As the Raven Calls - Perspicacious Existence (2005)

Originally wrote & published on November 15th, 2005

As I pop this album into my CD player I find myself taken to a despondent, bizarre world not like many others out there. Melancholy, eeriness and dimness, all collide perfectly together here to shape the album ‘Perspicacious Existence,’ by As the Raven Calls. As the Raven Calls is a fairly new solo ambient project centered around James Raven from Philadelphia, PA, though to call this project purely ambient would be a lie as there are some strong neo classical influences, and even some more experimental tendencies.

The opening song ‘Unto the Breach’ is a mysterious dark droning sort of ambient piece that after a few moments makes use of sorrowful piano sounds, which set the mood perfectly for this album. ‘Where Truth Tells Me’ features a similar arrangement, but has odd distorted voices in the background, while ‘Sometimes it is Hard to Feel Anything’ sounds like a synthesized choir, perhaps somewhat video game soundtrack-ish. ‘Mind' is probably the most experimental song on the release with an odd murky feeling to it and the slight sounds of industrial noise in the background. ‘Empirical Self or I’ is certainly also a standout since it’s a baroque like sounding piano composition whilst ‘This Tiny Dark Corner’ again starts out with some pleasing piano before probing back into the video game soundtrack territory. ‘Of Glory’ is another favorite with a strong neo classical ambient tone somewhat reminding me of the ambient work from Ildjarn. And before I start to ramble I should also mention the nearly eighteen minute ‘Cuchulainn’ that brings to mind the older works from Mortiis, but with the inclusion of a depressing violin through a good portion of the song.

My only complaint is that at times some of the synths sound somewhat dated compared to other artists in this field, but it matters little since I’ve been listening to music of this nature for numerous years now. Ultimately, this is a very diverse album full of flavor and unique characteristics making Perspicacious Existence not an album to be missed. Fans of more melodic ambient artists like Mortiis, Ildjarn, Raison d`être, Dawn & Dusk Entwined, Convalescent and The Victims Shudder should take notice now, and purchase with haste. http://www.astheravencalls.com

Ancestral Fog – Rid The Human Plague (2005)

Originally wrote & published on November 7th, 2005

A few of the guys from Merrimack, Christicide, Antaeus, and Bliss of Flesh got together back in 1999 and spawned the unholy force known as Ancestral Fog. This French band gives us their take on the brutal black metal genre and the results are simply fantastic. At first listen it seemed like these guys were influenced by the usual bands, but after further inspection it seems they're drawing influences from bands like Kult of Azazel or perhaps Antaeus, but it's hard to tell for sure. While a lot of brutal black metal bands tend to bore me these days, the important part about Ancestral Fog is that the music is melodic and each instrument is played with precision and absolute dexterity. For the most part the music is almost always super fast and brutal but there are a few interesting breakdowns and cool drum parts to this demo also. Vocalist Terrorizt is one fine black metal singer, unleashing hellish hate filled screams that few can come close to sounding as good as.

Production wise the demo is also decent, but the overall sound quality probably could have been better. All things considered I’m very impressed with this demo and would very much like to hear a full length album soon!

Absu - Mythological Occult Metal: 1991-2001 (2005)

Originally wrote & published on October 3rd, 2005

It’s already been four years since Absu’s last studio album, and it seems the band is going to make there fans wait a little bit longer for the next one. So to treat their fans ears until that next studio album the band has released a two disc collection of rarities, Old EPs, covers, and live recordings; fittingly titled ‘Mythological Occult Metal.’

This collection kicks off with a rarely heard song from the Gummo soundtrack called ‘The Gold Torques of Uláid.’ This particular song is an all out thrash metal assault using clear vocals and superb musicianship the likes of only Absu can deliver. Next up is ‘Never Blow Out the Eastern Candle’ a song taken from the World Domination compilation. Having already heard this compilation I was familiar with the song and it’s your basic Absu sound on this one. Following that is an alternate version of ‘Stone of Destiny’ from the ‘Tara’ album although I can’t find too many differences between this track and its album counterpart. Tracks 4-6 are some of the most interesting songs on this collection, but mostly for how different they sound compared to latter day Absu. These tracks are taken from the 1991 EP ‘The Temples of Offal’ and here the band offer up straight forward brutal death metal. At this time Proscriptor hadn’t entered the band yet and instead they had a guy named Benbow on drums, Lindholm on guitar, Equitant on bass, and Shaftiel was handling the low growls and guitar. Surprising indeed as I never knew the band sounded like this, but ultimately its just boring brutal death metal.

Tracks 7-8 are taken from the ‘...And shineth unto the cold cometh’ EP released in 1995. It’s at about this point in time that Absu really found their sound and started mixing thrash and black metal with some more exotic influences. Both songs are just excellent and are without a doubt one of the best parts about this collection. The final three songs come from the ‘Hallstattian Swords’ 7” which is a recording that was never released. The songs are certainly interesting as they are just epic synth compositions and there is no metal insight here. Again certainly a surprise to hear these dark bombastic songs, but they are undeniably enjoyable for me.

Moving on to the second disc we have the bands cover of the Mayhem songs ‘Deathcrush’ and ‘Silvester Angfang,’ taken from ‘Originators of Northern Darkness’ Mayhem tribute. Naturally they are performed excellently and sound much better than Mayhem’s original. ‘Swing of the Axe’ is taken from the ‘Seven Gates of Hell’ Possessed tribute and again the song is performed flawlessly. ‘Transylvania’ is from the ‘Call to Irons’ Iron Maiden tribute album released back in 1997. I’ve already heard this cover, but I must admit the band does a fantastic job here covering this classic Iron Maiden tune. They play the song totally true to the original and Proscriptor’s amazing drumming really adds something to it. The cover of Destruction’s ‘Bestial Invasion’ is taken from a live studio jam back in 1996. While they perform the song decently the production certainly leaves a bit to be desired. The following four songs are various live songs recorded between 1995 and 1997. These particular songs are interesting since they have Mezzadurus from Blood Storm on vocals and bass. Once more the songs are performed rather well, but the quality isn’t exactly perfect. The final two songs are unreleased rehearsal tracks recorded back in 1993. As you can expect from rehearsal songs they are nothing to get excited about and with the lack of vocals and a poor production there probably going to be skipped over by most people.

Additionally this collection comes in a nice thick digipak with many photos, and a detailed booklet. All things considered ‘Mythological Occult Metal’ is a decent collection of material, and Absu fans will certainly appreciate hearing these rarities. However I think this release should have been cut down to just one disc as the live recordings and rehearsal songs could have easily been trashed since there nothing overly special. As I said at the beginning of this review; it’s been awhile since we’ve heard anything from Absu and from the looks of things were going to be waiting a little bit longer.

A Crown of Amaranth - Manuscript/Winterupt (2005)

Originally wrote & published on August 9th, 2005

‘Manuscript/Winterupt’ is the debut album from Brandon Elkins and his personal musical vessel A Crown of Amaranth. I was fairly awed with Brandon’s previous release ‘The Shave’ EP, which was a lively twenty two minutes of ambiance, noise, breakcore, and experimental electronics. This debut continues on in a similar style, but leans more towards the ambient, noise, and even power electronics territory.

The first song ‘Cower’ is a short ambient piece with the rumbling sounds of thunder in the distance and the vibe it gives off is that of an awfully forbidding sentiment. ‘Reduced to Ashes’ is the longest song at eleven minutes with loud ear piercing industrial sounds amid a noisy ambient backdrop almost like Gruntsplatter at times. ‘Winterupt’ carries on in a similar vein, but includes some mellow acoustic guitar layered over the impending doom. Doom indeed is the listener’s fate as they reach ‘Harsh Vaginal Rubbing in Flames’ as this song is more noise than anything else. ‘Spirit that never moves’ is a surprise song because it’s just a piano ballad with some light ambiance in the background. ‘Gargling Infectious Waste’ again takes us back to the ruthless noise sound while ‘Deciphered’ is more in line with ‘Reduced to Ashes,’ but not as cruel.

Once more ACOA delivers an exciting collection of songs that totals for thirty seven minutes and really tickles your brain down this sinister expedition. I really enjoy the way Brandon incorporates so much into his music, while so many other artists in the experimental electronics genre just stick to one or two ingredients. Not much else can be said other than that this is a very satisfying debut that should be sought out by anyone that has curiosity in this sort of music.

A Crown of Amaranth - The Shave (2005)

Originally wrote & published on August 4th, 2005

A Crown of Amaranth is a relatively new project based out of South Bend, Indiana and masterminded by Brandon Elkins. This release is a very special release indeed, since Brandon personally designed the packaging for each copy of the EP and therefore each copy of the EP features different artwork. Plus to go with the albums theme Brandon shaved the hairs off of his head and packaged a lock of his hair with each EP. Those statements alone should prove that Brandon is very serious about his work and wants to give the listeners a very special experience with his releases.

ACOA’s music is everything ranging from ambient to harsh noise, experimental electronics, and even the occasional inclusion of some guitar. The first track and surely the most unexpected is a remix of Jay-Z’s song ‘Dirt Off Ya Hova.’ I’m not familiar with the original, but the remix here sounds very much in the vein of drum ‘n’ bass, breakcore, and experimental electronic music, possibly comparable to Venetian Snares. The second song is a journey through harsh electronics, ambiance and noise, yet Brandon has a certain something in his music that really makes it standout from the herd. Towards the end of the song things become a bit mellower and it allows for some smooth acoustic guitars to enter. The third song again features more acoustic guitar with soft electronics, backing ambiance and what sounds like a sample of someone speaking. The last song is a nine minute composition that’s mostly ambient, but again features some smooth electronics and guitar, and a slightly more experimental feeling that instantly brought Steven Stapleton’s Nurse With Wound to mind. The whole song has a very prickly odd feeling to it, but certainly it’s a feeling I like.

ACOA delivers a very impressive EP that is challenging at first, but once you succumb to the sounds within you’ll find a superb twenty two minutes of music pouring out of your speakers and into your ears. Act fast though, because this EP is limited to something like fifty copies and will likely go fast. You can buy it at Audio Savant Records for a measly $4.00. http://www.audiosavant.com/

A Challenge of Honour - Seven Samurai (2005)

Originally wrote & published on December 3rd, 2005

The always busy Peter Savelkoul and his personal musical vessel, A Challenge of Honour, have released a follow up to their immensely stirring ‘Monuments’ album from last year. ‘Seven Samurai’ is a tribute to legendary Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa who died back in 1998 at the age of 88. Naturally anyone that’s familiar with Kurosawa knows his most famous film was called Seven Samurai, and essentially this recording is an alternative soundtrack to his 1954 masterpiece. The music isn’t necessarily supposed to go with the movie, but to tell the story in a different direction was the idea behind this recording.

By today ACOH has become one of the most well known bands in the martial industrial/symphonic scene, and this recording carries on in that tradition but also adds some new elements. You can of course expect grand symphonic compositions augmented by intense tribal like percussion and dark ambient undercurrents, but also this time around Peter added a little traditional Asian music to the mix. At times the music can be fast paced and bombastic, other times slow and ritualistic like, and even in a few places very catastrophic and saddening sounding. The percussion is really one of the most important aspects in this release often times giving the listener the feeling that something menacing is on the horizon, and the symphonic portions of the album are both beautiful but they also have a very threatening resonance to them too. Additionally this album comes in a gorgeous thin digifile with great artwork and is limited to 1000 copies. Get yours while they last, because it is certainly worth it!

Prevalent Resistance - Dynamics of Creation (2005)

Coming back from a photo shoot with a local black metal band a few months ago, the lads treated me to the music of Prevalent Resistance, which at that very moment must have been just what I was craving since it really struck a chord with me. In this case, I'd heard the band on an internet radio not long before and while driving home that evening it reminded me to get my hands on this disc. And so I did.

Although no official information or photos are known to exist of the band, its speculated that the three members are vocalist Spellgoth (Horna, Baptism, Darkwoods My Betrothed, etc.), guitarist/bassist Atvar (Circle of Ouroborus, Verivala, Vordr, etc.) and drummer, Gorath Moonthorn ( Alghazanth, Karmic Void). Together this Tampere, Finland based band create raw Finnish black metal, although its hardly new sounding in its overall execution.

From the initial riffs and mid to speedy to occasional slow pace of 'Raging Heat Of The New Dawn' other Finnish bands, such as, Horna or Sargeist instantly come to mind, which is why I can only really consider this band to be typical. Nevertheless, quality isn't an issue at all here as the riffs are exciting and energetic all at once and Spellgoth's vocal delivery is spot on and full of raging throat ripping terror. The majority of the songs stay within that mid-speedy pace, with catchy riffs and enough power to make it headbangable, such is the case with, 'Chaos Salvation,' where I wouldn't hesitate to say this one would see movement within a crowd, if they played live. 'Falling Through A Deceased Eternity' signals a shift towards a more grim and slower pace through brooding riffs and a melancholy atmosphere a trance inducing mood is achieved over the course of this ten minute song, while 'Storm of Will' picks off where the album started.

The album honestly doesn't get much more diverse than that, but with an assortment of great riffs at their dispersal as well as the right feeling, underground production and pace all clicking into place I found 'Dynamics of Creation' to be a successful release. Considering its scorching outside my window, this may not be the most appropriate release to listen to, but I'm sure when the winter returns I'll be glad to have this one around.

Urgehal - Through Thick Fog Till Death (2003/2005)

If you happen to have a hidden desire to be a bloody bestial rapist then Norway's Urgehal has just the record for you. Well, its mostly within the album cover, guitarist Enzifer having just cut the throat of some young lass (and sodomized naturally), but the lyrics themselves can be just as deviant as they spin tales of necrophilia, demonic possession and general Satanism (amongst other topics). It could have been some attempt to look offense or extreme (probably immature by most), but whatever the case may be, Urgehal's, 'Through Thick Fog Till Death' isn't bad at all.

As a part of the second wave of Norwegian black metal bands, Urgehal came to be in '92, they released demos in '94 & '95, before unleashing their first three albums, which I honestly always thought were a bit boring and have since sold quite some years ago. On their fourth album, this foursome seemed to finally release something of worth and although its by no means a classic, it is at least a decent slab of black metal music.

These guys tear through eleven (fifteen if you have the re-release) songs of ripping black metal that's generally played at a highly speedy tempo, with a typically tremolo and dissonant style at hand, though its not without its old school influence as some obvious nods to Celtic Frost, Hellhammer and Mayhem, and even some vintage death metal riffs can all be heard. As a result the music can move from massacring speeds to completely headbanging moods, which makes the music outright catchy in my own opinion. Some of the leads just force the energy out while the decently performed solos make things all the more gripping. Best of all the song writing is well done, the band knows when to blow the listener over with speed, make 'em headbang and rock out as well the slower sections, which sometimes have galloping percussion or interesting drum fills again make the songs memorable.

The vocals are more or less the usual raspy screams and what not, though it works with the music presented, while the drums rely greatly on the blasting, but not without rolls and cool fills, and the bass is there, rumbling away amongst the chaos if you care to open your ears up enough to hear it. Maybe a negative aspect at times is that the songs could be trimmed down a bit. Eleven songs in fifty six minutes is worth your buck, but the re-release, which I have adds four bonus live tracks, which makes the whole thing sixty eight minutes and even before that it feels like a bit much.

'Through Thick Fog Till Death' will win some over and others will be completely bored. Its not an album to pull out often, but when I do I enjoy it for what has to offer.

Summon - Fallen (2005)

The first time I heard Summon, the blackened death thrashers from Lansing, Michigan, was about a decade ago at Milwaukee Metalfest. I remember not having a clue who they were, but being quite impressed by the energy and tightness of their set, and that's notable since Metalfest was infamous for its horrible sound. Putting in my own time headbanging and cheering I finally took it upon myself to ask who they were, and got a response from a mostly drunken metalhead that went a little something like, "This is fucking Summon, you mother fucker!" And I made sure to buy their album soon as they finished.

Summon's history can be traced as far back as '91, though from '92-'94 the members were also involved in the legendary Masochist, and as a result nothing happened with Summon until '95 when the 'Fire Turns Everything... Black' demo surfaced. I'll admit the first three albums released by Summon didn't do much for me, I remember them being muddled with production mishaps and sometimes really dull song writing, but by the time they released 'And the Blood Runs Black' they'd inked a deal with Moribund Records and put together one hell of a dynamic and hard hitting album. As much as I enjoy that one their fifth and final album, 'Fallen' is Summon at their finest.

Of these sins I have become

This release continued to solidify the band's status as one of the better exponents of the black-death thrash metal sub-genre, at least here in the US. Every one of the songs on this album is played at a very fast tempo, with great black metal style shrieks, vicious and precise riffs, awesome drumming and an overall feeling of energy that few other thrash bands can match. A fair but not exactly spot on comparison is Absu's masterwork, 'Tara,' since both album are overly energetic, tight and technical, catchy and downright fucking destroy everything in their paths. Also this is pretty much the type of music I'd like to create with a few a buddies providing the chance.

Most of the songs are in the 03:00-03:30 range which in my opinion adds to the value of this album. Summon comes, conquers and says fuck you all in a mere thirty five minutes. Thrash songs are not suitable for the most part for extended length pieces, beacuse the riffs and the chorus sections would be too repetitive (Dark Angel's 'Time Does Not Heal' is a prime example). The tenth track titled, 'Loud As Hell Fast As Fuck' is probably the most old school thrash song you will find here, though its also the weakest because it completely breaks the formula of the rest of the album, even going so far as to use entirely clean vocals. Songs like 'Mindrot' or '...Of These Sins' are more representative of the overall sound and characteristic of this CD, since it has more tempo changes, more powerful blasting and great riffs.

You should not expect any of the features sometimes found on black/death albums though, such as, long introductions, acoustic passages, soundscapes and interludes. This is a very direct, in your face and aggressive slab of metal that tries (and does) very hard to leave you senseless and at the same time energized for more, so it all makes for a very enjoyable listen with just the right amount of songs and overall time duration to it's credit.

If you enjoy blackened death-thrash metal that sounds very fresh (yet old school in spirit) with no compromises on the overall performance as well as superb sound quality, then by all means listen to this CD. Its been one of my favorites since its initial release and continue to pummel me with each subsequent blasting.

Unfortunately, Summon broke up right after this album, which I remember being pissed off about since I didn't get to see them again, but they have reformed in 2010, yet without original member Sean "Xaphan" Peters, which makes it not exactly the same. Whether or not a new album is on the horizon is beyond me, but if not I'll surely be continuing to play this one for many years to come.

Ondskapt - Dödens Evangelium (2005)

Although I've only recently begun to delve into the twisted world that is Stockholm, Sweden's, Ondskapt, I've been familiar with the bands name for quite a few years, but just simply never bought their releases for whatever reason until recently. I suppose this is the ideal time if any to indulge in black metal, especially one of this caliber. 'Dödens Evangelium' exists within a certain movement of black metal that's been dubbed, "Orthodox Black Metal," which essentially is a scene that's largely ideologically connected, though generally offering different angles conceptional wise with usual malevolent anti-life traits and Devil worship as a whole. Needless to say, Ondskapt, which means "created (by) evil" in Swedish, is pretty serious about their work.

Intoxicated by malice, murder for the sake!

'Djävulens Ande' opens with the bellowing of goats when soon enough an absolutely beastly riff erupts followed soon enough by some of the most fiendish shrieks one will ever hear within a black metal record. Although generally staying mid-paced and with the hypnotic tremolo riffs, this is one of those songs that carry's such an immoral and cold feeling to it that it really forces me to focus all of my attention on it immediately as the band takes me on a diabolical campaign to the other side of existence. 'Feeding the Flames' doesn't relent in any way imaginable, in fact there's some blasting parts to be had and it just feels as if there's a sense of engulfing darkness around me as I continue listening. Interestingly by the time we reach the third song, 'Revelations of Another Time' it feels like the whole album is connected as one long song that's simply been broken into parts, this particular one moving at a sluggish pace, there's even an ambient break mid-way through and with a melodic solo following suite its one of the albums best.

'Lord of all Unclean Spirits' generally returns to the sound of the earlier songs and with great results to boot, while 'Akilkarsa' is one mighty instrumental piece with gloriously creepy spellbinding riffs that absolutely makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. 'I Kristi Skugga' is similar musically to the earlier songs, but features more of a spoken sort of dialogue that sounds like someone addressing a horde of followers from far atop their castle, whereas, 'Fienden Hungrar' seems to have something of an 80's black metal vibe, though with a brutal part followed by another impressive solo near its ending. The eighth song, 'Interlude' allows a breather of sorts through this short ritualistic ambient piece, but just as it caps off, 'The Fire of Hell' utterly destroys with its annihilating Satanic fury before moving into 'Blessed by Demoniac Wrath,' which is honestly the albums catchiest number with more energy and an old school Bathory-ish riff at the beginning its quite frankly a totally headbangable track! 'Beast of Death' and 'Witch' conclude the album, both upholding absolute quality, especially the latter which is another stunning instrumental that moves at a crawling pace with a huge surprise at the very end that utterly scared the fucking life out of me the first time I listened to it.

'Dödens Evangelium' is a fascinating record, especially if you allow yourself the pleasure to fully embrace everything offered. That means more than taking in the music, but opening the booklet and giving the lyrics some thought too. There's no denying this albums status as a modern classic and the influence its already had on the scene. Although I'm only familiarizing myself with it now I'm quite sure its an album I'll keep around for many years to come, while soon enough exploring everything else the band has to offer.

In the end its a challenging album that presents a disturbed vision of the Devil and his cohorts consuming all of life through utter pain and suffering. A must hear.

Heathen Hoof - The Occult Sessions (2005)

Simple but cool cover. Me gusta.

Heathen Hoof are a Finnish traditional heavy metal band formed in 2002 and at least I am guilty of thinking of it as little more than another side project of Morningstar's Ari "Sinister Satyr" Honkonen, though with Morningstar and Minotauri disbanded in 2007, and most other projects except Kalevalan Viikingit earlier than that I guess it's safe to say it's currently his main project. But, anyways, this four song maxi-single is their first official release after a split 7"EP in 2003 and a number of promo tapes, of which I've heard not one yet.

As I said at the beginning, this is traditional heavy metal, which would probably be of interest to many in today's retro-heavy environment, lately old school heavy and power metal seems to be in vogue with kids at least here in Finland and as a positive side effect this enables the re-release of several sold out oldies and naturally will lead to cashing-in with a ton of mediocre disc-shaped lumps of pure waste-of-time, both old and new.

Heathen Hoof pic from MA.

That out my system, I can happily say Arska & co are not bandwagon hoppers (though if you know anything about the man you already knew this) but instead are making this stuff for the sheer love of it which is tangible when listening to the stuff. This is not the sort of technically perfect, polished, dickless, faintly-smelling-of-gay-bar heavy metal I grew weary of ages ago, it's more of a let's go and not think too much sort. That doesn't mean it'd be badly played, it's just not overcomplicated or too technical. Influenced mainly by old NWOBHM bands and early US power metal bands (but more by the first) the songs are all mid-tempo romps with pretty simple but enjoyable structures. The vocals are sort of crude but work much better than the high pitched squealing to my ears and fortunately they're not too heavily accented either. Think about late Morningstar to get an idea of them.

Limited to a 1000 copies and released in 2005 by NWN! I would guess this is pretty much sold out at the moment and I don't think a repress is coming either. One of the songs, the self-titled track, is included in the CD version of the 2011 album, 'Rock Crusader' and the tracks on the EP itself are familiar from the 2004 cassettes, which I presume to be sold out long ago. Good stuff if you enjoy your heavy metal beer-reeking, straight ahead and old school!

Audrey Horne - No Hay Banda (2005)

When it comes to buying stuff off of eBay I really like to hunt for the bargains. My interest in Audrey Horne derived from the fact that some of the members here are involved in the bands Sahg and Enslaved, but also simply because I won this album for one single cent, still wrapped, brand spankin' new. Not bad.

Audrey Horne is a Norwegian band featuring both Tom Cato Visnes and Thomas Tofthagen from Sahg, Herbrand Larsen and Arve Isdal from Enslaved all filling their usual roles as well as the lesser known Kjetil Greve on drums and Toschie handling the vocals. The name Audrey Horne is taken from Sherilyn Fenn's character in the TV series, "Twin Peaks," which means they're enthusiasts of the overrated garbage that is David Lynch films, but I'll spare you that rant for now.

Audrey Horne: Norwegian Rockers

Musically these guys break away greatly from their metal roots and deliver some sort of heavy alternative rock with a bit of a 90's grunge vibe to it. Influences seem to range from stuff like Alice in Chains, Tool, A Perfect Circle and Stone Temple Pilots, and as much as I hate to say it it feels like some Staind or Foo Fighters characteristics can be found too, but that might just be me hearing this within their sound. All of the songs, even the hard rocking ones, carry a bit of a moody character to them with a good sense of melodicism and catchiness with lyrics centered around life, relationships and death, though I couldn't tell you if the lyrics have any special connection to Twin Peaks.

Arve and Thomas both hammer out some decent and often times memorable riffs as well Arve rips a classic solo here and there too, while Herbrand's keyboards float atmospherically in the background, Tom's bass lingers alongside and Kjetil's drum work is perfectly suited for this sort of music. Toschie (aka Torkjell Rød) is one of the stronger points on this record since he's able to convey a numbers of emotions through his vocal work and has a great range and depth to his voice.

'Confessions & Alcohol' really stands as the albums highpoint as an amazingly catchy, darkly themed song with superb vocals and a great solo too, while 'Blackhearted Visions' is just a straightforward hard hitting rock song. 'Airsupply' is also quite good with something of an old Stone Temple Pilots flow to it as well 'Deathhorse' is really good and for whatever reason reminds me of Katatonia around the 'Tonight's Decision' era. 'Bleed' is quite passable too with a great deal of emotion and heart poured into it. I generally find that the whole album plays out quite nicely and flows well with none of the songs really being bad, but not everyone stands out strongly. Perhaps its just because its not the sort of hard rock I usually go for, or its just a sign that I immerse myself in too much heavy metal. Who knows.

In the end, 'No Hay Banda' is a decent record, and perhaps a choice to consider if you need a break from the heavier stuff, though I'm sort of saying that based off the fact that I paid for the album with pocket change and the hope that whomever is reading this has some appreciation for 90's alternative rock.

Horna - Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne (2005)

Since its initial release back in 2005 I've often seen Horna's fourth album, 'Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne' being sold for absurdly cheap prices either in record stores or online. I'm not sure what the reasoning behind that is, but its certainly a fine way to introduce oneself to a fantastic band and album. Personally this ended up being my intro to Horna, although in my case I received it as a promo CD back then.

Although I still haven't heard the bands previous record, 'Sudentaival' I was always told EESE was a drastic improvement after booting Nazgul von Armageddon from the band and welcoming Covus in as vocalist. I remember at the time of this release I had been on a bit of a sabbatical from black metal and had favored genres like neo folk and martial industrial for quite sometime, but Horna (as well as a few other key records around the time) reminded me of the twisted dark atmosphere, melancholy and evil-ish tones that black metal can carry if performed correctly. And I think that's what I enjoy the most about this album. The fact that the music is utterly raw and lo-fo in character, but still retains tons of melody and mood shifts throughout its duration.

'Vihan tie' opens the album with blasting drums, creepy uncomfortably dark tremolo picked riffs and larynx ripping screams from new vocalist Covus, while 'Musta temppeli' has a slower vibe at first, but picks up gradually and switches back and fourth through various spectral moods. 'Vala Pedolle' is one of my true favorites as the main riff is absolutely catchy and almost rockin' in a way and very well paced between lighter and darker vibes. Both 'Kirous Ja Malja' & 'Saastainen Kaste' have a more exhilarating and very memorable charm around them, whereas 'Kuoleva Lupaus' if absolutely the highest point on the album. As a more mid-paced song its filled with melodies of very epic nature but also highly sombre ones which make for a peculiar but comfortable balance. 'Zythifer' is a slow but short instrumental with a calamitous vibe and 'Kuilunhenki' closes the album in a faster and more old school sort of manner.

'Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne' is a solid effort from start to finish and while it may not exactly be anything new to the genre it seems like at least the band made some serious changes and strengthened the horde and established themselves as one of Finland's finest black metal bands with this release.

Sathanas - Flesh For The Devil (2005)

Sathanas are a band that I have followed through out their entire career, which has been quite a stellar one. Their brand of blackened death with thrash elements are well written and performed and quite heavy. They know how to get your head banging and always leave you wanting more. They are a band unknown to many, but have also achieved a huge cult following since their formation in 1988. Sathanas are a band that are worth your attention. Sathanas, who are generally a three piece band, brought in a second guitarist on this EP by the name of Wayne Dudley to give the band a much more heavier sound, but he was gone after this release.

One thing this six song EP has going for it is catchy and heavy head banging songs, which is the band's specialty. This is evident in the opening track, "Invocation", which starts of with a little spoken intro and then you are slammed with in your face with heavy riffs, thick pulsating bass and drums that will pound the flesh off your body. The title track is a fist pumping rager and when you get to the verse of "She wants the darkness...", you are treated to some great drum and bass assault before the riff come back into play that will send you into a raging head banging fury. The band also put in a worthy performance in covering the Slaughter classic, "Nocturnal Hell". The band stay true to the original feel, but still adding their style to make it sound like their own song, which I always like when a band decides to cover a song. Also of note, bassist Bill Davidson does all of the lead vocals on this cover song, which I think works better than Paul Tucker, who is the main vocalist of Sathanas, putting his raspy style on the song. The last song on the EP, "Unholy War", I think is the perfect way to close out this release with its slower, but still heavy approach. "Possessessed By Blasphemy" and "Reign Of The Antichrist" also execute some great riffing and vocal performances, with the latter having a great black metal riff for the last verse.

By the end of the day, this EP will leave you in a heaping pile of flesh at the end of it's run. You get six songs on this release and they all have staying power. They are well written and executed. The production of the EP is also top notch as everything can be heard clearly and not one thing tries to dominate the other, which has always been something I've also liked about Sathanas. The instrumentation and the vocals all get their time to shine. So, if you are new to Sathanas, I'd say start with this and then work from there for whatever you want to get next from them. If you are a long time fan of the band and don't have this EP yet, then I am sure it will be added to your collection in due time.

Neither/Neither World - Invisible Angel (2005)

I had known about the oddly named San Francisco band, Neither/Neither World for a few years randomly (usually) via a few random mp3’s or online radios before this CD appeared in my mailbox back in 2005. NNW is the brainchild of one, Wendy Van Dusen (voice, guitar and bass) and she’s been releasing music under this banner since the late 80’s. I’ve seen NNW compared to artists like The Creatures, Mazzy Star, Current 93 and Death in June, which is a pretty mixed bag, and honestly before popping this CD in my stereo I wasn’t sure what to expect.

The sound of, ‘Invisible Angel is that of an apocalyptic folk variety with a little bit of a pop-ish sentiment plus Wendy’s cute lead vocals, acoustic guitars, percussion, atmospheric synths and occasionally instruments like piano or the harmonica make an appearance. Wendy’s vocals remind me of Rose McDowall of Current 93/Strawberry Switchblade fame since they've got that playful adolescent spirit to them with a little bit of a Southern drawl, which is interesting and different to my ears at least.

‘Ghosts Whispers’ is one of the better songs on the album with very infectious light guitar and beautiful piano alongside Wendy’s voice that holds a strong melancholy emotion, whilst, 'Postcards' also has a very similar vibe, but with an oddly sounding echoing harmonica in the background. I also really like the atmospheric instrumental, ‘Shadow of the Wings’ which for some reason kind of reminds of The Cure’s, 'Disintegration,' while the title track, ‘Invisible Angel’ sounds very Death in June influenced all the way. The fourth song, 'Buried and Gone' is one of the oddities on this album and the only song that differs from the acoustic style since it’s more dark rock sounding reminding me somewhat of Gothic artists of the 80’s that have long past.

However I’ll knock off the name dropping and just simply get to the point and say that the whole album is quite outstanding. The musicianship is excellent, the songs have a steady flow, catchiness and atmosphere to them and everything about the album is enthusiastic and pretty much perfectly performed. My only complaint would have been to move, ‘Buried and Gone’ to the end of the album since it’s so different, but that’s just me I guess.

This is the only album I've heard from Neither/Neither World, but I definitely dig it and usually end up asking myself why I haven't hunted down their other releases.

So, if you’ve ever thought about the idea of female fronted apocalyptic folk music than Neither/Neither World’s, 'Invisible Angel' is the one to go with.

Horna / Musta Surma - Vihan Vuodet (2005)

This split release between Finnish black metal bands Horna and Musta Surma is a bit interesting since everything on it was previously released in an alternate form earlier. Originally in 2000 a 7" vinyl (lim. 500) split with two songs each was released while in 2002 a 12" vinyl (lim. 350) containing re-recordings of both bands demos appeared. Essentially this third split between these two bands is a collection of these earlier splits made available by American label Moribund Records.

The first two songs from Horna are from that early 7" and these songs are fairly standard mid-paced raw black metal Horna songs, somewhat catchy but ultimately not anything to get so wild about, while the next four songs are re-recordings from Horna's, 'Varjoissa' demo tape, which originally appeared in '95. I've never heard the original demo, but these re-recordings hardly sound new as the production is still ugly, filthy and about as raw as black metal usually gets without being intolerable to listen too. Again these songs are mostly mid-paced, repetitive, hypnotic, fuzzy, evil and totally black metal all the way, though the vocals are, well, just odd sounding. I guess I think of troll's when I hear them and normally I don't mind things getting a little troll-ish here and and there, but these vocals suck and that's really all that can said.

If truth should be told I actually bought this split for the Musta Surma songs, which back in 2005 a friend had strongly recommended the band to me based off of their appearance on the, 'Crushing the Holy Trinity' compilation, which I didn't pick up, stupidly... these here will have to do for now. Anyway, Musta Surma's first two songs are again taking from that 7" and although their style of mid-paced to speedier, sometimes slow and repetitive raw black metal is similar I'd have to say these guys greatly triumph over Horna this time. MS songs are fairly riff driven black metal compositions with typically raspy vocals as well as audible bass work and a good flow to each of these first two songs. Their last four songs from the 12" then are not really different at all, in fact the production is similar, although the guitar tone has a bit more reverb and harshness on the ear, but the same tempos and malevolent feeling remains.

This split is by no means a must hear, in fact its completely forgettable, but at the time of purchase (a few months ago) I was really feeling it for the rawer side of black metal and Horna in particular, and as always because both bands are Finnish too (and I need to hear more Finnish black metal). It serves as a decent look into Horna's past (which apparently sucks) where as this is the only release of Musta Surma's (which is quite good) that's readily available as I'm sure all the other EP's and compilations have long sold out (they never released any albums).

Barathrum - Anno Aspera: 2003 Years After Bastard's Birth (2005)

Formed in 1990 as Darkfeast, but quickly changed to Barathrum, Janne "Demonos" Sova's long running band is among with Beherit, Archgoat and Impaled Nazarene as some of the first black metal bands to emerge out of Finland. Mainly Demonos own project with several previous members (including folks from Finntroll, Gloomy Grim, Ensiferum and Flame), Barathrum had issued seven albums before this eighth release, 'Anno Aspera: 2003 Years After Bastard's Birth,' which is also the bands most recent full-length.

Barathrum has always been a bit odd by traditional black metal standards and this release is surely no different as the intro, 'Antikristus Neutronstar' sounds like a horde of drunken Satanic Gremlins about to set a church ablaze, complete with loud chatter and howling noises, things are off to a bizarre start. 'Corpse Desecration' on the other hand is fast hard hitting old school Bathory-ish jam with one hell of a drive and damn catchy chorus to boot. 'Into Maze Of Nightmares' is slow and hypnotic in the beginning but kicks up in speed and devilry midway through before alternating back to the slower pace and then fast again. 'Angelraper' is a brawling head banging fist pumping bass heavy track, which absolutely kills and thrills, while, 'G.I.D.' is more mid-paced yet still quite similar overall in its catchiness.

The remaining five tracks don't differ much (other than the title track, which is longer and doomier) from these earlier songs, although the fast to mid-paced old school Bathory-ish vibes remain with plenty of memorability as well as an always very audible bass guitar, which gives the whole damn thing a unique feel. I also pick up some strong Impaled Nazarene vibes when I listen to this record though since both bands formed in the same year and since I'm completely unfamiliar with Barathrum's early efforts its hard to say who might be copying who, if at all.

It should also be pointed out that the lyrics are totally simple tales of necrophilia, terror, rape, blasphemy, goat worship and death all with a morbid sense of humor and a fucking hell of a lot of fun too. I don't think Barathrum is meant to be taking too seriously though and as a result this is just one of those quick (thirty seven minute) drinking and head banging records to enjoy with your metal comrades alongside you. Speaking of drinking, why am I not doing so now?

I've known about Barathrum for many years now and other than, 'Legions of Perkele' I've completely neglected this band, which I think I'm going to change since I absolutely get a kick out of this one. If you're looking for some fun, simple, short and rockin' tunes you can't go wrong with this one or Barathrum in general. Hails and nails, motherfuckers!

Zoät·Aon - Star Autopsy (2005)

Zoät•Aon is one of many very fascinating bands to be found on the Finnish label Aural Hypnox, which specializes in extraordinarily ritualistic dark ambient music. 'Star Autopsy' was created and performed by Jaako Vanhala whom hails from Oulu, Finland.

For a debut album I must admit this is way above average and easily outdoes most veterans in this genre. Zoät•Aon’s music is built around ghostly droning ambiance, odd swirling slightly industrial synth sounds in the foreground, ethereal textures, demonic voices, backwards speaking, a variety of percussion instruments (including human thighbone's) built around a very ritualistic feeling, and so much more that its really hard to put into words. Jaako takes us on one very unfriendly expedition through what could very well be hell itself. The music is incredibly dark and frightening and like label mates, Halo Manash, the voices scattered throughout the recording have that potential to really freak me out after sometime.

It’s hard to pick a favorite, but, ‘Dark Grammar’ seems to be one that really stands out. The song has this gruesome ambiance and this weird ringing sort of sound in the background, when suddenly at almost the three minute mark some harsher industrial/noise sounds enter the song and those devilish voices come back again to haunt me. ‘Exo’ is also very good at having an uncomfortable cavernous sentiment to it giving the listener the notion that something is lurking in the dark waiting for them. The two lengthy ending songs (both over eleven minutes) also follow a similar path as the two preceding mentioned songs, and although I probably don’t need to say this, ‘Star Autopsy’ as a whole is bloody amazing!

Star Autopsy also comes in a six panel digipak with silver print, drawings, and is limited to just a thousand copies and is long sold out too. If memory serves me correct this album and Halo Manash’s, 'Syoma' were really one of my first experiences with Finnish dark ambient music.

Much like many bands in heavy metal, the Finns really know how to create something amazing and ultimately quite original and engaging too. If you can find it, this is simply a must hear recording from the Aural Hypnox record label.

Vinterriket - Der letzte Winter - Der Ewigkeit entgegen (2005)

Vinterriket (Norwegian & Swedish for, 'The Winter Realm') is the first and longest running project of German musician, Christoph Ziegler who since 2000 has been releasing music related to the dark side of nature. During these past years he's released a staggering amount of music, although in many cases releases are very limited and then re-released under new names or together as compilations. He also seems to create a great deal of merchandise with everything ranging from shirts, hoodies, posters, photo books, DVDs and deluxe box sets.

'Der letzte Winter - Der Ewigkeit entgegen' seems to hold a special place in my heart as I remember the winter of 2005/06 not being a very pleasing one for me and I seem to remember frequent trips driving through snowy landscapes and thinking about life on many occasions with this album as my musical accompaniment. Also in particular the song, 'Winternacht - Kalte Schwärze im Bann der silbernen Sonne' is significant for me since this song had appeared on the Lunar Hypnosis mp3 compilation, 'Dreams of Winter Under the Scorched Summer Sun,' which had come out in August of '05, actually before this album did, thus making it exclusive for a short while.

All that aside, this record is in Vinterriket's highly atmospheric black metal style with only three short ambient tracks. This style relies heavily on backing synth passages mixed with buzzing raw distorted electric guitars, programmed drums and throat shredding vocals in German. The black metal tracks are generally very long (the shortest being seven minutes) and they all open with very dark moody intros that then rip into the scything blackened terror that is Vinterriket. Each of them have the dark synths running throughout the entire song and almost all of the songs also have breaks in them for just purely ambient moments and nature sounds as well, which really increases the winter mood.

The guitars don't offer up much in terms of melody as they mostly just sound like a raging winter storm and I think perhaps that's a bit of a shame as some distinguishable riffs would have been immense. The same could be said for the programmed drums too, since you can easily tell they are not performed by a human, which is hit or miss with most folks, but for all I know newer Vinterriket records in this style may have just what I always wanted.

I've always found CZ's metal records to work as one cohesive long song where individual songs really don't stick out as much, yet the whole experience is quite good. As I mentioned above I used this record a lot during the winter time after its release and truly try placing this album in your car's stereo while driving around at night during snowfall or while walking through a snowy field or forest and you'll find yourself being transported to this hypnotic winter realm Christoph is seeking through his creations.

'Der letzte Winter - Der Ewigkeit entgegen' and Vinterriket creations in general are not for everyone, but for those that are looking for absolutely cold atmospheric black metal with original and beautiful sounding synths should definitely give this one a chance.

1349 - Hellfire (2005)

Considering how tried and true, kid tested and mother approved black metal has become in the past twenty years it goes without saying that the genre has exploded to become one of most popular within the metal underground. Popularity however usually breeds failure and the classics and truly memorable albums are not as many in this new millennium as they were in the early to mid 90's. However back in 2005, Oslo, Norway based band, 1349 released a modern classic, rightly titled, 'Hellfire.'

War is declared with the words, "Hellfire" at the onset of, 'I Am Abomination' and from there 1349 rips through eight songs in fifty two minutes. While firmly rooted in the blast beat driven black metal genre, Hellfire is by no means just another Panzer Division Marduk clone since songs tend to stick out and hold their own against the others more so than any other record I've heard in this sub-genre.

The riffing although almost always fast is diverse with a good mixture of dissonant tremolo riffs, catchy rhythmic parts as well as some death and thrash metal sections and of course some slower atmospheric spine tingling areas. Music like this generally doesn't have such a gripping lively vibe to it, but this is one of those rare styled albums that I can throw on and headbang like a maniac with and as I said earlier each song really sticks out and stays with you with their own personal strengths whereas most material within this genre is forgettable after the first spin.

Similar to the guitar work, Frost's stickwork is utterly breathtaking and completely barbarous throughout the albums duration. Surely most of it is relentless blast beats, but the drum rolls, fills and occasional tempo changes are a plenty and good musicians know how to feed off of each others energy and this is an example where the brutal nature of the music is elevated even further by the diverse pummeling work this man brings to this beast. Ravn's vocal work is also of note, even if it is a somewhat standard black metal rasp its just that he puts so much heart into it that it feels as if each and every scream is directed at me personally. I also like the fact that the production of the album is clear, but not crystal clear thus making it sound as black metal should sound.

Apparently 1349 said and did what they needed to do on this album though since the follow-up, 'Revelations of the Black Flame' was a more experimental affair before somewhat coming back to speed with, 'Demonoir' last year.

I guess its no secret and most people that have heard this album have recognized it as the modern classic it surely is. Definitely a must own/listen album and really one of the overall best black metal records to come out of Norway.