April 2023 Feature Release - The North Edition
So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.
This month’s feature release for The North has been nominated by myself. It's the 2011 split E.P. from US black metal artists Tukaaria & Odz Manouk, a release that's been receiving high praise from the underground scene in recent years & one that I've been meaning to revisit in order to fill one of my more obvious ratings gaps.
https://metal.academy/releases/32406
Here's my review:
A privileged few of you may be aware of The Black Twilight Circle, a mysterious group of black metal producers from California who collaboratively create a consistently underground & lo-fi brand of extreme music that’s intended to maintain & celebrate the primitive nature of the black metal movement. Many of the releases come only on cassette (often with no titles) while live shows provide an indication that many of the bands are made up of the same members. It’s a fascinating & exciting scene to explore & amongst all of that came the Rhinoservs label, a vessel for the musical aspirations of two passionate individuals in Austin Omar Delgadillo (aka A.) & Devon Boutelle (aka Yagian) between 2010 & 2013 & highlighted by this highly regarded split E.P. from Tukaaria (A.) & Odz Manouk (Yagian).
The E.P. was originally released only on cassette in 2011 before being re-released on vinyl by Final Agony Records in 2013 so it seems to have been intentionally kept away from the masses by utilizing inaccessible mediums that are only explored by the artist’s intended audience. I have to say that this approach has worked too because I can’t deny that it gives the E.P. a mystique that it might not have otherwise possessed & the primitive, lo-fi cover art provides further support for that endeavour. The music contained within sounds very much like the artwork would have you believe too so the scene is set beautifully for a transcendent & liberating black metal experience.
The release kicks off with three tracks from A’s Tukaaria project which see him opting for a particularly lo-fi sound with the production changing drastically between the tracks in a similar way to what Darkthrone would do during the mid-1990s. It’s a chaotic sound with sloppy performances & swarming, dissonant tremolo-picked guitars that are a little lacking in distortion at times. I’d hazard to guess that both attributes may be intentional as they only add to the aura around this music to tell you the truth. The most noteworthy point of interest around the Takaaria material however is the way that the bass guitar is positioned in the mix which is quite prominent for a raw black metal release. Its tone is a little poppy & weird too which gives the material a unique character. Yagian’s two Odz Manouk tracks are a bit more traditional & noticeably less chaotic than the Tukaaria stuff, perhaps benefiting from the thicker & more bass heavy production. “The Scavenger” is easily the standout track on the five on offer on this release which goes a long way to explaining why I find myself preferring the Odz Manouk songs over the Tukaaria ones.
This split is no doubt a fascinating release which offers a consistent level of quality throughout but I have to question whether it offers enough class to compete with similar & more senior players in the American black metal scene like Leviathan & Ash Borer. I’ve certainly enjoyed my time with this cassette but are left doubting whether I’m likely to return to it when there’s such a wealth of great music out there to explore & that feeling alone sees my scoring potential being limited. In saying that though, I do think some of our other members may get more out of this release than I do.
3.5/5
Finally got around to this.
The obscure and reclusive nature of black metal artists does occasionally uncover some real gems if you can travel far enough off grid (well, onto YouTube as it happens) to find them. Having never heard of either of these artists going into this EP I was suspicious as to why they had never surfaced in some of the conversations I have with internet peers who firmly reside in the underground part of the scene. Reading Daniel's mini-bio in his review helped me understand why and soon enough I was embroiled in the five tracks on offer, noting almost instantly of the difference between the swarming frenzy of Tukaaria and the more structured and intelligent form of Odz Manouk.
Suffice to say that I much more prefer the contribution of Odz Manouk here. There is a raw energy to the otherwise very accessible structures that really set the two tracks from him apart when compared to those of Tukaaria. Odz Manouk perform some foot-stomping black metal that bashes its way into your memory banks. The Scavenger looms over the listener hovering on ferocious tremolos and haunting atmospherics (and that mauling melodic guitar stab that cuts like a blunt and filthy blade across your flesh on a couple of occasions), whilst those abhorrent vocals just spew all over you. Meanwhile (the personal highlight for me of the release), The Sloth is a beast of a track. Starting off all crawling and rhythmically lumbering it rumbles on for nearly nine perfect minutes of uncomfortable and stifling black metal that rams it's tongue down your throat.
By comparison the Tukaaria tracks lack much in the way of presence for me. Whereas the Odz Manouk tracks stay with me and did so from the first play, the three Tukaaria ones sort of pass me by and I find very little to praise from his offering. If this was just an Odz Manouk EP then we would be seeing the higher scores. However, when taken as a whole the EP is not a consistent entity and so I struggle to get above the halfway point of the scorecard as a result.
3.5/5