Hank The Drifter

Introduction:
Alright I decided I would try to write another journal here on MusicBanter because my last one feel through because I was not nearly active enough to keep it a float and quite honestly probably too boring for people to read lol.

On this journal I have decided to review some lesser known metal bands mostly because that's what I listen to mostly and it seems to be fairly under the radar here in some aspects. I will try to cross as many genres of metal as I can and occasionally work in non-metal reviews too. So while I'm posting this to mainly be metal related it will also depend on my mood and what I'm currently listening to as to what I'll review.

I will be rating the albums based on my personal enjoyment. Then I will add a second rating on how much I would recommend them to others.

I will begin my reviews in the next post.

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“If a song can't be written in 20 minutes, it ain't worth writing.” - Hank Williams

Hank The Drifter

Gris is a two man depressive black metal band from Quebec, Canada. The band has been active under the name 'Gris' since 2006.

When you sit down to listen to this album you're going to need to focus all your attention on it. There's so many small things you can easily miss out on if you're not paying attention and while those small things may not seem to make that big of a difference you'd be surprised as they are fairly important and can make the listening experience entirely different. This album is one that brings forth pain and torture as good as any other album I can think of. The vocals are the thing that turn some people off to Gris. Personally, I think the vocals make the album what it is. The albums add so much to the overall feeling of torture, misery, and despair of the album. The vocals are about as harsh and guttural as vocals can be. As I listen to this album I can just see the vocalist being in pain and while that may sound like a bad thing in this particular case with the crunchy and raw feeling to this album is absolutely works perfectly and helps to make the album. I think that's what makes Gris's vocal work so special for me because most bands that utilize similar vocal styles are a huge turn off for me but Gris just makes it sound so natural its almost like the vocals themselves are another instrument. The guitars on this album are extremely 'crunchy' sounding and at times even work as a wall of sound but that's the idea so it works well also. This album makes great use of the piano, violin, and even cello. The last track on the album, La Dryade is one that catches each and every listener off guard the first time they hear it. Its an instrumental song that makes great use of the instruments I mentioned above. When I say makes great use of I mean it to these dudes really know how to play and how to create beautiful music. Usually I find this type of track or ambient tracks on black metal albums to become boring because they are so poorly executed but that's certainly not the case in this, and that's yet again another thing that makes this particular album standout in a genre that has become very stagnant at times. No matter how many times I listen to this album its still just as fresh and interesting as the first time I turned it on.


Rating:
My thoughts - 9/10. I cant give the album a perfect rating because there is always going to be room for improvement and hopefully Gris will do so in the albums that are supposed to be coming up.

Recommend - 10/10. If you're looking to get into depressive black metal I simply cannot think of a record that's better for getting into it. Simply

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“If a song can't be written in 20 minutes, it ain't worth writing.” - Hank Williams

CanwllCorfe

DSBM! Gris! Oh I'm definitely keeping an eye on this one! I'm not sure if you're fans of them, but ... and Hanging Garden are both coming out with albums within the next couple months. I'm so excited! One of the new tracks from Hanging Garden's album is on YouTube. It sounds amazing.



And just in case you're not familiar with ... :



Are you a fan of the DSBM/Shoegaze combo? I know I am!

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Your eyes were never yet let in to see the majesty and riches of the mind, but dwell in darkness; for your God is blind.

Hank The Drifter

Heh, Well as long as I have at least one person keeping an eye on my blog at least I wont be writer completely to myself. I have heard Hanging Garden songs from youtube but I have never really checked them out so I will have too. I will certainly keep an eye out on both releases. I am a big fan of the black metal/shoegaze combo. When its done correctly its a GREAT combo.

I will have my next review up sometimes later tonight, hopefully.

__________________
“If a song can't be written in 20 minutes, it ain't worth writing.” - Hank Williams

Hank The Drifter

Burzum - Fallen

1. Fra Verdenstreet 01:02
2. Jeg faller 07:49
3. Valen 09:21
4. Vanvidd 07:06
5. Enhver til Sitt 06:16
6. Budstikken 10:10
7. Til Hel og tilbake igjen 05:57

Most people are already well aware of the monster that is Burzum. Probably the best known black metal band ever. Perhaps due to his music or perhaps his previous actions which landed him in prison. Well, for what reason he's known as one of the best at doing the minimalistic black metal thing. Anyway, Vargs back with a brand new album which has just leaked yesterday.

The new album, Fallen, is quite different from Burzum's other releases. For one this album really uses a lot of those clean vocals and whisper type things we heard in last years release, Belus. Also Vargs overall playing seems to have progressed a bit on this album. While I think he's had the ability this entire time to play a lot better he's never done it because he doesn't feel he should. That's fine with me, I think he's done a great job with the sound. Now, don't get me wrong this new albums not like going out and buying a Dream Theater album or anything but he's progressed a bit and its fresh sounding. For the new album Varg has decided to use this new vocal approaches and while he still uses the shrieks he's always used his new clean singing vocals and whispers add something that back in the 90s people probably though they would never hear, Varg singing cleanly. So about these new clean vocals, they aren't my favorite things by any stretch and I think Varg over used them a bit at times. However, at the same time he's created another element added to this music which makes it a bit more interesting. With music of this nature you're always looking for a way to keep the music fresh for your listener. I think Varg done an overall good job on this album. I'm not going to try and compare it to the early albums as that's not fair to this album. Comparing it to Belus though is very difficult. I think both albums are rather different. I think I still need a couple more listens to Fallen to give it a fair comparison and once I get that I may try and give another short update on this album.

The album cover for this album is quite different than anything else we have seen out of Burzum/Varg yet also. While when it was first released I wasn't totally sold on it, I think it works out well now. If any of you are art-nuts you might reconize the cover as a "Elegy" by Adolphe-William Bouguereau.

My rating on this album is a solid 6/10. While I think its good there could be a ton of improvement overall I think.

If you're a Burzum fanboy I would suggest checking this album out. If you're looking to get into Burzum this probably isn't the best place for you to start. I suggest starting at the beginning and going forward. Be careful of the ambient albums he made while in prison though, heh.

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“If a song can't be written in 20 minutes, it ain't worth writing.” - Hank Williams

Hank The Drifter

Lyrinx - Nihilistic Purity

1. Tides of Self Destruction 6:53
2. Nihilistic Purity 6:41
3. Another Life Ready to End 5:44
4. Deconstruction of the Will to Live 8:39
5. Exit - The Pain of Existence 2:48

Lyrinx is a black metal band that brings us some suicidal/depressive black metal from the United Kingdom. This is a four man band that's real names I'm not sure of, but what I do know is they know how to record some good music. Nihilistic Purity is a 30 minute ride that will bring your mood down to the floor. If you're looking for an album that will put a smile on your face you better run far away from this one.

Empty, void, bleak, nothingness, anger, hate is the only way to describe how Nihilistic Purity make you feel.

Nihilistic Purity is an album that breaks every rule for depressive black metal. This album shows some melodic parts, is quite catchy at times, and has more riffs than most bands in the genre generate in a career. Lyrinx's outside of the box thinking really pays off for the band though as it helps them to become more memorable. At times I can feel almost disoriented while listening to this album and I feel like I'm just floating through nothingness listening to a badass metal album. Personally, I don't think that's a bad place to be. I always like to try and touch base about vocals during black metal reviews because of the reaction so many people have to black metal vocals. For Lyrinx the vocals are mostly just background 'shrieks' that add a certain atmosphere to the music which adds to that disoriented feeling and not to mention helplessness. The drumming isn't the most interesting thing ever but it still works well for Lyrinx I think maybe with a little more work on them they could release a new flawless album. Uh, the production is also normally complained about on many black metal releases but for me this albums about as well produced as any small time black metal act will ever have. The production is raw but I can still hear the instruments clearly throughout the entire album and in my opinion that's how black metal should be recorded. Rough around the edges but plain enough to actually stomach. Lyrinx has combined the absolute chaotic feel of raw black metal bands and tried to mesh it together with the more melodic and nature inspired scene of today, and honestly, they pull it off nearly perfectly. This along with Gris which I reviewed earlier are probably two of the greatest albums I've ever heard from the depressive black metal stable, and possibly black metal in general and two of the greatest from metal in general, truthfully. I simply cannot get over the way this album can literally just pull all the emotion inside of you out and just make you feel:

Empty, void, bleak, nothingness, anger, hate.



9/10. Like I said one of the best albums from this stable I've heard.

This album wont be for everyone, that's something I will say. If you're trying to get into the depressive black metal gene you cannot go wrong with this EP. If you're already a fan of the genre and have not heard this EP... you're actually not. So, GET ON IT.

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“If a song can't be written in 20 minutes, it ain't worth writing.” - Hank Williams