Entry 1576 - Skyforet - A New Dawn

Style: melodic black metal, symphonic black metal

Thoughts: Here's a thought: what if black metal was filled with hope and in a major key. Would it still be black metal or would it be something else? These are questions that run through my head with Skyforest's latest album.

A New Dawn focuses on epic symphonic moments intermixed with more typical tropes of the genre. Much of the music revolves around a simple structure: small clean guitar riffs that eventually blow up into a near overwhelming level of layered keyboards, guitars, drums, and effects. The band is on Northern Silence Productions, if you know the sound that this label puts out, Skyforest represents that style well.

While I've heard this combination multiple times before, the differentiation here is that Skyforest does most of this in a major key. This gives the music a fundamental difference from much of their contemporaries in the symphonic black metal field.  

Instead of hatred we have hope, instead of despair we have wonder, instead of death we have life. It's the antithesis of what the genre usually provides. I'm unsure as to what it means for the classification of the record but it certainly is enough to make it stand out for better or worse.

So since this is fundamentally different than most of the genre, the question then becomes is it enjoyable? That answer is not quite as easy to formulate. In many ways I respect the music for what it's doing. It's applying a completely different approach to known and loved tropes that have worked for decades. Respect is different from enjoyment however.

I think on a philosophical level there is a lot to like here, but on a musical level I don't think that this album and I see eye to eye. There are bands out there that approach the genre in similar ways that have succeeded but Skyforest does not appear to be one of those bands. The songs are well constructed, well played, but they just aren't for me. 

Maybe it's the fact that I've heard this approach before from so many other of the bands label mates. Maybe it's the lack of direction of a lot of the songs. Maybe it's that some of the songs just meander too much. Whatever it is I can't find myself getting into this one nearly as much as I would like. That's okay though, there is tons of good music still left in the world. Having one album that does not fit my listening needs is not something that I will shed a tear over. 

Entry 1575 - 36 - Reality Engine

Style: melodic ambient

Thoughts: 3 six has been a favorite of mine within the ambient genre for a very long time. I discovered his music years before I found any of the other ambient that I've been delving into lately. I love most of his music, especially the early works. 

Reality Engine is the third part of what is Past Inside the Presents "synth trilogy." I'm not sure what the other two entries are, but this one is certainly quite different than the early works I enjoyed so much from 36. 

Quite a bit has changed: instead of hazy slowly evolving structures we have defined synths playing reverbed melodies. Instead of an overarching theme, the melodies will modulate in different patterns in a "variations on a theme" format. Instead of a wall of sound approach there are now individual melodic lines that build over each other creating a similar effect but with an entirely different feel to it.

This album took me a bit to enjoy when I first put it on. It was not at all what I was expecting from 36, but is that a bad thing? Just because I expect a specific thing from an artist does not mean that they have to oblige. In fact if they write something for me, or really anyone else what is their art then? Isn't that the definition of selling out if they aren't making music for themselves.

Reality Engine is different, very different. It falls somewhere in between synthwave, ambient, and the usual haze that 36 brings. Yet somehow it belongs to none of these genres. It's it's own study of melody in an ambient setting. It's a celebration of aural joy. It's a place where you can come to rest... be at peace.

There is nothing overtly challenging about Reality Engine, but that does not mean that there is nothing happening here. There are textures here that are not present in most other music. There's a call and response structure to the music that evolves over time and becomes a core tenant of the music. 36 has evolved with time and Reality Engine shows just how much. A welcome change from an old friend. 

Entry 1574 - Dödsrit - Spirit Crusher

Style: Crusty black metal

Thoughts: Man I wanted to like this album. It's so easily digestible and likable on first listen. The riffs flow so nicely and just meld into each other nearly perfectly. The d-beat is integrated so well and it all just works... until it doesn't.

Spirit Crusher is is the black metal/punk equivalent of lite beer. It's nice and tastes refreshing... until  you try a real one. Then all the redeeming qualities of the music seem hollow and are simply not as appealing anymore. 

The riffs here are great for a time but they wear out their welcome. The punk elements are great but sometimes overused and drag the song down. The song length is over ten minutes per track and the songs end up meandering back and fourth between different riffs and ideas without any real direction. The album feels more like a collection of riffs that are strung together rather than songs with an overarching plan. The individual moments are fine for what they are, but they feel like there are two to three songs in each song rather than one long track loosely tying them all together. 

Spirit Crusher is not a bad album per see, it's just not something that I will find myself exploring very often. I find the music to be great for a few moments then I end up turning it off because I lose interest or I'm reminded of another album I would rather listen to. The band may be on to something here but at this point it's not something I will come back to much. 

Entry 1573 - (dolch) - III - Songs of Happiness... Words of Praise

Style: experimental rock/ambient, doom metal

Thoughts: What a curious album. It starts out with a seemingly computerized voice thanking you for purchasing the album and then announces that the album is starting. Track two is another incredibly short intro involving some brass instrumentation before the band finally begins their musical escapades.

What the band does offer at this stage of their career is a curious combination of fuzzy riffs, hypnotic drumming, droning vocals, and a sense of atmosphere that is rare. This combination gives the music a somewhat unique feel... I know I've heard it before, but never in metal. Of all things it brings to mind the legendary band Dead Can Dance. 

The River is the first proper song on the album and as soon as the vocals come in the comparisons to Dead Can Dance start parading through my head. The tribal rhythm of the drums, the haunting male and female vocals interplaying with each other, the hypnotic effect that it all has. It really feels like something out of Into the Labyrinth or Spirit Chaser, just with heavily distorted guitars instead of traditional instrumentation. It's quite the trip.

The remaining songs recall other moments from the legendary band but not to as strong of a degree. Siren is a slow dirge that focuses on haunting female vocals with a hugely distorted riff underneath. It's slow and deliberate in the same way you would expect from a dirge. 

Hydroxytryptamin Baby is a near ambient song that obscures the vocals behind a wall of guitar riffs and other noises creating a confusing and almost off putting atmosphere into play. It uncomfortable to say the least.

This leaves the final track, 100000 Days. This is a behemoth of a song and nearly half the albums length. The track length is taken up by this monolith ebbing and flowing with almost the same riff the entire time. It will grow massive before fading into new obscurity and then returning even stronger. It's an aural study in what music can do to a listener... I'm not sure if I like it or not but I do respect the hell out of the artistic vision of the song.

Dolch's third demo is interesting to say the least. Reminding me of one of my favorite projects ever to exploring aural chaos and ambience delivered through guitars and distortion. These guys are doing their own thing, and no one else that I can think of is even close.  This is all of the Dolch I have in my collection as of the time of this writing, but that may soon change as I explore their full lengths more.

Entry 1572 - Izumo

Style: black metal

Thoughts: Japanese black metal has always been a curiosity of mine. Actually Japanese music in general has been a curiosity for a long time. Much of it can be exceptionally interesting and experimental in ways that you just don't see in the west. Unfortunately, not all Japanese music can hold up to this standard.

Izumo's self titled album is an album I got purely because it was Japanese black metal. I listened to it once and thought it was decent before adding it to my cart. This may have been a mistake. 

On repeated listens Izumo offers little in terms of depth. The riffs are repetitive and are largely played over variations of a blast beat. Sometimes repetitive riffs are a good thing, but not in this case. They don't offer that hypnotic quality to them that I would expect from repetitive riffs. The songs either don't go on long enough, or the riffs aren't engaging enough to ever achieve the desired effect.

What this album does offer is about thirty minutes of competent but generic black metal. There is a place for it, but I already have bands that have done this style in my collection. I would rather listen to the originators of a particular style than a copy cat. Especially when the derivative works are merely there to add to the quantity of the genre and not much else. 

Entry 1571 - Katatonia - Tonight's Decision

Style: progressive/depressive rock/metal

Thoughts: "You would never sleep at night, if you knew what I've been through." A strong proclamation from the first song on Tonight's Decision - For My Demons. The second album where the band switched from their doom/black/death roots into a more rock oriented focus. 

Discouraged Ones was more or less a continuation of the Brave Murder Day style with a more verse/chorus structure. The riffs largely remained consistent with the single note picked riffs that were repetitive and yet still somehow hypnotic and compelling. Tonight's Decision begins to move away from that style rather decisively. 

The simple note picked riffs are still present throughout the album, such as in the verse for I Am Nothing and in moments of For My Demons. There are other parts of these same songs though where the band starts going for a more open chord approach that kind of goes half way between a wall of sound effect and the earlier albums. 

With all these songs though the lead guitar has a lot more of a role than it did since the debut Dance of December Souls. It weaves back and fourth with the vocals as if almost in an interplay or delicate dance. Sometimes its awkward, sometimes it works so well that it offers some of Katatonia's best moments in their extensive catalog. 

It's the awkward moments where this album starts to lose me though. Songs like I am Nothing and In Death, A Song there are just too many points where I feel like the riffs/leads needed a bit more time to ruminate with the band to sound a little less rough. This isn't just prevalent in these early songs, it's in nearly every song, at least for a few moments.  It's hard to get past them as they will break up the flow before the band goes back to grooving.

I kind of get what the band was going for here. They were trying to find their sound after transitioning out of extreme metal. This is very much a transition album as the band would find their true sound post-extremity with the follow up. This album is in some ways their awkward teenage years before they finally show all of the potential that they have been hinting at for years. 

Entry 1570 - Pa Vesh En - Knife Ritual and Dead Womb

Style: raw black metal

Thoughts: I had a conversation with a co-worker a few days ago that was speaking about the appeal of obscure music. Naturally black metal came up and with that the sub category of raw black metal. We discussed a great deal many things including the production in black metal and why I enjoyed a well done raw black metal album. Knife Ritual and Dead Womb will offer a great examples of every talking point I had with this individual.

Pa Vesh En has been a favorite of mine within the raw black metal scene ever since I stumbled upon this project some three to five years ago. There is something about the way they put together their releases that resonates with me. The atmosphere, the riffs, the horrorscape... everything. 

Knife Ritual and Dead Womb are the two demos for the project, and they offer an even bleaker production than the full lengths that would follow. The music will literally start to cut out at points much like an old phone call that was put across too many relay stations. It's hard to hear anything that is happening at first glance, and this is the division point: do we investigate further or do we move on. Most will move on, but for those who choose to investigate there is much to be revealed within the mire.

Raw black metal such as Pa Vesh En offers many things that "normal" music does not. The music is obviously made not for the consumer, but because the creator of the music wanted to make inaccessible music. Doing so creates an inherit integrity to the music that is gone with music written for accessibility first. 

Additionally both Knife Ritual and Dead Womb offer different takes on this genre with greatly different productions. Knife Ritual offers a more murky sound where the instruments are buried deep in the mix obscured by a hazy and often harsh fuzz to the production. Dead Womb on the other hand has a much more forward production but none less harsh. The instruments, while clearer, are almost physically painful to listen to with the higher register notes that they play. The difference between the two productions is curious and one that I enjoy greatly while spinning this record.

Raw black metal offers a feast for those who would delve into the music. It has an inherit depth to it through the mired production and inherit difficulties presented to the listener. Over the years I have come to enjoy these in music that actually awards the listener for their efforts. Of course there is raw black metal out there that does not respect the listeners time and provides the most simple of experiences within the raw black metal scene. However, there are also acts like Pa Vesh En that put interesting music behind the layers of sonic obscurity that ultimately reward those who would listen. 

Entry 1569 - Malfet - The Snaking Path

Style: Dungeon synth, fantasy synth

Thoughts: There are few artists who have carved out a sound for themselves in any genre - fewer still those within the dungeon synth/fantasy synth realm. One of the few minstrels that has managed this feet is Malfet. 

The Snaking Path is the debut record from this mysterious bard and immediately they have managed to create a sound that is inherently their own. These subtle melodies, played as if they were observed from a church pew from a gothic cathedral have an airy quality to them... nay an ethereal quality. 

These six compositions bear the weight of thrice their kindred. They bring joy, happiness, sorrow, contemplation, but most of all they harken forth the coming of the spirit of the forest. A testament to what nature can bring in the abscise of man. The peace that comes from a quiet meadow on a spring morning. The dew from the night still shimmers upon the ground. The wind whispers through the leaves and grass as if muttering the quietest of assurances. This is the realm of Malfet. 

The light cascading through a stained glass window. The echoes of a chapel that spent many a generation to complete. A structure more mighty than anything seen before. A place of worship like none other. This, this is the realm of Malfet.

Malfet brings joy where there was none. Malfet brings awe to those who need meaning. Malfet is a force of nature. Malfet is the quiet whisper in the night. The Snaking Path is their testament to mankind, nay the world. Malfet is simply, Malfet. 

Entry 1568 - Ulver - Liminal Animals

Style: synth pop, ambient, experimental

Thoughts: I think I'm going to be taking out the themes section of my summaries. I find myself being redundant there with the information I put in the thoughts section. I'm redundant enough with this blog already so I think we're just going to forgo it from this point forward. It was a good run.

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I had almost lost hope for my favorite band. Too many albums in a row were the same style, and they were losing the one true trademark they had: evolution. Having largely maintained the same style since Julius Cesar in 2017 I was very cautions about going into Liminal Animals. The singles for the album didn't really do much for me either. But alas this is my favorite band so I gave the album a full listen or five when it dropped, and well... it's a huge step in the right direction.

Of course the synth pop is still here, that hasn't changed. The simple catchy verse/chorus structure dominates a large amount of these nine songs... and honestly if I had only heard the first song Ghost Entry I would think that nothing had changed for the band. But then A City in the Skies comes in and... it sounds just a little different. 

It has just a bit more depth to it, a bit more ambience... it's just enough to get me curious. It's still super catchy synth-pop but man it doesn't immediately sound like Flower of Evil or The Assassination of Julius Cesar... which is incredibly welcome. A good portion of the song also delves into the instrumental territory, something that the band has almost all but forgotten about in the past two proper albums.  

Where the album really starts to take off though is Forgive Us. This is Ulver. This is the Ulver that I love. It starts out almost with a jazzy structure with keyboards being the main instrument, but not in a synth-pop way. More like a jazz chord progression from a modal band in the late 60's. Garm's vocals are also a bit more emotive than the past few songs... the soul is back in the music. 

Where the song really comes to life though is the absolutely excellent instrumental section at the end. This hearkens back to my favorite albums from the band: Svidd Neger and Perdition City. These subtle ambient filled moments with sparse melodies littering the background. The trumpet in particular is always a favorite of mine and it is used to maximum effect throughout this excellent song. My favorite Ulver track in literally years. 

The experimentation continues with Nocturne #1, a full on instrumental. I thought the band had forgotten how to write them, but no! They are back full force. The instrumental rounds out the first half of the album nearly perfectly.

Of course not all is well in the land of Ulver as we still have moments that recall the poor previous album - Locusts and Hollywood Babylon are the lead singles off the album and they are honestly forgettable. They call back to the synth-pop cancer that was growing in the band for all those years and I'm honestly sick of it at this point. 

The Red Light is a bit more palatable but still maintains that synth-pop feel to it. It does have a darker tone to it and drops all the playful elements of the past few songs, so I feel it's at least a worthy inclusion. 

The final moments of the album though the band goes back to my beloved experimentation. Nocturne #2 and Helian are both instrumentals (kind of - there's a lot of spoken word in Helian) and they bring back that feel of not knowing where the band is going to go next. I absolutely love this feeling, even if the tracks are not as strong as they could be, their inclusion is hugely significant.  

So Liminal Animals is complete and with it my  hope that the band can become what they once were: an evolving enigma that will release whatever the hell they want. These past few albums have not been individually disappointing (except for Flower of Evil), but the overall trend had me very worried. The fact that the band has gone back to some true experimentation on here gives me a glimmer of hope that they can regain their former glory. For the first time in a long while I can finally say: I'm looking forward to seeing where Ulver goes next.

Entry 1567 - Dunkel - Evighet

Style: black metal, dungeon synth

Primary Emotions/Themes: the night

Thoughts: Ever feel like you missed a classic? I certainly have had that feeling from time to time. That feeling rises once again with Dunkel's one and only demo Evighet. 

In simple terms this is a slow black metal release that relies heavily on keyboards. Of course simple descriptions have hardly ever been my forte when it comes to music so this will hardly do. 

Dunkel plays with two dominant styles on this twenty minute demo. The first of these is a slow, deliberate black metal that exceeds in a brooding atmosphere and an almost oppressive riff structure. The songs are intentional with every note and are delivered at a pace where everything is allowed to sink in fully before the next wave of notes hits. It's not overly complex, nor is it overly vicious, but it more than makes up for that with its excellent melodies and atmosphere. 

The second of these phases is what we now call dungeon synth. Keyboards playing near ambient level melodic structures that call to mind the cold of a bleak winters night. The kind of stuff that you would be listening to in your final moments before the cold finally takes you. Excellent stuff.

I love doing deep dives in music, and that is how I came across Evighet. The cover stood out to me so I gave it a listen. It turned out to be fantastic. The process reminded me quite a bit of going through old CD and record bins to find hidden gems, simply looking at album covers while scrolling through a distro's offering instead. It's rare to find something good, but when you do it certainly feels worth it. 

Entry 1566 - Blood Abscission - II

Style: atmospheric black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: 

Thoughts: Was it a fluke? Was the debut a fluke from these guys? Can they manage to keep the quality up for a second release? 

These questions and more were going through my head as I played their second album "II" for the first time. The opening riff was quite different than I expected, more brutal, more straight forward, less hypnotic. I was a bit worried.  

I think I was hoping for a clone of the debut with this record, this is not a close... but an evolution. The riffs here still display the same hypnotic character and the same blinding speed, but the atmosphere has changed ever so slightly. The riffs have mutated just a tad. The song writing remains excellent but again... has changed.

The band is less focused on the hypnotic riffs (though they still make up a vast majority of the album), as they have sprinkled in some near death metal riffs during the transition moments. There are also moments where the band truly slows down for a few brief instances and will throw another curve ball riff into the mix.

Is this a good or a bad thing? I'm still processing that question. This is certainly different, this is certainly something new for the band. It's not as laser focused as their debut, and I feel the band wanting to branch out a bit more with these songs. 

That said, II still sees the band doing what they do best for a vast majority of the release. The hypnotic atmosphere filled riffs at blinding speeds still make up a good 80 percent of the album and that is very pleasing to my ears. Where I'm still making the final determination is these odd transitions that the band is "experimenting" with. These moments while still good are enough to throw me off from time to time, we'll see how I feel about them after more listens.  Still a killer release.

Entry 1565 - Blood Abscission - I

Style: atmospheric black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: 

Thoughts: Where the hell did this come from?  The cover alone was enough to get me interested. A monochrome picture of a crane claw, nothing more, nothing less. Curious, minimalistic, unique.

Blood Abscission play black metal, an atmospheric variant. The atmosphere is almost always of paramount import on the album as there isn't a singular moment that feels hollow or complete. Speed, speed is the other defining factor. Again, not a singular moment on the album offers any sort of respite from the blazing speed. 

The riffs. The riffs are structured yet maintain an energy signaling that they are barely being controlled anymore.  The songs are long and the riffs have a hypnotic quality to them that few bands can master... and master it Blood Abscission has. These riffs are on the level of Mgla or Burzum in terms of their ability to draw me in and never let go. 

The most surprising moments on Blood Abscission's debut come from the incredible songwriting and atmosphere. There are moments in every song where either a riff, a keyboard line, a hypnotic moment, a transition, really anything will take me off guard and force me to stop whatever I am doing and simply listen.  This is the mark of elite music.

So the question then becomes, how original is this? Have I heard stuff like this before? The music is not really original, and yes I have heard stuff like this before. The third and most important question then becomes: does it matter? 

The answer to that question is no, it does not matter. Blood Abscission has created music that may sound derivative for a moment but the quality is so incredibly high that those concerns are quickly cast aside. Blood Abscission's debut record is one that I have found myself wanting to listen to over even classic albums from time to time, it's that solid. To think, all of this came from curiosity over a cover with only a hook on it.

Entry 1564 - Arch Enemy - Stigmata

Style: melodic death metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: humanity, the human condition

Thoughts: I don't know if I've ever heard an opening song as immediately impactful as Beast of Man. Drop the needle, a few moments of silence then BAM! The band comes storming in full force with drums, near full on death metal riffs and a screaming guitar solo. Now THAT is how you make an entrance.

Beast of Man remains one of my favorite songs of the band, it's just a shame that they were never able to reach that level of intensity again... on this release or any other. In fact there is a large section of this album that I would consider well below par for an acceptable melodic death metal song. Fortunately though that is not the complete story of this album.

First off the bad. Multiple songs in the middle of the album - namely Let the Killing Begin and Dark of the Sun. These songs meander and have some really awful riffing from time to time. Pair this with Johan's yell/bark vocals and you don't have a very good song.

Now then... the good. Beast of Man is an easy starting point here. The song starts the album off with a bang and gets me pumped every time I listen to it. The melodies in the title track are also top notch. Black Earth and Tears of the Dead both have great riffs and melodic moments in them, great palate cleanser after the poor songs mentioned earlier.

Then there is the truly sublime. The instrumentals on the last part of the album are insanely well put together. Vox Stellarum builds up to a beautiful crescendo before going into the epic closing track. Bridge of Destiny is a tale of two parts. The first part is a well executed melodic death metal song, but the outro - holy shit. This is how you end an album. Epic melodies, dramatic build ups, finality. This is how you do it folks.

Stigmata remains likely my favorite album of the band. It's an inconsistent beast but the good far outweighs the bad and I find myself wanting to listen to it over and over again even some twenty five years after its initial release. If that doesn't say something for the quality then nothing will.

Entry 1563 - Setherial - Lords of the Nightrealm

Style: black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: denizens of the realm of night assemble

Thoughts: Setherial is a band that I was never able to check out when I was younger. I had heard Nord... multiple times over the years but never saw need to own it. I saw Lords of the Nightrealm on sale for an excellent price and decided to pick it up.

I've often heard the term Norsecore applied to this band. That being constant blast beats and tremolo riffs with minor chords. Panzer Division Marduk is the poster child for the style, and I can't say that things are too different on this album.

From that description there really isn't much more to say on this release. It's black metal, played fast - blisteringly fast. All of the stereotypes are here, but the thing is that this is one of the places where those started. It's one thing if you are a follower and create derivative works of others, but its another thing all together when the band is one of the creators of the style. Setherial is one of those, and for that they at minimum deserve respect for their place in black metal history with this release.

Entry 1562 - Barshasketh

Style: Black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Hatred

Thoughts: There is a misnomer out there that all good black metal has to come from Scandinavia. It's odd that we as a collective metal community confine such a global genre to a few select countries. Odder still is a group of people that refuse to listen to anything recorded after 1999 in the genre. To the people who adhere to this philosophy - I present a counter argument: Barshasketh's self titled album.

Why this album? That's an excellent question, one I intend to attempt to answer. 

There is this inherit emotion that is common throughout all black metal. It is hatred. This hatred is seen clearly in the early black metal releases and is rarely subtle there. As black metal evolved past these initial releases bands began experimenting with other emotions and sounds... hate became less of a center point. It's still there but clearly not the primary focus for many modern bands.

Barshasketh takes hatred and molds that emotion into every single note played on their self titled album. Make no mistake, this is a modern black metal album - filled with dissonance, dynamic riffing, a hint of melody, and a deep atmosphere. So then why this album over so many others that could take its place?

The self titled opus from Barshasketh is simply better. It is better at dissonance, it is better at atmosphere, it is superior with its riffing and song writing. It is simply a stronger album than most other black metal albums that have come out in the past years.

Let's examine. the Consciousness series of songs is a prime exhibit for this band and their sound. The first movement begins with a strong riff that begins to slowly work in some dissonance between a well constructed basic structure. When the blasts come in the guitars and bass all go their separate ways, playing melodies independent of each other before coming back shortly thereafter to complete the initial riff. It sets an authoritative tone that refuses to compromise on any singular element. 

As the song progresses the band starts to showcase their songwriting prowess. The song slows down and the atmosphere builds, moving the band away from the dissonant start of the song. As this progression evolves the song leans more and more into the melodic territory, before fading to near silence at the end of the track. It's in this silence that part II starts. 

A singular note is played, joined soon by another. The silence is deafening it's so omnipresent. Here is where the band is most at home, most comfortable. In these moments of deep contemplation and in the realm of the destitute. The song slowly reverses its evolution that the first movement did and becomes more dissonant as it progresses. The perfect parabola if you will. 

This is but one of many examples of how Barshasketh molds their sound, their art to their hatred and malice towards the living. This is not black metal for those who are seeking something accessible, no, this is for those who are seeking more. This is an album for those who wish to commune with the depths of the spirit that is black metal and revel in its majesty.

Entry 1561 - Artificial Brain - Labyrinth Constellation

Style: technical death metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: technology, a post-human civilization

Thoughts:  Christ almighty, what a death metal album. 

I have heard a lot of death metal, hell I've heard a lot of extreme metal in general. Sometimes I feel like I've heard too much, but then an album like this comes along and reminds me that, yes, there is stuff that still gets the blood pumping. Puts life in the zombified corpse of death metal. Gives it some meaning again.

Labyrinth Constellation is death metal, but it is also so much more. Sure there are tons of moments that sound like pure Suffocation worship. There's even some moments that border on slam/brutal death metal, especially with Will's vocals being as deep as they are. Again though, there is so much more.

There are brief moments of melody, just a few notes here or there. A small melody out of no where that leaves as quickly as it arrived. A small nibble of normality for my brain to hold on to in the middle of all the brutality. 

There are brief moments of overwhelming atmosphere and grace scattered throughout the album. Small moments in time where the brutality slowly eases back and allows the music to swell to this incredible crescendo that has the presence of a tidal wave about to crash into a shore: undeniable.

These small moments of spontaneous melody and atmosphere are all over the album. They are what gives the album life. A small bastion of normalcy in the midst of the brutality that is well executed death metal. It's enough to elevate what would already be a good album into the realms of the elite. 

Entry 1560 - Piolun - Rzeki Gorycsy

Style: black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: faith, faithlessness, nihilism

Thoughts: When I first saw the cover for Rzeki Gorycsy I thought it could be dungeon synth. I've seen many albums from Gondolin Records that carry this same art style and color scheme. It was enough to get me to check it out and I can definitively say that this is not dungeon synth, though there are some small moments of it here and there.

What Piolun does bring to the table though is some truly excellent black metal. This is the kind of debut where you know the people behind it have been around for a while and know exactly what they want to write - which turns out to be exactly the case with the guitarist/vocalist of Piolun. He just so happens to be the same vocalist of Blaze of Perdition - another one of the finest black metal bands in recent times.

The quality shown from Blaze of Perdition is found here, even though the song writing is quite different. The seven songs contained on Rzeki Gorycsy are menacing. They have a hatred... no a vitriol against all things sacred in this world. 

This rawness of emotion comes through in both the vocals and the guitar riffs. The vocals are steeped in this deep loathing and disgust for anything that would involve hope. The guitars are a bit more nuanced; they often build an exceptionally ominous atmosphere, alternating between singular note tremolo picking and full chords - but that is only the start.

There is so many oddities buried in this album. There's some dungeon synth towards the end of the album with Imiq Gwiazdy. There's a bizarre traditionally (I think) sung moment at the end of Blady swit. Acoustic guitars litter multiple songs, and the band is not afraid to use silence either. This is hardly a standard black metal album.

It's hard for me to find new black metal that sounds really good to me. I feel like I've heard most of what the genre has to offer at this point and there aren't many bands out there that do anything for me anymore. Piolun is an exception to that rule. Rzeki Gorycsy not only subverted my expectations, is has continually exceeded them. It goes to show that there is still good black metal to be found out there, you just gotta dig.

Entry 1559 - Nie No Hakoniwa - Dollhouse of Offerings

Style: video game music

Primary Emotions/Themes: death, birth, horrors beyond comprehension

Thoughts: There is a genre of visual novel that I can't get into. It's deeply disturbing beyond anything that I can handle. This is the realm that Dollhouse of Offerings lies. 

Disturbing story and visuals is one thing... disturbing music is another. I will spend ample amount of time listening to music that evokes the same emotions as the visuals and I will actually enjoy my time spent there.

The soundtrack to Dollhouse of Offerings is akin to someone who was once a normal human being but slowly descends into a depraved state of madness. The album starts with seemingly normal slice of life anime type music. Slowly though there is this insidious darkness that creeps in. A small melody here, a hint towards a minor key there. It's slow, deliberate and incredibly menacing.

By the end of the album we have almost no melody and the music has devolved into noises and harrowing sounds. This is no longer a slice of life, but rather a nightmare that was birthed from the horrors of the game. 

I can't play games like this, they stick with me for eons and I am fundamentally perturbed by them. The music is something that I can enjoy though. I get the emotions without the scarring effect of the story, and that is completely fine with me. 

Entry 1558 - BVdub - 13

Style: hazy ambient

Primary Emotions/Themes: and lo, he rode in on a pale horse through the fog

Thoughts: I forgot many things. I forgot how much BVdub's music moves me. I forgot the altered state of mind that the music puts me in. I forgot how all encompassing the music is. I forgot how it evolves seamlessly from one idea to another without me even noticing. Many things were forgotten with time, but now they have returned. 

13 is a bit of a different album from BVdub, mainly in track length - but also in the musical execution to some degree. I'm used to sprawling 15-20 minute epic songs from this project, but on 13 they are both shorter in length and more numerous than a typical album. 

Fittingly there are thirteen tracks. Each represented by a single character. What these characters mean I do not know... the mystery of the titles adds to the experience of 13 as a whole. This sense of mystery is one of the core tenants of the album. Melodies obscured. Structures undefined. Lost in a fog of myth.

It's in this mystery that I find my joy in not only 13 but all of BVdub's music. The lack of clarity, the constant guessing of what will happen next - these are the things that I listen to their music for. On 13 specifically these mysteries are presented with slowly evolving notes and chords that are buried behind endless layers of reverb and phasing effects. A single note is played and then it is resonated throughout the audioscape nearly endlessly before fading into oblivion. Repeat this for thirteen songs and you have the essence of what makes 13 the album it is.

With music like this it risks becoming monotonous or droning. BVdub avoids this elegantly by shortening the normally twenty minute songs down to about five to six minutes. This allows for more ideas to be present on the album rather than just taking one and molding and shaping it over the course of an entire side of a record.  

I forgot many things while away from BVdub. I have now recalled all of them and more. Every time I listen to Brock's music I fall back in love with the atmosphere and texture that he is able to produce. It's obscure enough that I keep digging, but not so much that I'm never fulfilled. It's deep enough that I'm compelled to listen more, but never so much that I can't find what I'm looking for. One of the absolute best artists in the ambient genre active today. 

Entry 1557 - Haircuts for Men - ダウンタンブルと死にます

Style: vaporwave, barber beats

Primary Emotions/Themes: take a moment, have a cigarette, stay for a while and listen

Thoughts: I think I may have had one of the most difficult days of my adult life. I can't remember a day when I felt more drained and defeated after. All I want to do is stare into oblivion for an unspecified amount of time, something where my brain and body are not required to do anything. No thinking. No moving. Nothing. This is the kind of day that ダウンタンブルと死にますwas made for.

I would normally go into detail about what the music entails, what emotions it evokes and all of that good stuff. Today though I don't have it in me. Today I need to just vibe because life fucked me up the ass through the pants. I need to turn my brain off and just listen. 

This is where Haircuts for Men comes in. This dude knows how to construct chill music, probably better than anyone else. He's certainly doing it for longer than anyone else in the vapor field. It's the kind of music that simply grooves and vibes. Exactly what I need. No huge deep meaning, nothing to really dig into, just chill relaxed beats that help massage my brain.

Haircuts for men is part of my collection that I don't think I'll ever move on from. He meets a very specific need in the collection that very few artists have been able to scratch. Hopefully I don't need this kind of music often, but when I do I know where to turn. 

Entry 1556 - Mortiis - Ånden Som Gjorde Opprør

Style: dark dungeon music

Primary Emotions/Themes: The world that came before, the spirit that rebelled

Thoughts: It's crazy to me how I only thought Mortiis had three albums in the 90's: Stargate, Crypt of the Wizard and Født til å herske. I likely thought that because those were the only three that I had ever seen or heard mention of over the course of the decade. 

Luckily there was so much more that I never explored. One of those is Ånden Som Gjorde Opprør, or The Spirit that Rebelled. Oh how I wish that I had known about this album when it first released, oh how I know how much I would have loved it back then... how much I love it now.

Upon listening to this for the first time I understood so many things. I understood where the bombastic synths with timpani's came from. I understood where the twenty minute tracks that swirl in and out of different themes came from. I understood so much. 

It's akin to meeting a good friends family for the first time, you see so many threads of what makes them. You see a melody here that influenced this artist. You see a song structure there that influenced an entire genre. That is what listening to this music is like. I hear the roots of all of dungeon synth and dark dungeon music coming to the forefront. 

Mortiis is a legend in more than one genre. At this point in his career there was no one else like this in all of the Norwegian, maybe even the European scene. It's crazy how influential his early works are, even to this day... maybe even especially this day. Dungeon synth owes a lot to this man and his legacy... maybe everything.

Entry 1555 - Bersarin Quartett - Systeme

Style: cinematic ambient

Primary Emotions/Themes: the morose reality that is life

Thoughts: Sometimes words just aren't enough. Some records I can describe nearly perfectly with words and descriptions, this is not one of those records.

Bersarin Quartett has become one of my favorite projects within the ambient... nay the entire musical spectrum over the past decade. Ever since I heard their debut album I knew that there was something special going on here and over the years I have slowly added their releases to my collection and reveling in each one.

So what makes these albums - in this case Systeme so special? It's their ability to convey darkness through shades of grey and melancholy in ways that no other band can. Not even Ulver, my favorite band ever has been able to touch the depth or the consistency that Bersarin Quartett has. 

Systeme is a quiet album, one that takes time to reflect on the message it is sending. One that is littered with so many small details that a casual listen simply will not do. One that has been steeped in the mire of humanity for too long and hasn't come out full of hatred or joy... but rather sadness. Sadness for what the world has become, sadness that we continue to fall into these same failings over, and over, and over again. That is what I get from Systeme.

The beautiful thing about this album though is that someone else could hear this music and get a deep sense of hope. Of life turning around and the grey is better than the desolate black that they had been in. Yet another person could see this as the darkening of their life. They were in light and they are now moving towards a place that is not as illuminated. This is the true beauty of Systeme. 

Bersarin Quartett does all this through instrumental music. Short songs that offer a glimpse at life through the eyes of this project. It does not mire them with words, it lets the music speak for itself... allowing every person that partakes to come up with their own meaning. This is Systeme, this is Bersarin Quartett.  

Entry 1554 - Thangorodrim - The Darkening of Valinor

Style: classic dungeon synth

Primary Emotions/Themes: the death of light

Thoughts: Ungoliant. A creature of untold darkness. A creature that is said to have consumed light wherever she went. A creature so feared that even Morgoth - the father of all evil in Middle Earth tread cautiously around her. 

The Valinor - two trees that basked the world in light. A place of utter tranquility and peace, the bastion of hope and life unto the world. The is where the  Maiar called home. 

It was only natural then for a creature of absolute darkness to loathe that which gave out the greatest light in the world. Through the persuasion of Morgoth, Ungoliant attacked the Valinor and cast them into darkness... or Unlight. It was one of the bleakest moments in the history of Tolkien's legendarium.

The Darkening of Valinor chronicles this battle in musical form. As one would expect it is a dismal and minimalistic take on the genre. The melodies are simple and sparse, with most of the atmosphere being taken up by darker more atmospheric tones. 

The music has a deep, all consuming feel to it - much like the unlight that Ungoliant brought. Of the four prologue records, this one is by far the most desolate of the four. Hope is lost, the light of the world is gone. Everything is lost. Nothing remains but the faintest of hope... and that seed of hope is what carries us forward - to the end of the age.

Entry 1553 - Thangorodrim - Dagor Bragalloch

Style: classic dungeon synth

Primary Emotions/Themes: Tolkins legendarium 

Thoughts: There are so many stories to be told within the realm of Lord of the Rings and J.R.R. Tolkiens legends. He is one of the greatest authors in modern times and that is proven over and over again by how much his legacy is felt in nearly every aspect of life.

Thangorodrim wishes to pay tribute to the works of the worlds forming and early events. Dagor Bragalloch is a great battle that was waged against Morgoth. The battle began by Morgoth releasing insurmountably large rivers of fire from the Thangorodrim - a series of three volcano's deep within the Iron Mountains.

Musically Dagor Bragalloch has a distinctive simpler feel than the other two demos I've written about so far. The synths are not hollow, but they feel distinctively less defined and fleshed out than I've become accustomed to from this artist. 

This translates to a more simplistic album. One where each synth carries its own weight instead of joining the chorus of the other synths to create something larger. Mind you, none of this is bad... simply a different approach to the music creation process.

Each melody is its own entity. Each instrument interacts with the others less than one would expect, yet somehow the music still comes together to create some wonderful dungeon synth. I don't know when this demo was released compared to the others in the "Prologue" era of the band... but I suspect that this may be an early outing as the other albums show a more mature style of song writing. Regardless Dagor Bragalloch is a fine dungeon synth album that will remain in my rotation for years to come.

Entry 1552 - Fleshgod Apocalypse - Labyrinth

Style: symphonic death metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: mythology

Thoughts: I had all but given up on this band. I loved Oracles to the point where I played it nearly non stop for a month. Something changed with Agony though. The band seemed to lose its ability to create actual riffs. Instead they let the orchestra do all of the heavy lifting, and the guitars had minimal purpose other than laying down a foundation for the music. I heard somewhere that Agony was best described as orchestra with blast beats and I fully agree with that assessment.  

I was more than cautious when Labyrinth got announced. I was worried that it would be just another orchestra and drums album, by the time Kingborn was about half way through on my first listen I knew that this would not be the case.

Labyrinth is the natural fusion of Oracles and Agony. It has much of the technicality and excellent riffing that Oracles had and mixes it with the incredibly intricate orchestral elements of Agony. It's everything I could have possibly hoped for from the band.

First things first, there is a LOT going on in this release. Every song has layer upon layer of guitars, vocals (harsh, clean, and soprano), orchestrations, piano, choirs, and seemingly endless other elements thrown in. This was also the case with much of Agony, but there are a few fundamental differences here. 

The band has re-learned how to write riffs. The guitars are alive again! They still act as the base for the entire construct but they are no longer just strumming a single note or chord as fast as they can. There is dynamics here that were not present previously (except for maybe The Violation). 

There is also a much greater variety in pace for these songs. Sure there's the blast fest that you would expect, but much of the album is slower and more brooding. This allows the orchestra and riffs to breathe and be more bombastic when called for. If nothing else it's certainly a much more diverse album than the previous outing. 

I've compared this album almost exclusively to Agony and that's with good cause. I cannot overstate how disappointed I was in the previous album. Labyrinth fixed every single flaw that I could find Agony and expanded on the bands sound in both the metal and orchestral fields. 

This feels like the proper follow up to Oracles. This feels like the band tapping into their true potential. This is Fleshgod Apocalypse at their finest.