Shezma's Reviews
Seperating the Man From The Music
Burzum. This is a difficult review to start, as an album untainted it is a necessary experience. I would have loved to go into this album entirely blind knowing nothing about what I was getting into. However I've seen various documentaries on Black Metal, the scene, and Varg (Burzum himself) and I wonder how that affected my listening experience. I can push certain political and criminal affiliations aside to a point. However, when you know how much effort he and the rest of the early Norwegian Black Metal scene put into their art you have to take notice and really dive into what they were trying to do and how they accomplished it with the way they record, live their lives, and just be black metal.
I could tip-toe around the controversy of this man and the music that came from it but I have to say for me it gives me more of an appreciation of the music. The Norwegian Black Metal scene including Varg is a Youtube/documentary rabbit hole that is fascinating to go into. I really don't know if I would listen to any black metal at all if I didn't get gripped into these stories. I have found no other genre of music to have such a definitive interesting story as the black metal scene has and can really be experienced by listening to specific albums that uniquely created a sound. Burzum - Filosofem is the last of that uniquely definitive sound in my opinion. It feels like a closing statement of a generation that lends itself to so many others.
Experience this first, unlike I did, then do yourself a favor and learn your history on this scene. This is an emotional ride, and for me I have a really hard time separating myself from the haunting slow fuzzy sounds of this album from the story. I have listened to this album many times and I am truly closing my eyes and trying to decipher every note, every screech, every emotion that fills this record. I don't understand it, nor will I try to, but I have my personal connection toward this album that works for me. 4 long tracks that just fly by but halfway through the 25 minute run time of 5th Rundgang Um Die Transzendetale Saule Der Singularitat I definitely notice it. The other songs are around 8 minutes long and I never even notice the time, but once I get half way through this one it does start to take you out of it. It's not a bad song, but after about the half-way mark you really do start to notice the repetition it it.
I can't even do a track by track review, because by doing so does not give the cohesion of this album justice including the 25 minute epic that would unfortunately be skipped midway through. It is a very particular naturally intended low-fi sound throughout. With very simple, possibly cryptic lyrics screeched through a bad microphone with fuzz. It's dirty sounding, there's nothing clean about this record. It has not been over-produced to clean out any imperfections. When you hear this and know that every instrument was delicately played and placed exactly when and where he wanted it you just let that take over. It is beautiful, and disturbing. It is warm, and freezing. A must hear experience for any music lover.
Blut Aus Nord - The Work Which Transforms God
Ambiant Cold Stormy Night
Blut Aus Nord has been a name in the metal scene that I've known for a long time. I have checked in on them from time to time and never found anything that I liked before until I listened to the most recent album 2019s Hallucinogen. The boding dark melodies that were on that album honestly made it for one of my favorites of last year though I did just recently listen to it at the end of the year so didn't end up on my best of lists but retrospectively I could probably put it up there. It just fit so well in my opinion. The Work Which Transforms God is very different speed then that, but why shouldn't it be it was made over 15 years ago. Things and people change.
The pros: Any and all of the ambient slow quiet parts are just amazing, you really do feel that cold nightly atmosphere so well.
--End, Our Blessed Frozen Cells, Devilish Essence, Procession of The Dead Clowns
The cons: The bombastic beats in the louder faster parts of songs over these vocals don't grip me. Even for black metal.
--Metamorphosis, The Supreme Abstract, Inner Metal Cage
End starts off perfect. Short but sets a tone going into The Choir Of The Dead I was not expecting. It starts off very loud and explosive, but doesn't stick around too much. Which is my problem in this album, where I can also see why it can be a very well loved album on my 3rd listen since I'm already expecting it. I've already gone in the haunted house and now I know where the chainsaw man starts revving up his engine so it has it's appeal to watch unassuming listeners come in and get frightened out of their skin but his affect on me wears thin quick and looking to hand out with the zombies in the next room.
Axis, nothing memorable with this one. I am listening to this album again and I passed over this song honestly not even realized it played through, must've just transitioned from The Choir really smoothly. The Fall is another wonderfully beautiful ambient track, and smooth and deserted.
Metamorphosis is black metal through and through and the first non true instrumental track that I was starting to enjoy besides the vocals. Feel like they're going for the Mayhem vibe here but it doesn't fit the tone of the song to me so takes me out.
The Supreme Abstract is an interesting one. There's a subtle haunting humming/whispering that I want to enjoy, and if they made an album around that I may have really came around to it more but it really felt out of place on this album. The rest of the album feels like an abandoned farm house from like a Resident Evil game but this song feels more
Our Blessed Frozen Cells / Devilish Essence are probably my longest favorite part of this album. Devilish Essence is an ambient outro for Our Blessed... and is back to being beautiful and as the song titles say almost frozen and a devilish essence.
The Howling Of God, this song alone is Resident Evil 4. Takes me back into that game so hard, I'm just waiting for someone to yell at me in Spanish and chase me. The eeriness of walking around in that game and hearing the odd screeching the people make in that game when you're in the castle and have the monk-like Los Plagas doing their rituals in between running in and out of the wilderness.
Inner Metal Cage after having a good moment with the last song, I come to another song taking me out of the moment. Best I can get is if X-Files had a crossover with a Law&Order-like crime drama. It's not terrible but the guitars get me out of the cold and into a court house where an Alien killed his cheating wife's lover.
Density is 18 seconds of silence? I put my volume on max and didn't hear anything and was perplexed more than anything.
Procession of The Dead Clowns love the name and the song. Ends on a very high note in my opinion. Long, drawn out, and exactly what I want in my black metal.
Overall after listening to this album again while typing this down my rating has gone up a bit. 3 to a 3.5. Still not an amazing album but better then the first few times, I can see this is already a grower on me with the more ambient tracks really making me love those songs but the bad out of place wierdness that is The Choir Of The Dead, The Supreme Abstract, Inner Metal Cage, for me take me too far out. Maybe If I make a playlist with just End, Our Blessed Frozen Cells, Devilish Essence, The Howling Of God, and Procession of The Dead Clowns and play some Resident Evil I would find this to be a perfect night but as a whole this album is not cohesive enough for me.
I have a history with this album. This is what I think of when I think of Sludge for better or worse. Every couple of years when I go down my music rabbit holes I always see this album pop up on best of lists of various types. To this day I'm not sure why. Maybe because it is unique in it's own way, but going through all of the sludge albums lately there really isn't anything here in my opinion that stands out. It's more unusual I guess, with elements of industrial, punk, hardcore, and various other genres that it seems most sludge albums I've been listening to try to do something similar and maybe this is where they got the idea. There could be a lot to dissect here if you're interested, but to me listening it feels like they threw everything at the wall to see what sticks. Many does stick, and someone more invested than I can get a lot out of this but this is not for me.
I saw them live around this point at Rockfest and it was amazing! They played a lot of the same songs as that's on this album and those that they did I still feel the chills from hearing them on here. They didn't play many sense it was a festival and couldn't stay on for what this album shares but man am I envious of the people that were there for this recording. Volbeat can command a crowd really well and it shows on this album, now I'm not a huge fan of their main discography or even most live albums in general but this one holds a special place for bringing back to a great day of drinking, partying, and rocking out with the best of them. Definitely a show to see, but if you can't you should listen to this and hopefully you'll better understand why Volbeat are someone to keep an ear/eye out for.
As it's my nomination for December 2023, and I have already rated this but feel it deserves a full review. I don't remember how I found out about these women from Japan but they rock hard. This is a heavy and fun release with some super strong and memorable riffs and sing-along choruses for the most die-hard metal head. You cannot deny their talent here even if you come out of this not liking it, you are going to get this stuck in your head. Especially the last song, "It was that moment when I saw your smile", come on if you don't just get all hyped and keep that in your head for days after listening to this I don't know what will. It's symphonic, it's epic, it's fast and heavy music and all in just 21 minutes and 4 songs. All 4 songs while power metal, also hit a different vibe which is when I first listened to this got me super excited and needed more of this. Starts off with an awesome riff that reminds me of Iron Maiden, then into Break The Wall which has a thrashy sound like Megadeth . Above the Black Sea gives off a bit of a symphonic metal vibe to me and may possibly the best guitar solos on this tight EP. They shred so hard here it's not hard to headbang here. The final song Under The Red Sky is the catchiest, reminds me of Nightwish if they got more speed. I just can't help to sing along, and you'll feel like your listening to a big moment in an anime movie.
I've been keeping up with Lovebites since I first heard this EP and although their newer album are still solid they are pretty much all just straight power metal and don't try out these cool different genre switches as much as they do here. I love this band and hope they come out with something else similar to this again where they just have fun and try things like this again even if it's not good I want to hear more. These are one of those underappreciated acts that the eastern world just don't get enough advertising but are absolutely worth checking out and keeping in your head for days after listening.
The weakest of the original Ozzy era to me. Still a great record, the "sophomore slump" album. I enjoy this record as is, and it's an unfortunate that War Pigs, Paranoid, Iron Man, have been commercialized to death to the point I never want to hear them again that I have become biased before even listening to the record in full. I am not old enough to have been there for the release or the initial impact of this record. I do listen to older music all the time and enjoy many things but there is no record that I have been hit over the head with more than this one that I feel I cannot give it an accurate rating. My personal opinion is of an average 2.5/3 out of 5 or a "C" rating. However, I also have to recognize in listening what this brought to the music scene and other artists were truly inspired by this so gets a "Good, important" ranking for me. Besides the "singles" i mentioned, the other songs just don't work for me either. The slow moody Planet Caravan, the psychedelic doom Electric Funeral, heavy blues rock in Hand of Doom, fairly repetitive yet endearing Rat Salad, and finally Fairis Wear Boots that I do still enjoy quite a bit. Every one of these songs I've heard referenced else where in other songs or even media.
As my first classic Guardians release I'm reviewing this is a tepid start, but I enjoy the hell out of other albums of this era. My preferred Ozzy Sabbath is Sabbath Bloody Sabbath which feels much different then this record. It really is hard to rate a record nearly twice my age that i've heard parts of so many times in my life. It's like watching scenes from a movie, multiple times trying to put them together and though you've felt you've seen the movie and already made an opinion have you really watch it? Sometimes, yes and for many other people those best songs are just an appetizer for this album. For me though, I have already outplayed it's welcome and the other songs unfortunately don't bring enough to the table for personal relistens.
After first rough listen I was not a fan. This is not the same equilibrium I'm used to listening at all. The genre is listed as thrash metal, but not sure if that even fits. It's not horrible, but not what I was expecting and don't want to listen to again, but i will to get a better understanding of what they were going for. The songs are so varied, from some with pseudo rapping and clean vocals without the classic folk melodies I'm used to from them. I was excited hearing the renegade single, but not so much path of destiny with the butcher sisters..