NEIGE ET NOIRCEUR – “La Seigneurie des Loups” Review

Full-length, Sepulchral Productions
November 9, 2010

Neige et Noirceur is a band that has made quite a name for itself in the independent black metal scene. As one of the leaders in the Québécois scene, they help lay the foundation for a style that makes Montréal stand out in today’s black metal circles. I reviewed their earlier release from Hypnotic Dirge Records, “Crépuscule Hivernal sans Fin sur les Terres de la Guerre” in the past, and while I enjoyed the dark atmospheres very much, I had to critique the overly used repetition. They really improved from that release and we see an excellent and potentially classic release with “La Seigneurie des Loups.” While I am open minded about all music, this album is “my style” so to speak; unique black metal mixed with serious folk music and historical lyrics in a dark setting.

One second into this album and I marked out. We are greeted with a really awesome Jew Harp sequence (one of my favorite instruments to play around on) with a flanger effect in the background. While this is going on we have ominous power chords on the guitars strumming in, and then finally enter in with headbanging goodness of black metal blast beats and warlike riffs accompanied by vocals that remind me of Burzum’s Filosofem. This badassery is only the beginning of the first track titled, “Croix de feu Croix de fer.” My ears nearly had an orgasm from all the folk/black melodies in this piece alone. While folk is usually diverse instrumentally, it tends to be very repetitive in theory, but we are given a wide variety here with atmospheric black metal and drone meeting each other harmoniously (or is it dissonantly being that it’s BM? Whatever you consider the good one).

The song cuts out to sound effects and some agitated words in French. I don’t know what they were saying but it fits the mood of the music perfectly. Then the song kicks back in; this time much more ominous. The tumult of this piece goes throughout until we are brought back to familiar folk riffs featuring Jew Harp, percussion, chanting and tin whistle; an homage to Québec’s Celtic side and truly an epic piece of work. It even leads us into the follow-up track “Ancien Folklore Québécois” perfectly. This one being a very nice Celtic jig fused with raw black metal.

“1834” provides us with a nice acoustic instrumental, pretty much an interlude if you would, but don’t skip it. It sets the mood so well for the title track. Speaking of which, after an ambient intro, we are attacked by a threatening wall of power chords. This leads us to the main section of the song; very dramatic work. Slowly we see subtle progressions that add in haunting keyboard backing over the course of this piece.

“Les plaines de Krolok” closes this masterpiece of an album with the darkest portions of the entire CD. There is even more experimentation in this one with spacious synthesizers and more warring chants in French. The track closes with some long ambiance that reminds me of the work of Ancient Tundra. Very nice!

Anyone who is a fan of Québécois black metal would be insane not to pick this piece up. Neige & Noirceur are really coming into their own with each new release, and are solidifying a place among the elite acts in the genre. This is essential.

(8/10) 
Reviewed by; Matt Coughlin

FORTERESSE – “Par Hauts Bois et Vastes Plaines” Review

Full-length, Sepulchral Productions
November 9, 2010

In Forteresse we find another member of the so-called “Métal Noir Québécois” scene. This group from Montréal shows a strong patriotism toward Québec’s history and an apparent yearning for the Canadian province’s independence. This reflects in the somber mood of their work. Par Hauts Bois et Vastes Plaines furthers this melancholic feel by including more keyboard driven ambiance than ever before. The act feels the message of the album cannot be fully comprehended unless one listens to it in its entirety. Thusly, they have named every single track the same eponymous name as the album title. While under this notion I think it’d be more appealing to just have 1 long track, maybe they intended a natural rest between the passages. Nonetheless I will look at this album the way they intended.

While I have no knowledge of the French language, it is difficult for me to decipher lyrics and develop an understanding of the purpose of the work on that merit alone. Therefore I must rely on the theory behind the musical composition alone. Each track is very repetitious, perhaps too much for me to enjoy on regular listening experiences. I’d have to be in the right mood to fully appreciate this piece and I think more impatient listeners won’t take a liking to this. However, if you can get over this, you will find some of the darkest and most beautiful ambiance inspired riffs today and could easily find yourself addicted to the work; the “fourth track” being my personal favorite.

Not a lot I can say about this, having limited knowledge of the artists’ intentions due to language barrier, but I think this is an album you will either love or hate. If it had a bit more variety it would definitely be love all around, but listen to this and decide for yourself.

(7/10)
Reviewed by; Matt Coughlin

11 AS IN ADVERSARIES – “The Full Intrepid Experience of Light” Review

Full-length, Aeternitas Tenebrarum Music Foundation
November 22, 2010

What an interesting band. The name is interesting and so is the music. 11 as in Adversaries define themselves as Metal/Rock/Psychedelic. I see them more as Hardcore, though progressive. Normally I am not a fan of this but I must say I enjoyed this release a lot. I saw on their facebook page they were influenced by heavy prog group The Mars Volta as well as Mastodon and it really shows in their music. These influences make a much more artistically credible act than your typical “–core” band.

The Full Intrepid Experience of Light begins with its eponymous track. Right off the bat we are introduced to dissonant guitar riffs and electrical feedback that feel like they fit in a psychological horror film. The track then picks up to mid tempo yet technically sound notation and vocals. I will say my one major gripe with the album is the singing gets on my nerves. I’m not against clean vocals because “it’s not true” or any of that bullshit, but this instance has very whiney and stagnant singing, that isn’t bad at first but gets a bit dreary after a while. Getting over this, this is a very nice song that fuses the styles of the two bands I mentioned in the previous paragraph.

“Agitation in the Glorious Theme” follows up with some nice psychedelic strumming along with a funky riff. This song makes it clear that 11AIA is a metal/rock crossover that is worth listening too. It has a rather mainstream feel to it, but still it gives us avant-garde elements. Despite a very different sound I’d like to compare it to the works of Mike Patton, just on the basis of that description.

“The Night Scalp Challenger” saves us a little from the monotonous vocals with screaming, but the clean portions are still present. Here we have a very dark but jazzy tune that makes me think of metal burlesque show if there were such a thing. The progression from the previous tracks is slow, but we’re starting to really get variety in the album, for the follow up track is very experimental.

The fifth piece is merely an interlude with the closing track seeming to reflect the earlier parts of the album. Overall, this is a pretty good release and probably is one of the albums that will draw casual fans in but also impress some of the more open minded metal heads. The vocals don’t entirely ruin it for me, but I find that I can only take the album listening to parts at a time because despite the variety instrumentally, the one dimensional singing almost negates that into tediousness. I will recommend this album nonetheless.

(7/10) 
Reviewed by; Matt Coughlin

TORTURE DIVISION – “Evighetens Dårar” Review

Compilation, Abyss Records
October 12, 2010

Here we have another Swedish death metal band. Note that Evighetens Dårar is a compilation of the bands previous three demo releases of the same name. I’ll be honest, my first listen I felt this was rather run of the mill for modern death metal. However, after a few more listens it grew on me a bit. I mean, you have 3 members of The Project Hate MCMXCIX thrashing out in this death metal trio and the infamous Dan Swanö producing this release, so it has to come with its merits. I can just be a little fussy about today’s death metal, as I tend to be more fond of the earlier styles of the late 80s and early 90s, but after getting over that, I must say this is a solid release.

Reminding me heavily of fellow Swedes Bloodbath and Hypocrisy, this is a very straightforward and brutal DM incarnation equipped with blast beats and neck snapping riffs throughout. In fact because of this, more mid-tempo tracks such as “Eld och Plagor” seem to be more memorable because of their uniqueness compared to the rest of the CD, due to more melodic sections (and by that I don’t mean pop-hook melodies you see in melodeath).

I would like to try and make a longer review of this compilation, but with it all being done before there really isn’t much to cover. It grew on me yes, but every track seems like it could be any old song from as I said Hypocrisy or Bloodbath. This is not a bad release, and I would recommend it for fans of Swedish Death Metal, but I expected much more from the members of this act.

(6.5/10)
Reviewed by; Matt Coughlin

JOHNNY LÖKKE – “Promises and Lies” Review

Full-length , Big Riff Records
October 19, 2010

Ah, old school heavy metal; a genre of music that tends to scream “badass”, “cheese” or even a combination of the two. Love it or hate it without it the more extreme bands we listen to today may have never came into existence. With Johnny Lökke’s third full-length we are given a more aggressive approach to his classic metal revivalist style that flaunts shamelessly apparent influences from legends such as Judas Priest, Armored Saint, Accept and the late Ronnie James Dio. I even notice similarities to King Diamond with the more high pitch singing, which for me is just the right amount of cheese for a traditional metal classic to be very fun to listen to, yet still be taken seriously critically. Johnny is so old school that he refuses to follow the modern power metal trends of incorporating symphonic styles especially when it comes to orchestras. No, Lökke wants it to stay as pure and tough as it was back in the day, and this just makes his work stand out even more.

Promises and Lies opens up with “Accident of One,” and I must say it fits perfectly as track 1. From the first riff the listener knows exactly what to expect from this album and will not be disappointed throughout. Marching riffs, crazy solos and very nice vocals that capture the spirit of the subculture quite well and naturally invite listeners to sing a long in a boastful manner are what make the track. This one will bring pride to metal heads.

It would be rather tedious to review each track individually as this isn’t the most original album. It wasn’t intended to be anyway. I will say each track is high quality and a dull moment is rare if any are present. A song that really stands out to me in particular though would be the fourth track entitled, “Heal Me.” Lökke dominates the track with a simple but effective riff that is very headbangable. The solos are also some of the best on the album, and the falsetto vocal-ism is insane and reminds me of both King Diamond (again) and Tim Owens. The album also seems to really kick off at this point on compared to previous tracks. The song arrangement is nicely done and each track builds up to the next while still being distinctly it’s own.

“Burning the Wheel” for the most part reminds me of early W.A.S.P. musically, but the chorus reminds me of Iron Maiden’s better songs. However, Johnny’s signature singing keeps it his own and not merely a rip-off. “Obsession” is another track I see influence from W.A.S.P. as well as Judas Priest and even a bit of Motörhead. The triplet oriented rhythm makes it a very fun moshable song despite its moderato tempo and easy to the ear melody. But, I must stress, yet again, THE SOLOS!

I should wrap this up before I go on a fanboy rant and say the same things over and over again. If you like old school metal, definitely pick this album up. Clocking in at about 42 and a half minutes, you are given eleven songs of sheer tough guy cheese, the good kind of cheese that is. Also before I forget “Virus” is another highlight on the album. It may be a bit one dimensional, but consistent listening is very rewarding.

(8/10)
Reviewed by: Matt Coughlin

Weapon From The Devils Tomb

  

October 2010
The AJNA Offensive                                                                    

I was one of those people who had initially heard of this band through word of mouth and a few select interrogations in various zines both published and otherwise.So when i was finally able to secure a copy of the Canadian bands debut long player Drakonian Paridigm I was initially underwhelmed,but after several listens,i to worshipped at the alter of weapon.So saying that my expectations for their newest slab of orthodox devil worship were high would be an understatement.From the devils tomb opens with the title track which in my opinion is one of the best tracks on this album.The slow dirge of the opening riff sets up for a spiral into blackened death madness which happened so frequently on their last album sets the album up very nicely,vocalist monarch's prayers to Satan are very fitting but surprisingly low in the mix which is one if not the only low points of the album.Furor Divinus is an utterly savage track and 1 of my favorites on the album.The production on this record is slightly less"produced" then the debut which adds a lot to the songs and arrangements.The lyrics are also amazing,some of the best i have ever read and obviously very well researched and thought out.The instrumental track "lefthandpathyoga" is an very nice change with acoustic guitars in this instrumental track are brilliant!!!But probably the my personal favorite song on this record is the "The Inner Wolf" with it furious mid paced riffs and ghoulish atmosphere,along with some of the best drumming in the underground!!The chanting in this song fucked up my soul.While this album is defiantly more death metal in theory,there are several melodic moments and traces of the early Greek scene spread through out the album.Bottom line is that this album is without a doubt one of the years top 10 best records and if you haven't got this or have not heard the first album you need to get it now or die a poser douche bag!!!!Hail weapon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
                                                                   9.5/10
Review by:B.S.O.G.

SARGEIST - LET THE DEVIL IN - Review

SARGEIST - LET THE DEVIL IN
Full-length, Moribund Records
November 9th, 2010

So after 5 very long years the demonic beast known as Sargeist has returned to crush all in it's path. LET THE DEVIL IN no doubt is a long awaited release by those in the black metal underground, especially this scribe. Empire Of Suffering opens up the album in traditional fashion, loud, fast and raw as hell!! Torag's vocals are vicious and uncompromising and there is even a little variety to his voice. A lot of people maybe got on this band for their earlier works being Darkthrone clones, but this record certainly sees the band easing away from that and finding itself. While most of the album goes by at a furious pace, with Shatraug riffing like a madman. While most may see this record as a repetition of disciples or satanic black devotion, there are plenty of subtle differences that make this record a bit of a progression, for example the third track FROM THE BLACK COFFIN LAIR moves along at a slower more depressive pace which breaks up the blasting fury and gives the listener a break before the punishment begins again on BURNING VOICE OF ADORATION hits you with the typical Sargeist sound. The band is more and more sounding like a nice mix of the members other projects which in my opinion is a good thing. So the bottom line is this is a very good but not great piece of satanic Finnish black metal that should push Sargeist into the upper ranks amongst their countrymen. No reinventing the wheel,but a solid release nonetheless.


8/10
Review by B.S.O.G