ARKTAU EOS: "Unworeldes"

Arktau Eos' brand new vinyl-only album Unworeldes continues the journey in similar sounds as Ioh-Maera, its sibling released around the same time. So, what you should expect is some extremely dark and brooding ambient combined with the ritualistic, occult aspects these Finnish bands are known for, and for what they'd deserve more recognition than they currently do. But I do realize that this kind of music is of challening nature; it requires careful listening and to be properly delved into.

Now one could ask what makes Unworeldes differ from Ioh-Maera, as in why weren't they released together and why is this only on vinyl. I can't give objective answers to those questions but I do have a gut feeling that this record just happens to fit to the format perfectly. There's something more organic, analog about the sound if compared to the abyssal basses of Ioh-Maera. Don't get me wrong though, this is damn deep as well, just in a little different way. It sounds old and atmospheric, like a vinyl should.

What comes to the individual tracks, well, they're pure splendour. "The Cypress Watcher" keeps it rather quiet for the first minute but then the low frequency bass emerges along with a high-pitch note that always appears in waves. "Coven of the Seven-Winged" crawls up slowly too, but after two minutes there comes some hissing cymbals and an utterly beautiful melody, both sorrowful and mysterious, somewhere in the haze of this soundscape. "Black Leaf Gaze" is probably my favourite with its very dramatic melody pattern. It's like a possessed, low-tuned mellotron playing dirges with some feedback backing it up. Beautiful. "Geometry of Emptiness" closes things with reverberating choral sounds and with the album's first and only percussion pattern.

I find Unworeldes simply enthralling. Somehow the production as well as the faint melodies make it even surpass Ioh-Maera. This one also benefits from the format in that it's a compact four-track whole with two sides of almost equal length, so the coherence is definitely there. What else I'd ask for? I can't think of any downsides here really, but I'm still not going to give full points since there's always room for improvement, I believe. I want to see the day when Arktau Eos top even this album.

4.5 / 5

ARKTAU EOS: "Ioh-Maera"

I've deliberately avoided listening to any ambient music for a long time, for the sole reason that I haven't had proper equipment to truly enjoy this particular style of music. But now that my shiny new headphones are in, I was more than glad to give the new Arktau Eos albums a go. I've followed these Finnish groups for various years and they've always kept my interest: there's no way to deny the ingenuity and brilliance of Halo Manash or Zoät-Aon. Now Arktau Eos is coming up with two brand new releases of which the other, Ioh-Maera, is CD-only, consisting of five long (around ten minutes a piece), haunting tracks that probably derive from some other plane of existence.

"Unbinding Kaamos" starts it all, creeping up slowly with a deep bass tone pattern. After a while, discordant male chanting emerges, uttering Enochian secrets on the brink of insanity. Brooding cymbal-like hissing in the background. With "Noxfaros" things get more active via the incorporation of a repetitive percussion pattern. Compared to the preceding track, the humming is slightly higher and extrovert. Culmination happens in a noisy drone reminiscent of guitar drone that fluctuates between the left and right channels.

"Sunken Luminaries" soothes the atmosphere a bit. The feedback drone is still lurking but otherwise it's calm now, though the constant feeling of oppression lingers on. Then, "Ioh-Maera" returns to rhythm. A deeply reverberating pattern is being repeated among the layer of low-tone, malefic chants. At six minutes or so, hell breaks loose with the vocals heavily proclaiming IOH-MAERA, IOH-MAERA... "Otherstone Refraction" brings a bit of relief after all the infernality of the previous track. This is the first time I sense something vaguely melodic on the album, but it's really minimal. A steady hum carries on through the track, slowly ending the journey.

What's left after the session is a confused mind which feels like it departed this life for the course of the album. This, of course, requires rather heavy volume; otherwise you end up dismissing the whole thing and turning on something 'more lively' music. Anyways, Ioh-Maera manages to do exactly what I think an ambient album should do: keep my attention throughout and bring me to some other sceneries. There are no big twists on the album, but it simply sounds so damn good and organic that it's pure pleasure to listen to. I could have shortened a couple of the tracks a bit here, but it's not like I'm bored at any moment of the experience. Those into dark, ritualistic ambient should not miss this one – nor the vinyl-only album either.

4 / 5

MORDBRAND: "Kolumbarium"

My last encounter with Mordbrand was another EP, Necropsychotic, which was a rather usual feast on Swedish underground elements and which, admittedly, I've pretty much forgotten by now. But something lured me to see what they are to offer on a seven inch record since I'm a big lover of the format: you've got nothing but ten minutes or so to convince and that's it. No time for slacking or anything of that sort. Kick ass and leave.

And what would be more fitting for the format than crunching, devastating, reeking death metal. I don't think much has changed since Necropsychotic but it's not like I'd expect much innovation from this market: what we've got is monstrously pummelling drums (from various sorts of blasts to the d beats), downtuned string menace and hellish uttering. What makes the A side track "Consume Them" so good is the amount of dynamics they've managed to cram into the six minutes. There are varying tempos and some bright lead melodies, a breakdown with some ominous whispering, some doomish elements, and whatnot. With these features this is pretty easily the best track from the subgenre I've heard in a while – the last topper was probably from The Chills by Horrendous.

The B side hell roams under the moniker "Let Them Slumber" and what surprises me the most here is that it's no one else than Nox from Craft fame visiting here. You can tell it from the riffs already: the malicious, groovy shit that begins from 1:40 or so is pure and sole Craft: you've got the riffs, the beats, the vocals, the solos! So how exactly does their black metal work within Mordbrand's death? Well, this proves it works just admirably. In short, Kolumbarium did what I was looking for it to do: provide some very effective and demolishing old school death metal. Nothing from the subgenre really really bowls me over I'm afraid, but this is as great as it gets, I think, and I enjoy it to a great extent.

4 / 5

ISRATHOUM: "Black Poison and Shared Wounds"

Israthoum is another example of those bands that have roamed the earth for over 20 years (though under a different name in the beginning) yet I had never before heard of them. It seems that they haven't garnered much of attention during the years but then again, Black Poison and Shared Wounds is only their second full-length.

In spite of their age, what Israthoum plays here is a rather modern type of black metal. But no worries, they've kept it raw and raucous nonetheless. When the first riffs of "Necromancer's Fugue" roll in I'm instantly reminded of Sardonic Wrath era Darkthrone, but when the album is considered as a whole, it isn't a truly fitting comparison. This is because Israthoum tends to play in a more twisting and adventurous manner: the sudden changes of rhythms, crazy speeds and some surprising melodies – see the high-note melancholy of "The Presence, the Baying", the infernality of "Burning the Sephiroth" and the abyssal tunes of "Procession of Demented" – are the kind of elements that seperate Israthoum from being a totally uncompromising piece of underground black metal.

The core elements are indeed simple here, but the little touches of innovation give the album even a better taste. Still, it would be misguiding to say that Black Poison and Shared Wounds was anything spectacular. It is not as if I'd yearn to listen to this record, and I'm pretty sure that people wouldn't miss anything truly big if they didn't check this one out. But as a little snack of well-played black metal with a good production, this does its job very well. Repeated listens have revealed that there's a real heap of quality in here so that I'm actually going to give it a half star more than what I was originally planning. Bonus points for the sweet, detailed artwork.

3.5 / 5 

SHIA-IXA: "Chaos Voodoo Magick"

Whenever I put on Shia-Ixa's Chaos Voodoo Magick, I'm reminded of the fact that most of the black metal that gets released nowadays follows some very strick guidelines. Then when I return to witness what the hell is going on on this tape, I smile because Shia-Ixa has actually done something really weird here, but it's also (1) tasty and (2) authentic black metal that doesn't play with mere artsy gimmicks.

We could of course debate on whether this is solely a black metal record, but I don't find that so relevant a question. Anyhow, at places there are some surprisingly 'general' riffs in the background, like on the starter "The Possession". The dominating weird stuff, however, happens in the forefront where maniacal moans and wails confuse the listener to the brink of insanity. This piece of harsh hammering is followed by the ritualistic "Celebration of the Reign of Exua" which incorporates a pummelling, reverberating bass drum whacking steady kicks under a hysteric acoustic guitar plucking discordant tunes. Ominous voices in the background. Chanting. A vehement conjuration?

"Liturgy of Mahu Khaos" is then a return to the first track's style with messy drums and guitars playing something Ødelegger-like and vocals chanting undecipherable rituals along with a high-pitched effect voice. "Rite of Mange Loa" introduces a screeching guitar melody in moderate pace. The scheme remains the same until its end, but it builds and builds and becomes more chaotic every second, until it's time for the last piece, "Invocation of All Gods and Spirit Who Gather Under the Banner of Evil", to kick in and provide some trance-inducing bass lines with multiple layers of vocals proclaiming whatever magical rituals they proclaim.

The best comparison to Shia-Ixa would logically be its native colleague Dead Reptile Shrine. Both bands execute something that's on the verge of ritualistic ambient and black metal. Shia-Ixa, though, might be even a bit more coherent than the aforementioned band in that there's a bit more structure to these songs than DRS sometimes tends to have. I also hear something similar to Saturnian Mist in here which, though, I can't fully explain. All in all, Chaos Voodoo Magick is an odd bird that is probably going to make you vomit if played at high volume. It confuses but in a good way. I've really enjoyed listening to this every now and then, but it definitely requires a certain kind of state of mind to get truly appreciated. A quiet dark night would be the most ideal circumstance, I'd say.

4 / 5

FORLORN WINDS: "The Day the Wolf Swallowed the Sun"

Cold, vast mountain landscapes. Piercing gusts in the heart of winter. Although nothing explicitly implies it here, I sense a strong nordic spirit in Forlorn Winds' debut album The Day the Wolf Swallowed the Sun, in the kind of way a Hate Forest record like Purity or Sorrow conveys its coldness – and I wouldn't surprise if indeed the aforementioned band was a deliberate influence on this band's sound.

The members behind Forlorn Winds aren't any newcomers into black metal, though. Comprising a doublet of Pantheon and Dark Fury related personnel, one might already guess that this fusion would result in a competent record, and that is very true. The band plays very straightforward, monotonous style of black metal that is dominated by steady drum machine blasts and breezing tremolo riffing. Melodically, the album is not entirely harsh nor mournful: it nicely balances between the two elements, evoking a rather epic yet ominous atmosphere. Fitting mid-range growls complete the package, and in the end I don't have much bad things to say about the album.

The Day the Wolf Swallowed the Sun is smoothly executed underground black metal that on the other hand doesn't provide anything new, but on the other it has pretty much everything a good black metal album needs. No tricks, no surprises. Sometimes during the course of the album it might get even a bit too monotonous, but luckily Forlorn Winds have kept all their songs under four minutes, so these raucous blasts will never tire the listener. Just when the riff patterns would get too familiar, the song ends and a new beast emerges. So if you happen to crave for another Blood of Kingu or Hate Forest record, you might want to give Forlorn Winds a chance.

3.5 / 5

ANGANTYR: "Forvist"

Taking on an Angantyr album is never a simple task. The songs drag on and on, there's no real variation during whole albums, and a foreign listener can't really even follow the lyrical story. So what's the catch? Honestly I'm not sure, even though I consider 2007's Hævn to be a monumental record that carries a lot of personal importance for me.

And although Ynleborgaz's music doesn't base on any really unique ideas, it's always recognizable Angantyr. The deal is rather straightforward black metal that balances 50/50 on two elements that are atmosphere and hatred – not separately, but always combined. And when a certain kind of nostalgic mourning gets conflated with the disgust and hate towards Christianity, you get the proud, paganish style that the band has been executing since 1997.

The newest album, Forvist, follows these familiar steps closely, and before embarking on its journey I was unsure if I could take another round of the same style, but apparently I can and with largely positive thoughts. What always grabs my attention is the ultimate, and I really mean ultimate, endurance and power of the sole member behind it all. He may whack the kit like a machine for continuous 10 minutes as well as firing those tremolo-riffs for an eternity. So maybe the feeling of endurance, 'never-give-up' kind of attitude is part of Angantyr's attraction, which is very true in Forvist's case too. He comes up with these menacing yet tragic riffs and holds the listener in trance for at least six minutes every time – and then it's time for another. It all conveys the journey-kind-of feeling very strongly.

It's pretty hard to mention any particularly shining moments on Forvist because it's pure ancient battle all the way through. The feeling of a consistent whole is further evoked by the fitting appearances of an acoustic guitar in the beginning and the end of the voyage. Anyhow, as already said, it's not necessarily easy to like something as, ehm, stagnant as this album, but at least personally I don't mind having a little task of really getting into a record – no matter how stale it might sound at first – because in the end it rewards. This is a thing I guess I should have realized in the case of 2010's Svig that I largely ignored, and now it might be a good time for me to look at it with different eyes.

3.5 / 5