BLACK HOWLING: "This Rain Is the Weeping of Forefathers"

Black Howling has certainly not stayed inactive during these recent years, with various, both major and minor, releases in very close history. This Rain Is the Weeping of Forefathers is another full-length of theirs, the Bubonic Productions sect Discipline being behind its release again, having produced a sweet looking black & white layout with nicely detailed graphics, a tease to the eyes of a fan of underground black metal aesthetics.

Musically, not much has changed: it is ugly, lengthy, seemingly disorganized, chaotic. The most prominent difference resides in the production which is somewhat more bass full, slightly oriented towards a low-end spectrum. This evokes a daunting, oppressive atmosphere, instruments hammering like a bludgeon. Of course, this is a very subtle difference and a casual Black Howling passer-by will not notice any change in respect to earlier material. The band has also incorporated some faster sections inside the crawling, ominous music, resulting in swift and charmingly clumsy blast beats. 

As expected, a long breakdown appears in the middle, after which the album welcomes its most impressive moment as the almost romantic piano notes are played on top of the discordant black metal mess. Guitars are this time around more lively than ever, providing multiple twirling solos (!) and, weird enough, they fit in very well. The consequence of the pianos and solos at the latter half of the song is almost euphoric: it is pure grandiose melancholy towards the song's end. The song tricks you into thinking that it concludes around thirty minutes but no, another epic section bursts in with some keys in the background, somewhat similar to A Soul Departed to the Unknown. Then the metal disappears, and what is left is some feedback, those Burzum esque key notes, and the hum of rain - the weeping of forefathers.

In a way, I see This Rain Is the Weeping of Forefathers as a pinnacle of the band's career so far. It dares to be a single composition of over 35 minutes, torturing the listener with its highly distorted and thus latent beauty. Whereas the band has never delivered anything I actually wouldn't have liked, this time all things seem to have fallen into their very right places. It isn't catchy or anything along those lines, but a perfect soundtrack to certain states of mind.

4.5 / 5