REVIEW DRAFT - The North

I am familiar with Xasthur already and so I will avoid that one.  I have been planning on checking out Departure Chandelier for a while now so seems like a good opportunity to follow through on that promise.

Decayed -Resurrectiónem Mortuórum (1996)

RYM has got nearly sixty thousand black metal releases catalogued, so a perfectly valid question would be "Why the hell should I listen to Resurrectiónem Mortuórum when there is so much other stuff to check out?" Well, I would honestly have to reply "If you just want to hear some kick-ass black metal then there is no reason at all for you to listen to it particularly." That said, though, if you are interested in the development of black metal and especially in countries not considered hotbeds of the form, then there may be something of interest for you here.

Decayed are from Lisbon in Portugal, forming in 1990 and still going to this day, which is no mean feat I suppose, yet have never really made much of a splash in the wider world of black metal, at least as far as I am aware (none of the band's 32 releases on the Academy have any ratings). Resurrectiónem Mortuórum was their second album, released in 1996, and from the sound of it the band members were well aware of leading lights of the Norwegian scene such as Emperor, Dimmu Borgir and Immortal. They play medium-paced black metal in the main, with embellishments such as keyboards and the odd female vocal accompaniment. There is a reasonable amount of variety on offer so things don't get too stale too quickly and in addition to the more recognisable mid-nineties black metal of tracks like Darkness Falls or the pummelling Archdemon there is the gothic metal-sounding City of the Horned One, the haunting synth and spoken word of By the Candlelight or the black'n'roll of the band's reasonable cover of Venom's Countess Bathory.

The playing feels quite sloppy at times, the solo during the Emperor-like Thy Summoning sounds poorly executed and the drums in particular sound like crap and when they aren't performing blastbeats they are as dull as dishwater. Yet, even after saying that, there was something that kept pulling me back in. The vocals are pretty decent and are of the gruff shrieking style I quite enjoy and bassist/vocalist João Fonseca (who was guitarist for Moonspell for a couple of years in the mid-nineties) puts in a good performance throughout. The riffs aren't bad and do stick in the memory after a couple of listens and the synths add some nice touches to the overall atmosphere, being used subtly enough not to sound cheesy.

So to answer your hypothetical question from the start of my review, there is no particular reason to listen to Resurrectiónem Mortuórum and it will never top anyone's list of favourite black metal albums, but then again, neither is there a reason not to - It certainly isn't anything like as poor as I feared when I initially selected it for the review draft.

3.5/5

Departure Chandelier - "Dripping Papal Blood" (2020)

The huge and rather grandiose logo for the band does no justice to the actual sound of Departure Chandelier. Whilst there most certainly is a majesty to their sound it is a dank and drab majesty that manages to capture the core and basic elements of conventional black metal alongside dungeon synth and choral elements as well. This four track demo from 2020 follows the success of their debut full length from the previous year which I am already getting on rotation along with their first demo from 2019 also which tracks a similar format to Dripping Papal Blood.

With an intro and outro track dedicated entirely to dungeon synth, we only have two tracks proper for DC to express their grim and grime-ridden black metal. Thankfully, even over such a short format, they manage to impress us without seemingly breaking a sweat. It is clear that the demo format allows for them to rely purely on the raw and slightly muffled/suppressed sound as opposed to being invested in any high level of production values. They intelligent let the synths create atmosphere in keeping with the religious theme of the demo overall but they are also really strong with the riffs here as well. The only element that feels a little too far removed from proceedings is the drums. Whilst audible, they are only just so, a lot of the time they are just a "tishing" entity in the background and far more rhythm is developed from the guitar work as opposed to any real percussive input from the sticks.

Deploying a tried and tested rasping vocal style, the lyrics are sung as tortured incantations that compliment both the harsh bm on offer as well as the more atmospheric moments. Clocking in at just over thirteen minutes, Dripping Papal Blood is memorable and departs leaving me with a real sense of closure as the minimalist synths count out the death knell of the outro track. This has proven to be a very good find and holds much promise for me as I explore their wider discography. I would recommend their debut demo The Black Crest of Death, The Gold Wreath of War for anyone who finds this format pleasing enough.

4/5

Negative - 03  (2018)

I very much enjoyed Spanish band Negativa's unimaginatively titled 2022 album 04, so was excited to be able to first pick it's predecessor (yep, you guessed it...03) in the November Review Draft for The North. My excitement appeared to be well founded after the first couple of tracks, with both XVII and XVIII having the same hypnotic Shining-meets-modern-Leviathan quality that made 04 so effective. The band really understand how to get the most out of their riffs, with the other instruments staying relatively clear of the spotlight while they work their magic. This restraint makes the uptempo sections all that more effective, and allow tracks that might otherwise have blended together to become more memorable. Sadly, after this great start, 03 gradually falls away throughout the remaining four tracks, becoming less and less gripping, right up to the noisy and fairly pointless final track, XXII. There's enough good stuff here to hang on for a 3.5 star rating, but I'm fairly certain 03 will always sit behind 04 (see what I did there?) to the point I'm not sure I'll revisit this with any regularity.

3.5 stars

Time for another Review Draft for The North. This month's pick order will be as follows...

1. Ben

2. Xephyr

3. Sonny

4. Vinny

The six releases to select from are... (drumroll)...

This is an easy pick for me. I'm not sure I've ever listened to Furia! I don't know how, given how highly rated a number of their releases are. So I'll take Furia's Nocel release.

Over to you Xephyr...

Well, I had half of my review for last month's Draft penned out, then my browser decided to refresh my page and I lost it. Guess I hit some sort of hotkey or something, so I'll maybe be finishing that tomorrow if I can remember what I wrote? 

None of these ring a bell to me so I'll take Old Man's Child - Born of the Flickering.

I was quite taken with Krohm's 2007 album, The Haunting Presence, so I will take their debut.

Made some time to check out last month's album and actually was able to finish typing up a review without my browser freaking out on me. It's a pretty cool one but left me feeling kind of bored overall.

Strung Along

Russian Atmospheric Black Metal and I have never quite seen eye to eye, as most of the records I've heard from the region put a huge emphasis on massive, bleak soundscapes without much variation or progression in between. I've been routinely impressed by the polish and modernity of recent Atmospheric Black Metal bands in their attempt to bring some clarity and solid production value to the table, but this is a very fickle genre where intelligibility doesn't necessarily equate to captivating atmospheres. Epitimia's fifth full album Thread tries its best to separate itself from its contemporaries and lure me in with its heartfelt acoustic guitar passages that blend extremely well with its warmer and more reflective sounding Black Metal sections. The album's overall progression from its darker and more aggressive tremolo chords in "Downfall" and "Infirmity" to some truly beautiful sections in the second half of "Vale of Tears" and a general tonal shift on the closer "The Tree" shows that Epitimia put a lot of care and effort towards the album experience. The experience of sitting through that progression, however, is a bit more rocky.

Despite the acoustic portions feeling expressive and complementary to the main, Black Metal attraction, I can't find too much to say about the meat of this album. The riffing, drumming, vocals, and overall ideas are fairly standard on Thread and, while that makes it far from a poor album, it leaves a lot to be desired for a good portion of the album's runtime. I love the incorporation of the ghostly sounding background melodies after the acoustic interlude on "Downfall" and the pretty guitar layering on the final quarter of "Vale of Tears", but I quickly become disinterested when Epitimia decides to pivot to straight up Black Metal. The assertive mixing of the guitars and vocals leaves the drumming in the background gathering dust sometimes, which is a shame because sounds perfect in the softer sections. The vocals can sometimes feel few and far between, which is a huge plus for me as I can't say I'm a fan of how much space the spoken-word Black Metal gnarling takes up. There are one or two standout riffs in Thread, mostly coming from "Infirmity", but most of this album's charm comes from the interplay between the atmosphere the softer, acoustic parts create and how the Black Metal parts follow up on it. Epitimia are able to write some fantastic transitionary moments between these two idea structures, especially in "The Tree", but there isn't too much else to keep the listener interested once that impact wears off. I think Thread is a unique enough album to warrant a listen from Black Metal fans who are looking for something a bit more pleasant and hospitable, but I can't see myself going back to it too often.

3/5

I will take Dark Funeral.

Dark Funeral "Where Shadows Forever Reign" (2016)

An internet acquaintance of mine often referred to Dark Funeral with ill-disguised disgust. He often referred to their sound as being “blasting for, blasting’s sake”. Dark Funeral have been a missing part of my black metal education for virtually the whole time I have listened to extreme metal – and that has nothing to do with my online friend’s less than positive experience of them. What little I have heard has never served to separate them as being standout from say Marduk or 1349 and so they have never been given a full listen through before the Review Draft picks this month.

Upon first listen to Where Shadows Forever Reign, I can understand the “blasting” reference described above, although I do not entirely agree with the sentiment that this is overdone in anyway. Where Shadows Forever Reign is as conventional as you could hope to hear in the black metal stratosphere. It pulls no punches and sticks to a tried and tested formula without falling into the trap of just being the same the whole way through. This is not to say that there is not a large amount of repetition on here, but the nuances are subtle enough to make this an album that rewards with each listen. I would still tout that a bit more variation would not go amiss (or at least a trim on the track listing to bring this under 40 mins overall) but what is on display here is of sound enough quality that it almost works over the album duration.

It has taken me four or five listens to fully get my head around this record, but my enjoyment has increased with each listen. The loose sense of atmospherics and dissonance, coupled with the crude melodicism makes for an interesting listen as it is not like any of these elements get fully explored or developed too far beyond those more traditional black metal elements. It is more likely they are continually flirted with and teased at. The twin guitar attack to my ears should beef things up more but this record is a real machine when it gets going still and the vocals of Erik Andreas Vingbäck are of note.

Listening to this record has piqued my interest in the band enough for me to explore more of their discography but I still think they will end up outside of my core bm listening – just as 1349 are in all honesty.

3.5/5

Time for another Review Draft for The North. This month's pick order will be as follows...

1. Vinny

2. Ben

3. Xephyr

4. Sonny

The six releases to select from are... (drumroll)...

Over to you Vinny...

I will go with Elegiac.

Over to you Ben.

I'll take the ...And Oceans album. I know it well, but have never rated / reviewed it.

Over to you Xephyr...

I'll catch up on last month's as well and go with Light in the Dark.

I will select the Deadlife EP.

Deadlife - A Moment of Silence (2019)

Deadlife is one of the many projects of Rafn (aka Anders Nord) who also plys his trade as Hermóðr and Mist amongst others. He is a prolific releaser of material, with 21 EPs and albums as Deadlife since 2018 alone. A Moment of Silence is a single track lasting 17 minutes that mixes some of the atmospheric black metal of Rafn's other projects with Deadlife's DSBM for a melancholy, yet hypnotic release that won't exactly cause much of a stir, but which is actually quite a nice piece of gently morose black metal. It doesn't do anything fancy, but it's fairly minimalist approach and uncomplicated arrangement is quietly reflective and actually quite a calming experience. There's not much more to say really, other than I enjoyed it and actually like it more than his work as Hermóðr.

3.5/5

Elegiac - Vampiric Odinism (2019)

The frenetic release output of Elegiac is the first thing that caught my eye when researching this review. This one man bm outfit (Zane Young) has released 4 EPs, 15 splits and 9 full lengths since 2014. That is pretty prolific output who has eight other "active" projects on the go on top of Elegiac. The New York based artist deploys a good mix of conventional black metal fodder with a heavy dose of black 'n roll added for good measure on his seventh release, Vampiric Odinism from 2019. Looking at the artwork that adorns the release and pictures of Zane online I had expected a more shamanic or ritualistic offering than is actually the case. Although there are some distinct parts where this is the case the more catchy moments are actually the better ones.

I would loosely assign Behexen and maybe Sargeist as influences I hear in the sound although they lack the scathing attack of Behexen and are lacking some of the primitive elements of early Sargeist to say the least. There are occasions were the vocals take more of a front seat and sound like the breathy incantations of any credible atmo-black artist but in the main it is the tremolo that rules the roost here with Zane's vocals a rasping accompaniment with a background setting of very basic and sometimes barely audible drums.

Overall, Elegiac offer very little in the way of impressing more than any other USBM artist. The deep voice that Zane adopts on occasion to (I assume) add some threat or menace to proceedings is laughable in all honesty and the whole release just bubbles instead of reaching boiling point all that much. The shamanic/ritualistic parts sound lazy and disinterested and when some sense of momentum or energy does start to form it gets killed by them on a consistent basis. Left to power on through the tracks with their heavy metal-esque drive (Sacrifice) then things take on a much more impressive shape and sound and it is a shame there is less of this to enjoy overall.

3.5/5

Elegiac - Vampiric Odinism (2019)

The frenetic release output of Elegiac is the first thing that caught my eye when researching this review. This one man bm outfit (Zane Young) has released 4 EPs, 15 splits and 9 full lengths since 2014. That is pretty prolific output who has eight other "active" projects on the go on top of Elegiac. The New York based artist deploys a good mix of conventional black metal fodder with a heavy dose of black 'n roll added for good measure on his seventh release, Vampiric Odinism from 2019. Looking at the artwork that adorns the release and pictures of Zane online I had expected a more shamanic or ritualistic offering than is actually the case. Although there are some distinct parts where this is the case the more catchy moments are actually the better ones.

I would loosely assign Behexen and maybe Sargeist as influences I hear in the sound although they like the scathing attack of Behexen and are lacking some of the primitive elements of early Sargeist to say the least. There are occasions were the vocals take more of a front seat and sound like the breathy incantations of any credible atmo-black artist but in the main it is the tremolo that rules the roost here with Zane's vocals a rasping accompaniment with a background setting of very basic and sometimes barely audible drums.

Overall, Elegiac offer very little in the way of impressing more than any other USBM artist. The deep voice that Zane adopts on occasion to (I assume) add some threat or menace to proceedings is laughable in all honesty and the whole release just bubbles instead of reaching boiling point all that much. The shamanic/ritualistic parts sound lazy and disinterested and when some sense of momentum or energy does start to form it gets killed by them on a consistent basis. Left to power on through the tracks with their heavy metal-esque drive (Sacrifice) then things take on a much more impressive shape and sound and it is a shame there is less of this to enjoy overall.

3.5/5

Similar to Rafn on my draft selection, I think some of these insanely prolific one-man black metal projects would be better served with a bit more quality control. Some of them would benefit massively from other collaborators who could help steer them towards a bit less quantity and a bit more quality, rather than releasing their every musical notion upon an unsuspecting (and often uncaring) public. Most of the metal world's most impressive albums are made up of tracks that have been worked through tirelessly and honed, sometimes for years, yet these guys churn out new releases within mere weeks of previous ones. There is no denying that a significant number of these one-man projects are talented guys, but they just need a bit of self-editing and polishing of their work to achieve more recognition. Solo BM projects like Austin Lunn's Panopticon and Andy Marshall's Saor have released exceedingly well-regarded albums over recent years, because they have the discipline to work on and improve their material until it is ready for release, rather than rushing it out so they can clear the decks for their next half-formed idea.

Well that's my two-penny's worth, what do other Academicians think?

...And Oceans - A.M.G.O.D. (2001)

I've always considered myself a fan of this album, having picked it up on release. At that point in my metal journey, I'd become increasingly interested in bands that took the black metal blueprint and mixed in other influences. Bands like Ved Buens Ende....., Fleurety, Arcturus, Aborym and Dødheimsgard excited me greatly, so I had no issue at all with ...And Oceans giving their black metal a healthy dose of cyber symphonics. I've since listened to it many times while doing other things, enjoying its strange atmosphere and numerous special moments, thinking that one day I'll finally sit down and write a review to inform others of this hidden gem. Well, it hasn't quite worked out that way! Now that I sit down and totally focus on A.M.G.O.D. as an album, it's actually a hit and miss affair that I just can't rate as highly as I expected to. It starts strongly, with the first three tracks showcasing the band's interesting approach of injecting invasive symphonic aspects into otherwise decent melodic black metal (this sounds nothing like Emperor in case you're wondering), but sadly goes a bit downhill from there. By the time I get to the admittedly atmospheric but highly repetitive instrumental TBA in a Silver Box and the divisive techno beast that is New World Model, I have to admit that I was previously overrating A.M.G.O.D. as an album, if not as an enjoyable sideshow that has numerous great moments.

3.5 stars

I think I remember coming to the same conclusion when this album was featured quite a few months ago, Ben. I'm kind of surprised to see it get a lot of "hate" and dismissal from other sites as there are some very cool and unique ideas in it, but I'll admit the album as a whole doesn't quite get there. I'm not sure if any other Black Metal acts have picked up where ...And Oceans left off here as Space Black Metal has gone more for an atmospheric and implied Sci-Fi feel rather than going full electronic/techno, so it's still something I'd like to see explored a bit more. 

Time for another Review Draft for The North. This month's pick order will be as follows...

1. Sonny

2. Vinny

3. Ben

4. Xephyr

The six releases to select from are... (drumroll)...

Sonny gets first pick this month...

Will anyone be brave enough to pick the Gnaw Their Tongues album!?

Will anyone be brave enough to pick the Gnaw Their Tongues album!?

Sorry Ben, but not me. I am going to go with the Zemial album thanks.

Over to you Vinny...

I have heard that Varathron before so that is out and I do not fancy any "gaze" this month so Autumn for Crippled Children is out too.  De Arma doesn't look my thing either with rumours of "post-rock" early in their career.  As interesting as Feminazgul sound I will pick up the gauntlet laid down by Ben and go with Gnaw Their Tongues.

Over to you Xephyr...