Slowing down

The blog is slowing down all throughout july and august. Regular updates should resume in september.

PLUNGING DOWN THE WELL | Bergraven's Dödsvisioner

Dödsvisioner (2008) pulls a kind of blackened and grim metal that did put me off when I first listened to it. It's a weird presentation, as if looking at a lego structure built from pieces that don't exactly fit, but does look solid enough from a distance. It grows on you, like being infatuated with a person whose beauty isn't quite evident at first, and when you're tangled and bound you realize it's the very off-putting characteristics which pushed you away at first that are now what pulls you in.

It's heavy as it is hard. Doënde, the opening piece, is pretty straightforward as far as black metal goes - and I like it very much, what with the head-bangingly rythm and the haunting organ samples - but all along the album you'll see it mutate and grow in all of these shapes, long and calm instrumental segments bridging emotional outbursts. It all ties in that off-putting way, with remarkable skill and fluidity. Ondkall is a great example of the in-and-out, up-and-down, conflicting nature of Dödsvisioner, though the full (barely) 60 minute long experience is a testament to that idea, the concept of a conflicted mind, of conflicted emotions, put into song.

I could also point out to Den svarta angstens essens for the same reasons, or the long drawn instrumental of Det man med själen... or Ekot av bikt, but you get my point. Dödsvisioner weaves a sinuous blend of emotion all throughout. There are rythm breaks, heavy distortion; there is relaxation, whispering and post-rocky segments; there's despaired screaming. There's also a nice complete feel to the album too and I have very often found myself surprised when Doënde was on again, as the album went a full loop. I wasn't familiar with Bergraven, so this was certainly an exciting find.

Check it out:

 
This is one of a series of reviews I'm making for albums that I've ordered from Hydra Head Industries a while back. Might as well, right? I'll pick from those I enjoy as I listen through the collection.

Incantation - Dirges of Elysium

I'm sure US death metal legends Incantation need no introduction. They've released their latest album last month, which I heard today for the first time. From what I gather so far, there's no major departure from what the band has been doing the recent years, putting forth doomish death metal of solid quality. You can check Dirges of Elysium below.

Diocletian - Steel Jaws

Last May we had the release of Gesundrian, the third full length from Diocletian, a New Zealander act performing beastly black/death metal in the tradition of Blasphemy or Black Witchery. Though they have much in common with the latter, their music has a more intricate, often slower, and more ominous tone to it. I do not know the previous material of the band, but this album definitely whetted my appetite. Here is “Steel Jaws”, one track from Gesundrian.   

Sons of Crom - "Conqueror"

A little bit of Bathory, topped with Falkenbach influences, sprinkled with imagery from Robert E. Howard's Conan universe; what could possibly go wrong? Sons of Crom are a Finnish-Swedish duo playing epic metal in the vein of the aforementioned acts. This is their debut EP, which is available for download at Debemur Morti's Bandcamp. The band has recently been added to Debemur Morti's roster, and their first full-length,named Riddle of Steel, is scheduled to September. By Crom and Ishtar, you have to listen to this!

 

Nunslaughter - "Angelic Dread"

This has been a plentiful half-year to all of you rotten demonolaters out there, am I right? Just take as an example the latest work of US black/death/thrash maniacs Nunslaughter, Angelic Dread.

Pyramids with Nadja

More often than not, when we come across a collab of some sort we get subpar music, as the featured bands won't push their limits neither will pack off their current best song meddled along with other bands'. It's understandable, but inevitably these kinds of albums seem either an offset of the band's work - this is specially true in splits where, more often than they should, bands resort to making covers of songs they enjoy.

This is not the case with Pyramids with Nadja. I'm not a connoisseur of either band, first off, but the album feels whole, complete. It feels like a piece all throughout, rather than something jambled together for the sake of it.

It's highly experimental ambient music. It grows, too, it's an album that to me resonates with growth. From the soothing vapour-states of Into the Silent Waves - a veritable travel through deep layers of noise, electronic slow rithm and the perfect punch of dissonance - to the explosion of An Angel Was Heard to Cry Over the City of Rome, there's a landscaping involved towards an end. It's a linear album, to be heard from start to finish and to explore again from scratch.

Now the effort behind this album seems to me what holds the greatest responsibility for its success. At every song there's every member from both bands playing - which seems to total six people - plus a bunch of different people weighing in. The evident result is a complex layering of different sounds, different origins; ordered disharmony in some places and perfect harmonic bliss in others.

The power to achieve, through collective work, a coherent album piece is what strikes me as particularly special about this album. Something you should really look into - and cheap to boot. A necessary album for ambient enthusiasts and a "must check" for people searching for an interesting music experience.

 
This is one of a series of reviews I'm making for albums that I've ordered from Hydra Head Industries a while back. Might as well, right? I'll pick from those I enjoy as I listen through the collection.