We haven't been exactly lucky with mythsofmetal's selection this year, so let's hope that the last of his, and indeed the very last of the recs, can turn the tide.
Aealo --- Rotting Christ --- 2010 (Seasons of Mist)
Rather oddly, the album opens with what almost sounds like that chant the Hare Krishnas sing, then guitar and percussion picks up and the vocal, when it comes in, is harsh but not as bad as it could be, given that this is black metal. There's also a lot of melody in the title and opening track, and tha chant continues on through the song, the guitars nowhere near as brutal as they often are in this subgenre, though still sufficiently heavy. Good marching chant at the end, then we're into “Eon Ænaos” which is a little faster and more powerful, while there's a really nice keyboard intro to "Δαιμόνων βρῶσις" and then it goes into a sort of traditional rhythm, coming closer really to power metal than black.
Most of the work here seems to be undertaken by Sakis Tolis, who plays guitar, keys and also sings, while his brother (I assume) Themis keeps the beat on the skins. “Noctis era” has a great marching, triumphant feel to it, like a celebration before or after battle, with some great guitar work, then “Fire death and fear” is sandwiched in between two instrumentals, the first of which, "Dub-Saĝ-Ta-Ke", rattles along at a faster pace than anything so far with an ethnic feel to it --- I wonder if some strange instruments not listed here are being used? --- and though it's listed as an instrumental there appears to be some basic vocal going on. The pace stays high then for “Fire death fear” which cannons along on a really nice guitar riff, certainly not what I would consider black metal of any stripe. Even the vocal sounds only as “black” as Bruce Dickinson does on “Weekend warrior” off
Fear of the Dark, and that's not very black I can tell you!
The other instrumental is “Nekron lehes” and is shorter, just over a minute, and really it's just a vocal chant, like a lament or something, all acapella, taking us into “...Pir Threontai”, which returns to the kind of marching, rolling rhythm but with the vocal even more understandable now, Sakis Tolis's voice deeper for a time before it ascends to that kind of high-pitched growl he uses normally, then switching from one to the other. The guitar riff in this song is pretty special here. Alan Nemtheanga from Irish metallers Primordial guests on vocals on “Thou art lord”,where the music runs on a slower, warrior-chorus style rhythm, and it's hard to work out if they're praising or reviling Jesus, though given their band name you'd have to expect the latter, although the last line
”Now I see the light” does leave it a little ambiguous and open to interpretation.
“Santa muerte” kicks everything up with a fast, hammering guitar and a kind of barked vocal from Tolis, and I must admit his lyric questioning the existence of God is better thought out than Slayer's
”There is no fucking Jesus Christ/ There never was a sacrifice...” There's a great powerful rhythm to this song too, really intense and crushing, a lot of anger in the lyric. Themis Tolis fairly gallops along on the drums, and all in all it's a pretty powerful song. Speaking of powerful, it's been said that Diamonda Galas can convey “the most unnerving vocal terror”, and it's she who takes guest slot for vocals on the closer, one of her own songs, “Orders from the dead”. It runs on a native tribal chant, slow but intense, with Galas almost a high priestesss, offering the sacrifice to cold dark and uncaring gods. It's the longest song on the album, almost nine minutes, and my god does it have a lot of lyrics!
My only quibble would be the that very woman whose music they're covering is singing the song here, so really, is it a cover or is she just playing her own track and it happens to be on this album? Are they just backing her? Even so, very impressive, kind of disquieting, tremendous and scary, glorious and terrifying, a fitting end to an album that really quite impressed me more than I had expected it would.
TRACKLISTING AND RATINGS
1. Aealo
2. Δαιμόνων βρῶσις
3. Noctis era
4. Dub-Saĝ-Ta-Ke
5. Fire death and fear
6. Nekron lahes
7. ... Pir Threontai
8. Thou art lord
9. Santa muerte
10. Orders from the dead
I'd certainly be interested in exploring this band more. For one touted as being black metal, they seem very far removed from that subgenre. The music is nothing like I have come to expect from black metal --- though I freely accept that I have realised over the last two years that there are differing types of black metal --- and even the vocals don't put me off. Nothing on this album was too long or indeed too short; everything seemed timed perfectly so that it neither overstayed its welcome nor finished too soon.
I guess in the end then, mythsofmetal succeeded in pulling it off at the eleventh hour.
And that takes us, as I said, to the end of the albums you guys have recommended for me this year. Also as I said, a relatively paltry showing from the metal fraternity of Music Banter, with only really Frownland, mythsofmetal and of course Batty providing any real ammunition for my review gun (we'll say nothing of Ki's effort) and one or two from Violet too.
But though I enjoyed (well, in some cases enjoyed is perhaps too kind a word) doing these albums I was a little disappointed, given the amount of lead time from Metal Month II to this year's effort, in how few people recced albums to me. Hoping for better next year, but as always, thanks to those who dug into their record collections and gave generously. There are those I can always rely on, and if my reviews didn't exactly praise your albums to the heavens at times, I hope you can forgive me. Honesty is my policy, always has been and always will be.
Thanks again to you all and hope to sample more of your metal collections next year.