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

SZRON: "Death Camp Earth"

It's crazy to think that around two years ago I still thought that Polish black metal had already seen its most glorious days and nowadays the country yields only rather generic music, but oh how wrong was I. Whilst the first remark might still be true to a large extent – nothing quite beats what the various The Temple of Fullmoon bands did in the 90s – I constantly find myself lured to listen to Dark Fury (all albums now in my shelves), Ohtar (oh, true for that too) and other somewhat newer, mostly 21st century acts hailing from Poland. Szron is another example of these, and especially their 2010 album Zeal. Characteristic of the label Under the Sign of Garazel, I didn't see their newest album Death Camp Earth coming at all, I just suddenly came across it and saw it was released already in September. Information flow in the age of the internet isn't so flawless after all!

Death Camp Earth follows its predecessor in similar steps in that it consists of just a few tracks, though this is compensated by their lengths so that in total the album runs for a fitting 39 minutes. These four songs form this concise whole of uncompromising underground black metal which comprises both hateful tremolo riffing as well as a sense of sadness. Compared to earlier efforts, I think there's a bit more concentration on evoking a brooding, misty atmosphere instead of just kicking things dead with mere powerful rhythms. This means there's plenty of ominous and rather slow dwelling like the long interlude in the center of "Becoming a Shadow" consisting of nothing but a repetitive pattern of plucked, distorted guitars. "The Birth of a God" is all sullen too, seas of tremolo delivering utter hopelessness. "Summoning the Storm of Nothingness" picks up the pace a little and gives more space to ferocious riffing. The self-titled song, then again, concludes the album in a rather wistful mood.

The album is in almost every way the kind of black metal I always prefer, but it does have its minor glitches. The only proper problem I have with it is the production which suffocates the drums way too much into the background: where's the bass drum? The snare? Level them a bit closer to the massive walls of guitars, and you've got a winner right there. But now we kind of miss the power those sweet beats in e.g. "Summoning the Storm of Nothingness" would otherwise have. With this production in mind, I wouldn't say Death Camp Earth is as good as Zeal but this does come very close to it. Very much recommended anyhow if you're up for a feast on some tasteful black metal that doesn't play with unnecessary gimmicks.

3.5 / 5

PURE EVIL: "As Blood Turns Black, Mankind Shall Drown in Despair"

On previous albums, Pure Evil has been known for roaming the territories of underground death metal in a really Satanic manner, and in spite of getting albums released via black metal related labels it wasn't until the dawn of As Blood Turns Black, Mankind Shall Drown in Despair that the band adopted clear black metal influences: so clear actually that you couldn't really figure out this album is Pure Evil (though the vocals are still rather low-ranged growls), because this really is Pure Evil gone Pure Black Metal.

From the first seconds of the eponymous introduction 'til the very end we've got some freezing tremolo picked riffs evoking hatred with an edge of melodic nostalgia. The soundscape is rather harsh in its basslessness, but it is only fitting considering the totally different grounds on which the compositions have been built this time around: instead of any two-minute death feasts, there's something like "Slain by Frost" which runs for continuous eleven minutes, comprising adventurous riffing and various beats to back up the journey in some very cold atmospheres. Even "Tapa Minut" ("Kill Me") with its quite brutal message deals with a lot of piercing melancholy which only brings some seriousness to the issue at hand: I doubt I would've been as affected had this been a mere menacing piece with less varied riffing, because we've all heard that before.

One feature that really surprises me here is that these damn riffs and melodies actually get stuck to my head. It doesn't happen with many new albums nowadays, so whatever is the secret to Kryth's ability come up with memorable songwriting, I raise my hat especially since Pure Evil hasn't played in this style ever before. But surely he's gotten the skills from Korgonthurus, a band that would actually be the best comparison to Pure Evil as of 2012. I do wonder if this was just a one-album experimentation and sure wish it wasn't since I, as a sucker for Finnish black metal done this way, enjoy As Blood Turns Black, Mankind Shall Drown in Despair even a lot more than the previous death metal recordings.

4 / 5

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