Owlscry - Owlscry (2012)

Formed around '09, Owlscry is the work of four individuals from Milwaukee, Wisconsin offering their own original take on the depressive/suicidal black metal sub-genre. While I've often stated my distaste towards this genre, specifically because of the lack of original vision and the relentless horde of cloners who just blatantly rip-off bands, such as Silencer, Shining and Bethlehem -- Owlscry on the other hand successfully barrows elements from those bands and twists in their own identity to create something different and highly memorable. The whole atmosphere of the record varies between slow depressive dirges to more speedy manic outbursts and even with something of a psychedelic vibe here and there.

For sure one of the records highlights is the lead vocals of M.Jurek, which range from high pitched berserking shrieks to eerie cleaner vocals and this gravely sick baritone howl that's really something. Throughout the record Jurek manages to sound genuine, doleful and demented without sounding too much like the aforementioned bands, through there are a few tendencies that remind of Niklas Kvarforth and Nattramn. J.Getse's guitar work is slow and gloomy with a rather grisly tone, and although the drums and delivery of vocals do tend to pick up in speed his pace seems to stay mostly the same, revolving between a simple black metal pace to more funeral doom sluggishness. Some post rock-ish riffs can be found as well. J.Linski's bass is also notably audible, creeping along slowly with the guitar, it even has a few moments of brilliance, such as on the song, 'Flood of Visions.' Drummer JM Sundown has more recently got attention for his work with The Cold Beyond, but his style on this record is instantly recognizable with lots of cymbal crashes, interesting patterns and just a total demolishing of the drums.

The seven songs all run near or over the ten minute mark, but I found that there's very little filler material to be had, in fact it seems like each little detail only increases the atmosphere and helps build the songs to their climax's.

Although the music presented is quite good, the album however does have its problems. The major one being the production and the simple fact that the whole recording is rather quiet and forces the listener to turn the knobs up just to properly hear the album. Similarly it seems like the vocals are mixed entirely too high and often when Jurek is violently screaming he completely overshadows the other instruments. The band also experienced some troubles with the label Self Mutilation Services, and it seems they are a complete rip-off label and with the album being limited to just 500 copies the band themselves only received 50 and the rest disappeared. So, actually obtaining a legit physical copy could be something of a task.

Those issues aside, 'Owlscry' is an enjoyable, atmospheric and interesting take on the depressive black metal genre with its own special characteristics. The band was on hiatus after this recording, but has recently reformed and played their first show with a new drummer and guitarist.