Tartaros "The Red Jewel" (1999)

Further wallowing in the ghoulish theatric horrors of The Grand Psychotic Castle, Charmand Grimlock's Tartaros returns with The Red Jewel. Debut record and final release, It marks the end of a brief venture into a peculiar avenue of Symphonic Black Metal. Stylistically stagnant, It's eight cuts grind gristly distortion guitars against a rough clatter of rumbling blast beats. Emerging through the cracks of this raw, strenuous production, a twinkle of awe and wonder escapes the gloom.

Lacking groove, bombast or anything excitable in the rhythm guitar department, The Red Jewel ends up feeling like a one-trick pony. Its eerie b-movie horror synths whirl a nightly terror in singular tone. Practically every track ends up dominated by this by this animated, repetitive presence that swiftly becomes more bothersome than gratifying.

The overall atmosphere is ripe with mystique, a darkly obscure plane of existence. Shrouded in mystery and menace, it conjures the spooky, satanic and even occult. One can love the vision but dread a dreary execution as its musical ideas fail to punch through, to make themselves felt, alongside its dated recording. Even cranking up the volume doesn't save it of low end rumble and clashing instrument tones. 

The title track gets merits for going a little off course, throwing in a howling lead guitar to emphasize a momentum shift. Dropping the synths, utilizing sway and momentum shapes the song and sets it on a path for curious direction changes. The returning lead guitar over a stompy riff yields a rare moment of gratification. Sadly though, the record is mostly a slog weighed down by amateurish writing and recording. There's some brilliance in here, but it simply wasn't guided to execution. 

Rating: 5/10

Tartaros "The Grand Psychotic Castle" (1997)

This musical traveller is always keen to unearth hidden gems. Debut extended play The Grand Psychotic Castle is almost such a blasphemous treasure. Hailing from its musical homeland, Norway, Tartaros delivers the Symphonic Black Metal I adore. Released in 97 its at the prime infancy of this symphonic offshoot, I was shocked by a lack of Spotify or YouTube plays. It seems they never got swept up into the usual crop of classic bands people talk about. This truly feels like a forgotten artifact of sorts.

Its closest neighbour is clearly Arcturus, specifically Aspera Hiems Symfonia. Sharing similar temperament for harshness balanced with astral symphonic wonder, The Grand Psychotic Castle revels in ghoulish dusk. The horror synths muster an Adams Family cheese, yet only in aesthetic, churning suggestive Halloween tropes into devilish melodies. Alongside fiendish voices both guttural howls and throaty screams, they are the main elements striking up a terror educing chemistry of theatric fright.

The vision is striking, a macabre spectacle led by its keyboard melodies. The guitars drums and bass follow lead, fleshing out the ebbs and flows through extremity and relief. Its various arrangements fit the genre's characteristics. Often swinging from blast beats to half tempo grooves. It's four songs never stray far from the path initially laid out, offering quite basic song structures. One could say it's not adventurous, but the musicianship and way these instruments come together is well executed.

My final remark is that of production, It actually took me quite some time to get into this record. Somethings off about the tone of each instrument. They seem distant from one another at first. An amateurish lack of cohesion that took many repetitions to overcome. It no longer spoils the listening experience but certainly made it harder to enjoy. Well worth a listen for fans of the genre. This one is cut of the classic era.

Rating: 6/10