Rating: 3/10
Thursday, 14 May 2020
Oranssi Pazuzu "Mestarin Kynsi" (2020)
Friday, 1 May 2020
Old Tower "The Last Eidolon" (2020)
Saturday, 8 June 2019
Old Tower "Finsterströmung" (2019)
Monday, 6 May 2019
Arkhtinn "V" (2017)
Saturday, 24 September 2016
Sorath "Devil Daggers OST" (2016)
Friday, 15 April 2016
Neptune Towers "Caravans To Empire Algol" (1994)
An organic horn like noise confronts us as it morphs into a deep wall of fuzzy noise. Perilous to any tune or melody it shifts and transforms through bizarre and claustrophobic sounds packing sharp wave forms into a narrow range of frequency. Eventually a deep plodding melody creeps into the forefront to find itself quickly replaced by roaring noises and sweeping hisses. This continual metamorphosis resembles organs at one moment before our baseline returns to be replaced by a fluttery, swirling, heaving growth of sound around the twelve minute mark. At the sixteenth minute the rapid fluctuations make an uncanny zap lazer sound, dispelling the ambience with its lack of subtlety. The second track starts by falling to a black, unnerving atmosphere with low, creepy, rumbling distortions, soft and hidden in the tracks reverb. The rest mostly experiments with cascading sounds often feel as if they are descending, being sucked down into the darkness before ending with some rather paranoid sounds.
Its a strange and unusual experience, reminding me fondly of old black and white sci-fi horror movies with its stark and and adventurous use of primitive technology. I now find myself fascinated as to how this record was composed, in many moments the turning of knobs and dials can be felt but many of the tones and sounds created are quite mysterious and do not lend themselves to be understood. The process behind its creation could well be remarkable as its ambiguity serves to be its strength. Great listen but I didn't experience much that warranted my return after a few listens.