BEHEXEN: "Nightside Emanations"

I don't think it's lying to say that Behexen's upcoming fourth full-length Nightside Emanations is the most expected black metal album to come out of Finland this year. The hype surrounding the band is well deserved when we take a look at the band's back-catalogue which includes e.g. the harsh yet magnificent By the Blessing of Satan and the more sophisticated yet not less evil My Soul for His Glory. Behexen hasn't derived from their four-year policy between albums even this time around, and now it's finally time to see what they're up to in 2012, after a full line-up change in the melody (guitar) department.

It is to be remembered, though, that most of the songwriting is still done by the drummer Horns (as far as I'm aware) who's been in the band since its formation in 1996, and that is probably the warm reason for Nightside Emanations still sounding Behexen and not just another band of Shatraug's, for example. Those influences aside, there's plenty of other kinds of influences in here to my hearing: most notably, I believe that the Swedish religious black metal phenomenom has given its contribution to a couple of tracks here. For instance, ”Death's Black Light” is a full-on headbanger that could've belonged to Watain's song arsenal, and most of the other tracks have a certain kind of vibe coming from that style as well. Luckily it's mostly just latent, and even more luckily we have such utterly possessed and devotion reeking manifestos in the very Behexen vein as ”Circle Me” which can't leave the listener cold.

”We Burn With Serpent Fire” makes sure there's some epic soundscapes incorporating solos, while ”Luciferian Will” rumbles in a confusing maze of palm-muted riffing and ”Temple of Silent Curses” proclaims messages of Satan in a robust, clean vocal performance. In a nutshell, there's a lot to discover in these nine hymns of the devil. But Behexen is in the bad situation of having three great albums in their history already, so truly impressing the band's fan isn't easy: that's why e.g. I'm constantly comparing this to the older albums, and hence must say that at least for now, this one doesn't beat the previous two.

Of course, Nightside Emanations can be a real grower, but the things that faintly bug me here are (a) the rather polished sound which makes e.g. the drums reverb in a somewhat unrealistic way, and (b) the feeling I've got that Behexen has lost a part of their identity to a certain kind of 'religious black metal' spirit. Nonetheless, if only I wasn't biased by my fondness of the older material, Nightside Emanations would be truly great. Another thing that might lower the score for now is that there's no lyrics provided within the promo, nor artwork. For a band with strong message, things like that can be very important, so when I eventually get Nightside Emanations to my hands in physical format, and when I get to play it with the lyrics, I could see this turning to full four points - and that would be the minimum.

3.5 / 5

NUNFUCKRITUAL: "In Bondage to the Serpent"

One could have expected something more bestial and swift from a band that is named NunFuckRitual, but that is not exactly the case here. Despite the name that would fit perectly into Hells Headbangers' roster, this kind-of supergroup – involving members from various black metal groups, including a connection to Mayhem – delivers slow, menacing pain that rather needles the listener with ringing discordance than ravages with blast beats.

Indeed, In Bondage to the Serpent is slow, slow to the point of deserving the subtag doom metal. But that mostly fits to the album's general pace, as riff-wise the music is more prominently black metal: repetitive high-pitched tremolo work and sinister, highly distorted plucking. On top of the simple beats and evil melodies reside various whispered and gnarled vocals. The songs always tend to end up around seven and eight minutes, and as the songs aren't that versatile nor progressive, it's ultimately the overall atmosphere that matters.

And in that NunFuckRitual succeeds: In Bondage to the Serpent is auhentically dark and evil. But what comes to individual compositions, I don't think there's that much to remember after the album has ended. A successful aura of menace is what holds the album nicely together and keeps my interest throughout, but I don't see myself returning to it very frequently. There's a couple of noteworthy highlight moments, however, such as the epic, organ like synths on ”Christotokos”.

Looking for a trip in extremely malevolent soundscapes? Then do check out In Bondage to the Serpent which surely serves that purpose. All is done pretty well here but then again, it is 2011 and there's been similar efforts quite a lot every year, and although NunFuckRitual is somewhat above the line of mediocrity, something more is needed to truly rise my attention. And I don't think that applies merely to yours truly.

3 / 5

ARCHGOAT: "Heavenly Vulva (Christ's Last Rites)"

Five years back, the Finnish underground black metal scene greeted the arrival of Whore of Bethlehem with bold, superlative words, and not without a reason. One of the country's oldest black metal groups were back and the album crushed the hell out of everything. It was nothing new but still utterly dark and ass-kicking fusion of murky death and black metal, similar to e.g. Beherit. A few years later, The Light-Devouring Darkness saw its release and it was about as hellish as its predecessor. Keeping this in mind, it was no surprise that I've waited for Heavenly Vulva (Christ's Last Rites), their new EP, with great anticipation. Now that I've finally confronted this beast, I can't say I'm disappointed at all.

The paradigm in which Archgoat still plays its bestial filth, and has done so for the past twenty years or so, hasn't disappeared anywhere on Heavenly Vulva. A familiar introduction opens up the EP, and then ”Blessed Vulva” gets into the real meat: a lot of blast beat variations pummel amidst low-tuned guitar riffs and the vocalist grunts indecipherable blasphemy, and soon after the tempo drops into slow, atmospheric menace that is crowned with eerie, epic keyboard mats. Similar patterns are explored in the follow-ups ”Goddess of the Abyss of Graves” and ”Penetrator of the Second Temple” of which the latter incorporates some sweet, higher-pitched guitar violence. ”Day of Clouds” belong my favourities of the EP – you just can't go wrong with those judgement bell accents that have appeared on earlier recordings already. ”Passage to Millenial Darkness” is probably the harshest and swiftest piece of the bunch, a fine ending for the record.

In case you're thinking that you've had your share of Archgoatian style already and there's no need for any more of the same, Heavenly Vulva (Christ's Last Rites) might be an unnecessary purchase. But for a fanboy like me, and for those that in general have an interest in uncompromising bestial black / death metal, this EP is golden. It doesn't reach the level of the full-lengths, but is a well done snack of 16 minutes from one of the country's elite groups. Here's to hoping that another full album will soon surface as well.

4 / 5

RÊX MÜNDI: "IHVH"

Rêx Mündi is an entirely new black metal project to me and here this four-piece offers their debut album IHVH which is set to be released via Debemur Morti Productions, a label that I personally hold in high regard, the day after after tomorrow. It is about time I write a few words about it, as I've had it in rotation for multiple weeks by now, but somehow it's been hard to find the right words to describe it. It is not as if the album was so spellbinding, but perhaps the reason resides somewhere in the album's repetitive nature.

Things start very promisingly with ”J'imagine (Be-Reshit)” that dwells in mid-tempo grounds where heart-wrenching, discordant yet melancholic pluckings ring, the vocalist proclaiming his message with devilish intention. The following ”Naphtali” begins in similar spirit but soon after turns into a mass of blast beats. A lot of tempo and rhythm changes happen, and although IHVH clearly isn't tehnical music, it is still fairly complex in all its 10-minute compositions that corporate quite many riffs. Riffs that, however, are somewhat recycled throughout with minimal changes. Hence the rant about IHVH's repetitiveness, and while it's still pleasurable to listen to through the first tracks, it's getting a tad dulling by the fifth track or so.

If it haven't come clear by now, we're dealing with an orthodox / religious black metal release, so you may expect plenty of mysterinousness and an overall aura of the darkest darkness herein. I have come across more convincing products in the field, but there's still no question of the hard work and all the sweat behind the creation of this well-executed, 50-minute whole. The sucky part about receiving a lot of promos is not having enough time with all the stuff you'd like to analyze much further, and this is also the case with IHVH that probably has more stones unturned that I now realize. Also, seeing the lyrics – an important factor in this style – would have helped the process, but this time I'm coping with audio only. Not a bad record at all, and definitely recommendable for those who haven't got enough of the initial bands of the subgenre.

3 / 5

INFESTUS: "Ex | Ist"

One-man black metal projects rarely showcase as qualified handling of instruments as Infestus does here on his third full-length Ex ‏| Ist, a majestic opus of atmospheric black metal executed in a bright, massive soundscape, thematically revolving around inner turmoil which is successfully put to practice in these long compositions where desperation meets anger. This all forms a very professional sounding and endurable whole though the album does have its flaws as well.‏‏‏

The instrumental ”Akoasma” begins the journey, shifting from double bass frenzies to portentous acoustic guitars and solos, following closely the footsteps of Shining. Next up is ”Down Spiral Personification” which is more evidently black metal but with a good dose of fitting melody therein, making it a highlight of the album. ”Darkness Blazing the Flame of Fire” crawls with moderate speed and murky riffs until it explodes to blast beats and vicious tremolo riffs like the track before it, the same applying to ”Mirror Mind Reality” and basically the rest of the album. That is not to say that the songs repeat themselves, no, every track here incorporates multiple interesting sections within their long playing times, ensuring wholly enjoyable rides through varying tempos and moods.

During the last two pieces, ”Der Blick Hinaus” and ”Descend Direction Void”, a plenty of acoustic sections are added to the middle of the metal, working exceptionally well on the latter, doom-driven song that ends the album with reverb-laden repeated acoustic pattern. Not to be forgotten, either, is the album’s short centerpiece ”Torn Obsever” which is filled with pulsating rhythms and melodies reeking of dissonant evil.

Not all riffs on the long course of Ex | Ist truly stand out with splendor, but when looking at the big picture, there’s no way calling the album a failed attempt at proper black metal darkness. Once again it must be stated that it’s impressive how good sounding whole has mere one man created here - it’s apparent that this album has been a long time in the making. A recommended album if you’re into not-that-traditional black metal and seek for fresher ideas and good productions sound-wise.

3.5 / 5

BLUT AUS NORD: "777 - Sect(s)"

As a fellow of mine said lately, it’s not every day you come across this popular and hyped bands that keep releasing new material constantly whilst still retaining the quality of the music. The odd path that Blut Aus Nord chose on The Mystical Beast of Rebellion - and since then has evolved it through a plethora of other albums - is still present on their latest offering 777 - Sect(s), meaning that the band sounds still as convulsing and twisted as before.

Those familiar with this French group’s earlier efforts know what to expect, indeed: mechanical, capricious black metal that mostly relies on dissonant chords yet, at times, realizes to feed the listener with a bit of tasteful melody. On 777 - Sect(s), it mostly happens on the rather slow-tempo ”Epitome 02” that gets only more epic towards the end with its lead guitar melodies, and on the closer ”Epitome 06” that belongs to the same category of fully welcome breathing moments amidst all the cacophonic and twisted blasting that the album otherwise brings forth.

And what’s best about the other tracks, they actually are real growers instead of unnecessarily meandering artistic nonsense. It does take a couple of spins, but by now the ingenious riffs are comprehended to the extent that the music sounds almost catchy, and that’s a term you often don’t see connected to the repulsive monster named Blut Aus Nord. The centerpiece  ”Epitome 04” is the truest example of a song that first might seem to revolve around not-that-exquisite riffs but after a few listens opens up to goosebumps inducing beauty. Of all the five tracks, ”Epitome 05” is the only one that slightly pales in the shadow of the others but I would still regard it as an important part of the whole.

While What Once Was... Liber I was not so mindblowing experience, I’m admittedly really impressed by 777 - Sect(s) on which almost all the previous glitches of a Blut Aus Nord record have been fixed. Most importantly, the material is consistently on high level without any filler material, and it all lasts for a fitting and endurable 46 minutes. Four stars, if not more, are surely deserved here, and yours truly is now wholeheartedly looking forward to hearing the next two chapters of this well-begun trilogy.

4 / 5

BLUT AUS NORD: "The Mystical Beast of Rebellion" CD Reissue

Blut Aus Nord’s third full-length has been sold out for a good while now, so it was only logical to see Debemur Morti Productions reissuing the album, and not merely making an identical package in comparison to the original; in addition to the new artwork, a second disc of wholly new material is attached to the package as well, comprising 37 minutes of fresh material in the same vein as the original record.

The Mystical Beast of Rebellion was the beginning of Blut Aus Nord’s transformation into the dissonant, mechanized style that has been further explored in the band’s latter albums such as The Work Which Transforms God and MoRT. There’s only little trace left of the atmospheric and melodic style that was presented on the first two albums: The Mystical Beast of Rebellion is a stripped down, weird, meandering piece of black metal where the drums are more clearly programmed, almost incessantly playing a stable blast beat throughout the album - it’s not until ”Chapter V” when the pace slows down. What’s left of the first records’ ambient elements is mere quiet humming between the seven tracks.

The three new songs, all simply named ”Chapter 7”, venture further into slower-paced, dark and doomy soundscapes, production-wise close to the first disc’s material. The last of the three takes this pattern the furthest, being a really slow 19-minute monster. I see no reason for a Blut Aus Nord fan not to like these newest offerings. In my books, nothing ever tops Ultima Thulée out of all the band’s releases, but that is not to underrate this convulsing weirdness that this album offers - on both discs.

To truly grasp what’s going on in the confusing maze of The Mystical Beast of Rebellion, careful attention is needed. As a background music this easily turns into a meaningless mess with little worth. This is what makes Blut Aus Nord’s unique style challenging on the album, even more so on the following records. The Mystical Beast of Rebellion is the most logical place to start discovering the band’s second style as it’s probably the most accessible of the bunch. I’d go even as far as saying that this is an influential album in the sense that it was among the first black metal albums to properly incorporate this sinister atonality.

4 / 5