FEN: "Dustwalker"

When Fen first appeared in 2007 with their mini-album Ancient Sorrow, its timing couldn't have been more propitious: it was around then when Drudkh had came up with their masterpiece Blood in Our Wells and so had Alcest with Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde – both albums, frankly, belonging to my favourites of all time – so there was unquestionably a lot of demand for atmospheric, natural, melancholic dwelling within the frameworks of black metal. Fortunate for Fen, the band garnered a heap of attention and this resulted in the acclaimed The Malediction Fields in 2009 and its follow-up Epoch two years later.

But where exactly does the band stand in 2012 when people's initial infatuation of 'shoegaze black metal' has pretty much worn out by now and everyone is looking for something different already? Quite interestingly, their third album Dustwalker hasn't really departed from the style that they've been playing for six years or so: and I only find this positive since it verifies that Fen is not just a shallow passer-by to the realms of 'trendy' black metal aesthetics (a.k.a. incorporating elements of post-rock into black metal), but a serious player in the field, a field that's been poisoned by a plethora of mimics. Fen, however, somehow manages to avoid the biggest clichés and provides some of the finest compositions I've heard this year.

What one could have expected after such an introvert, magical and calm journey as Epoch is that the beginning of Dustwalker would also build up slowly with some subdued synths maybe, but that is very far from the truth when "Consequence" quite literally kicks in with a growl and a menacing melody pattern, soon followed by ravaging blast beats. So is this the sound of Drudkh gone all evil? Perhaps something close to that, and I'm already sensing that fans of the band's earlier material will find this element of raucousness, of stark sounds only positive. Yes, Dustwalker is in general somewhat harsher and thus in evident contrast with Epoch, but don't you lovers of calmful meditations worry too much: within these massive and intricately textured 10+ minute pieces you will find plenty of moments to breathe and just indulge in peaceful melodies.

I find it unnecessary to go too much into details of individual tracks but since some of the ideas presented here are simply so enthralling I think I just have to mention some of the album's best parts, like the latter half of "Spectre" which has this addicting distortionless line that culminates into a clamorous wall of instruments: this spectacular, bigger-than-life ending made of pure euphoria serves as a reminder that you can still do plenty of things right with something as simple as reverby tremolo. Then there's the middle section of "The Black Sound" that has this slightly doom metal feeling to it, another section crafted of rather simple ideas yet they've turned it into something very effective.

Let those be just a couple of examples what Dustwalker has to offer. But on the other hand I also want to dedicate a moment for some criticism, which mostly goes to the production of the album. I'm not an audio professional but this sure does sound like it's way too loud, so I wouldn't surprise if there was a lot of clipping in here. In all honesty, the pummelling drums (and the 'wavering' effect they create) almost cause a sickening feeling at times. Neither I'm much fond of the cover art with the album name that oversized and the general photoshopped feeling of the piece.

But I suppose those are just minor rants that deservedly pale in the shadow of the compositions themselves: needless to say by now, Fen has done a great job again with combining memorable riffs and atmosphere. One interesting thing to note is that there's no synths on this album at all, so the songs rely heavily on guitars. Also, remember to give the album a little bit of time. My initial thoughts on Dustwalker weren't as positive as they're now and although I still haven't got fully over the maybe-a-bit-too-rocking elements of "Wolf Sun", I've grown to respect that song too. Dustwalker is a really worthy installment to Fen's catalogue so the score I've given might seem too harsh considering how I've praised the album, but if we compare it to e.g. Epoch of which I can't basically find anything negative to say about (and hence it's rated 4.5 / 5), I hope the rating makes more sense.

4 / 5

AENAON: "Cendres et Sang"

Aenaon is another rather new addition to code666's roster of avant-garde black metal, and another successful one. Cendres et Sang does not appeal to those solely into anti-modernist, low fidelity cellar black metal, but those who rejoice in compromising and uncommon elements in their black metal (or the other way around: a little bit of black metal in their what ever weirdness you could call this.

To depict the album more specifically, you may still except a fair deal of blast beats, tremolo guitar and harsh screams. Heck, the main riff of ”Psychonautic Odyssey” is a pretty old school, Celtic Frost like one. But the introductory ”Kafkaesque” already reveals that there's more to Aenaon's music than the basic extreme metal instrumention and execution: there's plenty of saxophone around this album which creates a really jazzy feeling at places, plus a myriad of other manipulated sound effects in every corner of the 53-minute whole. The result is, while not always intriguing and extraordinary, an interesting journey through surprising compositions.

The musicianship is no short of quality either, the main compliment going to the drummer's seat. He is a monster here, knowing how to play dynamically: when to go into warm jazzy grooves and when to include the power and roughness of blast beats. No complaints to any other section of the lineup either, it all seems to work well in spite of the fact that this is their debut.

In the end, Cendres et Sang leaves a positive taste. Even in the realm of experimental black metal, I don't think the album is really revoluationary as there's a already a heap of groups doing quite similar music, but I still think the album is a worthy effort. It is easy to hear the sweat and pain that has went into the creation of this many-faced, richly textured piece. Cendres et Sang won't open to its full glory right in the beginning as the challenging and confusing compositions do require more time. I still haven't given the album enough spins I think, but at each go it seems to get a tad better.

3.5 / 5

VAMPILLIA: "Rule the World / Deathtiny Land"

Often when bands deliberately try to be avant-garde, weird, posing in oh so crazy masks in promo pictures, I have zero interest to look into the band. This was also the case with Vampillia’s recent EP, Rule the World / Deathtiny Land, but fortunately I eventually checked it out in spite of all reservations, because it turned out to be quite a beautiful journey through various (and mixed) emotions.

Most importantly, it’s the orchestral parts of the EP that truly stand out, being really intricate and well executed pieces. An easy example could be the classical ”One Day I Thought the World...” and ”Made My Mind to Dominate...” followed by the climatic post-rock ”Day of Departure...” that also incorporates the first signs of metal. But the metal is always in minor role, the soundscape being dominated by orchestral string instruments, clean female singing and some male grunting. The songs are really brief, some lasting mere fifteen seconds, ”Switch and Bomb / Melody Tinborn” running for only four seconds. This all reminds me of Diabolical Masquerade’s Death’s Design combined with Fantômas. Then there’s the rhythmic ”A Deceptive Attack...” that jams like a track from Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s some solo album.

A lot of ideas have been packed into this short 25-minute whole, making Rule the World / Deathtiny Land seem first really incoherent, passing from an ear to another, hence multiple listens are required for proper comprehension. The EP might not be entirely mindblowing but definitely a worthwile effort crafted with care and vision, also the rather low fidelity sound fits the flowing atmosphere of the record: the last thing this would need is a mood-killing sterile production. No explanations needed, this will most likely appeal to fans of a heavy avant-garde touch in their metal.

3.5 / 5

THE AXIS OF PERDITION: "Tenements (of the Anointed Flesh)"

Going back to the first half of the 2000s, the abominant The Axis of Perdition was already churning out impressive industrialized black metal horror, not unlike Atrium Carceri’s ambience and Blut Aus Nord’s twisted metal, and I remember enjoying Physical Illucinations in the Sewer of Xuchilbara (The Red God) and Deleted Scenes from the Transition Hospital to a great extent. Keeping this in mind, the group’s newest offering Tenements (of the Anointed Flesh) is unfortunately not quite as captivating release, lacking in some crucial aspects such as truly haunting compositions and a fitting sound.

After the brief introduction, ”Unveiled” kicks in with the programmed drums that, even though appearing on a heavily industrial album, seem somewhat amateurish, the sterile hammering not working for the atmosphere’s good at all. However, the overall atmosphere is fittingly hysterical, a thousand voices echoing all around the soundscape, guitars firing rapid and seemingly incoherent discordance, albeit the chord progressions are almost never remarkable. Vocals are the weakest link of the line-up: while for the most part they are decent raspy screams - though sometimes the forced semi-clean vocals (”Unveiled”, ”The Flesh Spiral”) sound like they’d better belong to an insipid nu-metal group from yesteryears, lacking strength and any seriousness that an album of this kind would need - there’s really nothing mysterious about the vocal output.

The humming ambient interlude ”Dark Red Other” is the first proper breathing moment after an exhausting four-song combo of constant chaos. After that, the same feast on dissonant melodies continue until ”Ordained” begins, a 180 degree turn from the material before it, starting with epic synths and then bursting into impressive melancholic black metal with twirling melodies and only slight elements of the convulsing metal that Tenements otherwise provides. This song is a definite highlight of the album, a heard-rending piece combining despair and sickness, sung in clean vocals, and it makes me wish the 60-minute whole had more of this style.

I hate to say it, but all in all Tenements (of the Anointed Flesh) leaves a slightly negative taste, mostly because the music doesn’t quite deliver the frightening elements of their early material; instead, it all sounds a little common, already heard on various other black metal albums. Having only one truly great song, I must settle to an okay rating. Without that one particular track, take the half star off.

2.5 / 5

NEGURĂ BUNGET: "Poartă de Dincolo"

The new line-up of Negură Bunget, that last year unleashed the remarkable Vîrstele Pamîntului, didn’t receive as warm welcome as I’d say they deserve. Despite the fact that almost all of the original members are gone, the band sounds as authentically mysterious and convincing as before, and their newest child Poartã de Dincolo, a four track EP that ends their deal with code666, is to prove their skills further.

Nothing has radically changed since their last year’s appearance, but the band does sound more earthy and natural here, perhaps due to the production that isn’t so bright and clear this time. ”Hotar” begins the EP with trademark Bunget mysteriousness, meaning sinister synth mats and clear guitar patterns until it later bursts into distorted menace and, finally, to some truly maniacal blast beat chaos. ”La Marginea Lumi” creeps up slowly with a misty flute melody in leading role, then exploding into various interesting metal sections in the common Negură Bunget tradition.

”Frig in Oase” is wholly an ambient track, and a very welcome one as long as the listener has patience and ear for a long interlude of sorts, but I’m sure all fans of the group know how to appreciate ambience, anyway. Rich synth mats open up the track, later introducing some whispered vocals and a string instrument (guitar?) going ouf of tune - all in all a well done breathing moment until the title track ”Poartă de Dincolo” gets back to the metal. A cleanly sung section is a slight surprise here, but it works wonderfully. Thanks to that, and the ethereal melodies on the latter part of the track, this is another highlight of the EP along with ”Hotar”.

As usual with Negură Bunget’s output, it took a while to get into Poartă de Dincolo but in the end the band didn’t disappoint. There’s true ingenuity lying in these four compositions, only strengthening expectations in regards to their next move from here on. Say what you say, but to me the band is far from dead. Most certainly a worthwhile EP, recommendable not only to the fans of the band but also to those who would like to hear a fair deal of unique Romanian tradition in their black metal.

4 / 5

RAVENWOODS: "Enfeebling the Throne"

On their second full-length assault, Ravenwoods unleashes quite a mixed bag of influences from various genres - in good and bad. While the band seems to focus primarily on death metal - be it blackened death metal, technical and brutal death metal or even melodic death metal, yeah, all that is here - the band also incorporates calmful passages of traditional instruments into the mix that makes, all in all, a decent but the same time a tad incorehent 41 minutes.

Primarily, Enfeebling the Throne blasts not unlike Behemoth, including precise and monstrous drumming and very similar growls, and on these tracks I wish the band would have added something more original into the compositions - no matter how crushing these tracks nonetheless are, mostly thanks to the heavy and massive production. Yes, there’s a lot of Nile esque mysterious acoustic moments within songs (”Breathless Solace”, ”Torture Palace” and ”Upheaven-Subterranean” to name a few) but they sound a little apart from the metal, just suddenly appearing out of nowhere. The traditional elements are put to their best use at the outro ”Azab-I Mukaddes” which is entirely in that style, giving that side of the band more time so that it isn’t just a random one-minute interlude between all the chugging riffs and blast beats.

The latter part of the album starts to reveal the melodic death metal which, I surprisingly think, is the most interesting half of the record. The cleanly sung chorus of ”Stay” could appear on an MTV poprock song but I find it done tastefully, and then there’s ”The Fading Trace” that also flirts with that certain Gothenburg sound. All this makes, indeed, a bit random sounding whole of different ideas. With a little more coherency and better mixing of the styles together, Ravenwoods could have produced a fantastic record. What is left now is an album with various good ideas that just don’t all work together so well. Nonetheless, we are not dealing with a lackluster record here, so that those more into death metal than yours truly can appreciate Enfeebling the Throne a lot more.

2.5 / 5

SYN ZE ŞASE TRI: "Între Două Lumi"

Eastern Europe seems to be the fertile ground of symphonic black metal right now, and although most of the efforts I’ve heard lately are crucially lacking in any good and original ideas, Syn Ze Şase Tri’s debut offering Între Două Lumi is a rather interesting 43 minutes that mix the energetic and grandiose elements of Dimmu Borgir with a minor flavour of Negură Bunget - unsurprisingly, knowing the connections between the latter and Syn Ze Şase Tri.

Între Două Lumi does have same flaws that I can’t help spotting from basically nine out of ten symphonic black metal albums - such as cheesy synth melodies - but the band’s strength here is the incorporation of Negură Bunget esque mysterinousness into the mix: whereas the first proper track ”Ziua din urmă” is still a rather straightforward sympho black metal piece, the third song ”Făuritorul lumii” dares to approach more dangerous waters when it comes to originality. Some of the atonal tremolo picked guitar lines even remind me of Nightbringer’s album from last year which might be an unusual yet somewhat fitting comparison in the context of this particular track.

The quality of the compositions remain pretty much on the same level throughout, the songs never providing anything truly outstanding but on the other hand the little twists and more personal ideas every now and then make sure that Între Două Lumi isn’t a boring album to listen to. The production could do better (or then it’s just my promo version that has quite a watery and weak sound) but it doesn’t hinder me from liking the album, liking the album to the extent that it’s so far the best sympho black metal album from 2011 along with Saille’s recent debut.

3 / 5

SAILLE: "Irreversible Decay"

Never trust the hype! That’s what comes to my mind after several spins given to Saille’s debut offering Irreversible Decay, but don’t get me wrong, we’re still dealing with such a symphonic black metal album that puts many others in the field to shame.

Saille plays professionally, that becomes clear in the beginning already when the well-played acoustic intro ”Nomen” escorts the album to its first metal blast entitled ”Passages of the Nemesis”, a true sea of tremolo picked riffage where the roughness of rock instrumentation meets the melody of real (!) orchestral instruments. The inclusion of proper orchestral elements is a definite plus, making Irreversible Decay differ from all the cheap synth orchestra black metal bands out there.

Compositionally, the songs are rather diverse and technical, but lacking the spark of originality too. What I’m mostly hearing is Keep of Kalessin combined with some Dimmu Borgir - not that that’s a bad combo, but it does make the album sound a little tame. The tameness and safeness is a problem I have with a lot of modern sounding black metal albums (e.g. it doesn’t matter how fast you play those damn blast beats if they lack all necessary barbarity), so if you don’t mind well produced black metal with modern compositional and productional values, forget what I said above and just enjoy.

There are some true gems among the nine tracks, such as ”Maere” and ”Tephra” which have some of the most grabbing melodies of the bunch, not to forget how much is given space to the orchestral instruments, and it works like a charm. None of the tracks are certainly bad, just somewhat unsuprising. Irreversible Decay is most certainly a positive experience (in spite of all the negativity I gave space for in this review) that all symphonic black metal lovers should look into; for me, a lot more unpredictability would be needed to really impress me, but I’m still enjoying this to a good extent.

3 / 5

FOLGE DEM WIND: "Inhale the Sacred Poison"

Inhale the Sacred Poison is essentially made by the book - code666’s book. Folge dem Wind plays meandering mid-tempo black metal with a firm grip on avant-garde music, a style very common to the label’s roster, and Inhale the Sacred Poison is pretty much on the same level of quality as the others, meaning that it’s a very enjoyable piece.

There’s a lot of odd dissonance in the melodies throughout the songs that run for six minutes on average, but the band knows when to give something easier to the listener too, such as the jazzy saxophone lines in the end of ”Behind the Grey Veil” and ”Through the Eye of the Immortal” where the reciprocity of the two repetitive guitar melodies works like a charm, a definite highlight moment on the album. Vocal duties are handled well as gurgling mid-range screams, and there’s not much to complain about the production either that is neither too polished nor too raw.

But there are moments when the band seems to be stagnated (”Awakening in Unity” for instance), as if not knowing where the songs should progress into, hence marching in place a tad too long sometimes. It is to be remembered, though, that Inhale the Sacred Poison isn’t an easy album at all, so that multiple listens are required if you want anything out of this record. Perhaps I’m not fully acquainted with the album yet and only because of that find some parts of the record unmemorable - who knows.

All in all, Inhale the Sacred Poison always leaves me satisfied afterwards. Although it’s not the most consistent avant-garde black metal album out there, all the superb moments on the album - that keep getting stuck in my head - compensate enough. Inhale the Sacred Poison deserves a favorable rating and the attention of those into somewhat modern experimental black metal.

3.5 / 5

FEN: "Epoch"

So here it is - after the successful 2009 album The Malediction Fields, Fen returns with Epoch and shows no signs of decline; instead, they have crafted an over hour long journey that fuses elements of post-rock now perhaps more dominantly with the atmospheric nature themed black metal, and does it with great success. Once again. Epoch does take a lot time to open, though. I consciously avoided writing about the album for a long time, knowing that the first few listens - during which the album didn’t indeed sound very remarkable at all - wouldn’t be anywhere near the amount of spins that a band like Fen requires to open to its full glory.

What comes to Epoch’s production and overall atmosphere, it’s very reminiscent of the debut, sounding as distant and foggy, with an inclination to deep blue watery landscapes as the cover art suggests. Unusual time signatures are occasionally implemented to the music as well, but never in a way that would kill the hazy, dream-like mood. Enough repetition is given to such patterns, making them sound more like shamanistic trances building up to fantastic climaxes (hear the violin fuelled ending of the 11-minute ”Carrier of Echoes”) than anything purposely technical.

The way Fen manages to balance between bright sounding fragile post-rock passages and energetic black metal blast beats is still admirable. This becomes clear already in the beginning when the calmful title track’s transition to the heavier ”Ghosts of the Flood” seems to happen naturally without any annoyingly sudden changes in dynamics or sound levels. Every single track on the album seems to be of high value, always showing something new on each spin, so I think it’s unnecessary to start naming any particular highlight moments. If you’ve enjoyed Fen’s earlier material, Epoch is surely to grab your attention as well. So far the best 2011 album I’ve heard. Enough said. 

4.5 / 5

TODTGELICHTER: "Angst"

It’s not a rare thing to see black metal bands evolving into more avantgarde and progressive directions and while some fail miserably at it, some, like Todtgelichter here on their third album Angst, succeed in creating an interesting album of emotional yet intense black metal with progressive tendencies, or perhaps prog with black metal tendencies - either way, Angst proves that the well of this kind of genre fusions has certainly not run dry yet in 2010.

It doesn’t take many seconds into the first track to realize that there’s a lot of work put into making this album: multiple layers bring interesting melodies and there’s a lot of diversity going on, from the sudden yet carefully placed female vocals after male screams to the most aggressive bursts of energy. ”Oblivion” is at times close to the grandiose landscapes of Disillusion’s ”Back to Times of Splendor”, while the shorter ”Phobos & Deimos” attacks with furious blasts, and ”Allmählich” slowly closes the 55-minute album with post-rock esque organs and clean guitar sound. Sounds like pretentious fluctuation between genres? Not really, the album flows naturally and nothing seems out of place, and there’s not much instrumental wankery to be found here; just pure emotions in a breathing, atmospheric production. Being a long album with diverse textures, it surely takes multiple listens to find all the nuances that are in the depths of this record.

To cut this praise for a while and to focus on some downsides: Angst isn’t still a perfect record after all, even if quite impressive. Tracks ”Subway” and ”Moloch” drag on maybe a bit too long and have somewhat unnecessarily technical riffage to my taste, albeit the former does have a sweet chorus and the latter builds up nicely towards the end. Otherwise I’m not sure do I find any crucial flaws here. Any certain highlight tracks are hard to mention because at worst the album is still decent, but the cleanly sung passages towards the end of ”Café of Lost Dreams” always stand out as the most innovative ideas of the album when I spin this record. Angst has convinced me pretty well and most certainly deserves a favorable score. 

3.5 / 5