Qwertyy's Journal of Music Reviews and Other Assorted Ramblings

Mondo Bungle · 01-15-2017, 08:38 PM

It might be more interesting to check this instead since you liked the other https://ququmatz.bandcamp.com/album/tepeu it sounds different I guess. Whether or not it's more cohesive hasn't been determined by myself yet, but people have said some mixed things

The SC3 album is nice though

Ol’ Qwerty Bastard · 12-01-2017, 06:41 PM

That Wintery Feeling

I would argue that there is no genre around better at invoking that cold wintery feeling than black metal. When the fuzzy guitars, the distant shrieks, the crashing blast beats, and almost no-fi production come together to create that ice cold sound, I can't help but feel like I'm in stuck in the middle of a snow covered cavern. It's for that reason I'm dedicating this section to the frostiest black metal around.

Sorciers des Glaces - Snowland MMXII

It's hard to argue against an album with the word Snow included in the title not being wintery, isn't it? Sorciers des Glaces is the pseudonym for Quebec based multi-instrumentalist Sébastien Robitaille's solo black metal project. While he has made his rounds within the Quebec black metal scene, it is with Sorcies des Glaces that he has truly made his impact and crafted his own sound. Every release in his catalogue is an ice cold ode to the winter months and as good as most of them are, none can top Snowland. A bit less atmospheric than their later material, Snowland succeeds in creating a soundscape so chilly you might get frostbite just by listening. One of the most intriguing elements of the band's sound for me is how relatively easy you can decipher the lyrics as Robitaille screeches them. It can be few and far between that a black metal band can deliver a production style clean enough and vocals mixed high enough to be understood without sacrificing some of their edge, but Sorciers des Glaces manage to find the perfect balance.

Agalloch - The Mantle

While the semantics of just how black metal Agalloch actually are can be debated, there is no doubt that their sound is heavily influenced and engrained with nature. While The Mantle is actually my second favourite Agalloch album, I believe in terms of snow soaked atmosphere it does better than any other project they've released. Whether you look at the most melodic instrumental interludes that are woven within the tracks, or the momentous metal passages, this album is the soundtrack to a walk through a snow dusted forest.

Fen - Carrion Skies

I'm not all that aware of the UK black metal scene, but Fen have been pushing hard to be a breakout blackgaze act in the last few years. This is especially the case with the release of 2014's Carrion Skies. This project will give you a lot of what you would expect from a blackgaze album, but rather than ripping from the same playbook's of bands like Deafheaven, Alcest, and Oathbreaker, Fen are able to bring a unique approach to the table. What they give you is some very cold atmospheric black metal that tastefully meshes both progressive and blackgaze elements together while also finding a way to incorporate some very melodic moments and even (gasps) clean vocals at times.

Immortal - At the Heart of Winter

How could you make a list on wintery black metal and not include what is amongst the best albums the genre has given us? This project has so much to offer and it's an album you can constantly come back to without ever losing interest. You will be hard pressed to find a black metal album that can match this one in terms of guitar and drum work. There is some serious shredding and absolutely immaculate blast beats all over this LP. In this it creates a unique sound that separates itself from most Norweigan black metal of it's time. Unlike their counterparts, it did not seem that Immortal pursued the rawest sound possible. While the likes of Mayhem, Darkthrone and Burzum looked to perfect that early raw approach, At the Heart of Winter showcases how Immortal found their sound in an area that allowed them to be flashy on their instruments, use some very grand song structures, and give the genre an entirely new direction. While I'm sure any fan of black metal has already heard this one countless times, it's important not to forget to throw it on a few times as it 'tis the season!

Ol’ Qwerty Bastard · 12-02-2017, 08:01 PM

La Theme du Revolution

There are few things more important in the province of Quebec than the pride they have in their heritage and culture. This has led to many of the greatest Canadian artists emerging from the province. In particular, Quebec has become known over recent years for their constantly growing metal scene. Of course being a black metal fan, it is that area that I am most familiar with. For that reason, I decided to dedicate a section of this month to introducing some of my favourite Quebec based black metal acts.

The first act I will focus on is easily one of the most important bands to emerge from their scene. Rising during the mid 2000s with their incredibly atmospheric brand of depressive black metal, Gris became very quickly synonymous with making black metal that was just as beautiful sonically as it was raw. Their Burzum inspired hypnotic guitar riffs mesh brilliantly with the gorgeous crescendos and dark folk influence that becomes very prominent from the first moment you hear them.

While the band only managed to put together two albums under the Gris moniker, (one other album was released under the name Niflheim) both of them are must hears for fans of atmo black metal. The crown jewel of their discography is said to be their 2007 release Il etait un foret... which translates into there was a forest. While many bands have since traveled similar routes in search for ways of combining folk influence with black metal, this album does it nearly perfectly. Their second album under the Gris name, released 7 years after Il etait un foret, is equally as brilliant. À l'âme enflammée, l'âme constellée... sees the band pursue a similar approach while looking to encompass more non-traditional black metal elements into their song writing. A much darker, folkier, and varied effort, it is a more mature effort than their previous release and sees them cleaning up some of the production while giving way to longer acoustic passages and atmospheric moments. It shares one important similarity with the debut however as it is once again a near perfect release.

I highly suggest taking the time to familiarize yourself with the band.

Trollheart · 12-30-2017, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qwertyy

1. suck a dick

2.

I read that as "I suck a dick" !

Ol’ Qwerty Bastard · 12-03-2017, 02:24 PM

MB Does Black Metal

I promised Mondo that I would review Noosefiller's debut like... a year ago. I never did it because I was busy and 'cus Frownland is a nonce but I figure it's about time I man up to my word. Not only that, but their 2nd album is actually on Spotify now, so it's easier than ever to check it out Free Promo Here.

I want to begin by saying this sounded nothing like anything else I've heard from either artists before. I've listened to quite a few of Mondo's projects, and a fair few tracks by Frownland, but nothing that I feel really connects with what this thing is. Sure, it's weird as all ****. But the dissonance and experimentation ends up leading into some very strange yet equally enjoyable territory. Noosefiller attempts to be to black metal almost what Mr. Bungle is to... music? There are some absolutely outrageous synths on this thing that cause the album to switch from industrial black metal to straight up carnival songs. One of the biggest take aways from this album is that after all these years we finally have confirmation that Frown does indeed know how to play a guitar. Aside from that whoever they recruited to handle vocal duties did a very solid job and the album is varied enough to keep me interested in what I was hearing throughout the entirety of the project. For the best track I would probably choose Dimension Swarm, as the seven minute track serves as a non-stop chaotic thrill ride that doesn't lose it's edge through too much experimentation like some other tracks do.

All in all while this album didn't exactly blow me away, it was definitely an interesting listen and I enjoyed it enough to want to hear their debut. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, but if you like weird avant-garde black metal then you might find this album to be worth giving a spin.

Mondo Bungle · 12-03-2017, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qwertyy

it was definitely an interesting listen and I enjoyed it enough to want to hear their debut.

I hope this isn't a common thing cuz if anything I'd hope it kept people away from the debut

Ol’ Qwerty Bastard · 12-03-2017, 05:09 PM

is the debut that bad?

Mondo Bungle · 12-03-2017, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qwertyy

is the debut that bad?

hard to say really since there's barely anything distinguishable to behold. it's really more like noise music with drums

Ol’ Qwerty Bastard · 12-04-2017, 01:42 PM

I know it's not news to anyone around here, but I'm a Burzum fanboy and feel it is only right that I dedicate at least one post out of the month to one of the genres greatest acts. Rather than repeating my opinions on Varg's early albums and emphasizing just how important they were to the overall growth of the genre, I've decided instead to talk a bit about his later work, in particular his post 2010 era releases.

It is very common amongst black metal fans to refer to "early Burzum" as every thing from the self-titled debut up until 1996's Filosofem. You see, from then on not only did Varg become more and more of a controversial figure, but he also began diving deeper and deeper into the world of ambient music. Of course anyone familiar with his catalogue of music will know elements of dark ambient always surfaced during his early career, but it wasn't until the late 90s and onward that he began dedicating entire albums to crafting that sound.

For the sake of this month being based around black metal, we will ignore the ambient material, and instead focus simply on his return to the genre he helped create. In particular, I will be using this post to focus on 2010s Belus and 2011s Fallen, two albums which I believe are far too frequently forgotten within the dismissal of Varg Vikernes later material.

The first thing to consider when going into these albums is how both the genre and Varg have changed over the years. It would be a bit foolish to go into these releases expecting an album that sounds similar to Hvis lyset or Filosofem. The fact of the matter is Varg revolutionized extreme metal with his production style on the early material and also planted seeds for the future of atmo black metal. In these two albums, he is not looking to re-up on his ways of past, he is instead presenting a much more modern sounding atmospheric black metal effort without as much of an emphasis on raw production.

One listen to Glemselens Elv should give the listener a look into how Varg has evolved as a musician, incorporating some truly beautiful soundscapes into his song writing while staying true to those hypnotically repetitive riffs he has showed us time and time again.

On the follow-up to Belus, Fallen, you can find Varg experimenting with the production and looking to restore a little bit of that rawness from his earlier career. What is most interesting about this album is how it manages to take elements from both his early career and his last album, combining a rawer production style and some of his nastiest vocals yet with some lovely melodies, clean vocals, spoken word passages, and more. My favourite cut from this album is Jeg Faller, a track that almost seems to take a bit of inspiration from the DSBM scene.

I can understand that these albums might not appeal to everyone, but surely they are worth giving a listen and forming your own opinion on, rather than assuming they fall into the same category as the rest of Varg's later works.

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