Review by Daniel for Këkht Aräkh - Pale Swordsman (2021)

I have to admit that it's taken me a good five years to build up the courage to decide how I feel about this controversial black metal hit whose primary claim to fame was the succession of memes that were drawn from its ridiculous cover photo. The black metal scene generally isn't too kind to artists who present themselves in such a vulnerable fashion so you do tend to get a skewed view of the quality of a product like this one based on the triggering of people's gag reflex but I choose to base my judgement purely on the musical quality of such a release & it did take me a few listens to overcome, not only that cover, but also the unintimidating sound of this Ukraine one-man outfits second full-length. I mean, despite being influenced by classic black metal artists like Burzum & Darkthrone, "Pale Swordsman" does make most blackgaze acts sound pretty sinister in comparison but that doesn't mean that there's no substance behind it.

Lone contributor Crying Orc isn't exactly a virtuoso but he presents his ideas with passion & authenticity, almost thumbing his nose at the black metal traditionalists out there. There's a fragility to his melodicism & a boldness to his tendency to want to showcase his own vulnerability, as best showcased in gentle closer "Swordsman". Don't get me wrong. I do still have to confess that I definitely crave a darker format for my black metal. I just find that there's nothing terribly wrong with "Pale Swordsman" when taken as a purely artistic form of expression instead of comparing it with my long-standing ideals about what black metal should be. Album highlight "In the Garden" is a prime example of this as it's bookmarked by some fairly lightweight tremolo-picked riffage but, at its gooey centre, you can find the sort of atmosphere that I crave from my European black metal with the Orc's easily intelligible snarled vocals sitting very well over some highly melancholic guitar arpeggios.

If I was being critical, I'd suggest that the couple of piano-driven interludes are pretty flat & some of that is due to the production which has stolen the brightness that could have given these pieces a bit of life & replaced it with artificial vinyl crackles. Apart from that though, I've found enough quality in these simple black metal songs to keep me interested. It's very easy for people to dismiss the album based on a cursory listen because we are a flawed species with a tendency to want things to be as they first appear. A deeper investigation can sometimes surprise us though & I've found "Pale Swordsman" to have grown on me over time. Not enough to see me returning to it in the future I suspect, but enough for me to afford it a respectable score.

For fans of Draugveil, Felvum & Ebony Pendant.