Voidcleaning - reviews pt. 2

Part 2 of what, due to various reasons, is now a regular feature.

Enjoy.

(Part 1)

SATANIC BLOODSPRAYING - 'At The Mercy Of Satan' (Hells Headbangers)

Wow, this is more Impaled Nazarene than Impaled Nazarene themselves have been in years! The review should stop here but I still can't make my head around this band. Part of me likes this (well, I've first heard IN over 20 years ago, scary!) but on the other hand I don't really need what equals to simply be a tribute band to these ears. Let me put it this way - thanks for the promo but in no way I would be paying cash for this album, even on a perfect day...Wolves winning a game, for example, the useless cunts. [5]

Satanic Bloodspraying Bandcamp 

 

BLACKENED WISDOM - 'The Angels Are Crying' (Hells Headbangers)

 

Recorded back in 1993 and only released now, the main draw here is that vocalist / guitarist for the short-lived Blackened Wisdom was none but Bill Taylor, the denim-clad monster from everyone's fave unholy cult, Immolation. Watching him going completely berserk for over an hour when Immolation toured over these parts of the world mere couple months ago was one of my personal highlights from their perfect gig. This three-song 7", however, isn't exactly awe-inspiring, nor exceptionally good - thanks to the booming, sub-par production the songs have been robbed of energy, intensity and memorability, which is bad news if you're going for a menacing death / black hybrid sound. Some good bits scattered here and there throughout the songs but, frankly, Order From Chaos is all you need in that particular genre of metal. [6]

Blackened Wisdom Bandcamp 

 

BRUME D'AUTOMNE - 'Brune d'Automne' (Sepulchral Productions)

Second album for one of the prime examples of Quebec black metal, a two piece band (or is it a side project?) of members playing also in Forteresse and Ur Falc'h. Never heard the latter but the music on this album is pretty much dissimilar to that of the former - Brume d'Automne is way more straightforward than Forteresse are in style and execution - more stripped down, raw black metal impurity and less folklore touches, although those are certainly noticeable as well. The songs are fast and aggressive, the drums have a cool "dirty" sounding about them, the guitar work is effective in a minimalist way, injecting enough melody as to prevent this crossing the line between black and war metal and the vocals are harsh and tortured for sure. While most of this is probably too "90s Scandinavian black metal style" to be highly unique this band does deserve a fair share of praise. [7]

Brume d'Automne Facebook  

 

 

ZEBARGES - 'Stay Barges Or Die!!!' (Ortsid Latem Productions)

The ever-moaning bastard I might be, I love my goofy music every now and then. Haven't seen me bathing in that green slime at a GWAR show? Mess. I love mess. When even that fact doesn't help me enjoying this album you'd know Zebarges have to be real dull. This was supposed to be a punk / metal hybrid but what it sounds like is an inside joke that should have stayed just that, with possible circulation of 3 or 4 CD-R copies to gather dust in the basements / wine cellars of those involved in the recording process. Probably the joke is lost on me due to the French lyrics but then again I don't believe the situation would've been any different. They could be the funniest bunch of maniacs known to mankind, I wouldn't know, but the music is just not there at all. Upped a whole point for their trouble mailing this to me and the photos in the booklet showing some of them wearing Destroyer 666 and Exodus shirts. [2]

Zebarges MySpace

DEVIL - 'Magister Mundi Xum / The Noble Savage' (Soulseller Records)

 

Just what's on the tin - Devil's demo and 7'' EP are now available on CD format. Some of the featured songs had ended up later, in re-recorded form, on the band's debut full-length, 'Time To Repent', still there's plenty of others to practice your best dancing moves to as well. Most of the tunes are farkin jolly good time - Devil's "bluesdoom" has always been hugely tongue-in-cheek and catchy like a masterful spell cast upon your ears by some old hag. It's fuckin whiskey time, matey - watch me ducking and rocking around - I made a pact at the blacksmith's and the blood is boiling! Not essential, and occasionally goofy retro sounding at times, yet a decent enough to crack a smile on everyone's lips at that party you've been invited to the next Saturday night. [7]

Devil Facebook

Neige et Noirceur 'Hymnes de la Montaigne Noire' review

NEIGE ET NOIRCEUR

'Hymnes de la Montaigne Noire'

(Sepulchral Productions)

Neige et Noirceur are yet another one of the many impressive bands currently plying their trade in the burgeoning Quebecois black metal scene, and finally get around to unleashing their latest opus entitled 'Hymnes de la Montagne Noire', and if you thought their previous efforts were cold then this will freeze you to your very core. So Zifond is back, and appears to have slightly shifted to focus this time around to a slightly heavier weighting on the metal aspect of their brand of black metal and less on the droning ambience yet still retaining a huge atmospheric presence that helps deliver his style of minimalist, hypnotic black metal so seamlessly. Indeed if there was a more suitable album this year to listen to just as winter threatens its first ice laden advances on the landscape then I’ve yet to hear it.

'Hymnes...' contains five tracks of repetitive, atavistic black metal set somewhere in between the Norwegian style of the early nineties and the deathly cold standoffishness of ambience focused acts like Paysage d’Hiver and Darkspace. Take the first track “Hymne I”, the Norwegian influences are hugely apparent with its raw swaggering gait reminiscent of early Gorgoroth, but break this up with subtle use of synths and Zifond’s abrasive vocals and sparse minimalist passages of ambience and and you have the basic formula for the whole album. The riffing itself uses repetition to great effect and bolstered by the incessant drumming hammers through the effect of a perpetual blizzard grinding away at your very being. Indeed ‘Snow and Blackness’ as their moniker translates couldn’t really be more fitting.

Zifond’s vocals alternate between are more atypical black metal rasp and extremely sharp high pitched shriek, I suppose you could say in the same vein as many artists from the ‘Suicidal Black Metal’ end of things. “Hymne II” is much the same expect broken up by vast swathes of atmosphere with some rather obscure guitar passages and kicks back in with some impressive lead work before closing out with an imposing, caustic dirge which again showcases the hypnotic use of the riff work. “Hymne III” even finds some space to utilize some nifty acoustic work which helps emphasize the change ups between ‘atmosphere’ and ‘metal’ and together with its sorrow laden riffing and synth make sure by this point if you’re not set to deep freeze you’re certainly on your way there.

“Hymne IV” is the best track here, a beautiful windswept acoustic introduction which eventually succumbs to a maelstrom of simple yet effective fuzzed out guitar driven majesty. By the time we reach the fifth track there’s not really much more to say I haven’t already (disregarding the rather unremarkable cover tacked on at the end), the only fault being the paper thin production. Simply put, 'Hymnes de la Montagne Noire' is a brilliant release for anyone who considers themselves a fan of atmospheric black metal. It’s complex and hypnotic arrangements are colder than a polar bears ballsack, and although you’ve heard it all before, hearing it again done this well is ever so welcome. [8,5]

(Chris Cowgill)

Neige et Noirceur  

Borgne 'Royaume des Ombres' review

BORGNE

'Royaume des Ombres'

(Sepulchral Productions)

According to Metal Archives Borgne's sole recording member, Bornyhake, also plays drums for Kawir, under yet another nom de guerre, Ormenos. With that little trivia in mind one can but wonder what led him chose of using programmed drums when composing and recording for Borgne. Probably the core of the problem with this band's music, which frankly is of the hit and miss variety, stems from the demanding, and most likely impossible, task he had set for himself of mixing way too many styles into a coherent and really impressive sounding package. Fuzzy black metal guitars and Burzum-ish screeches and lots (I mean LOTS) of 'symphonic bm' keyboards, accompanied by the already mentioned programmed drums in an attempt of achieving genuine atmosphere of angst and fury? Agreeably, some parts on here are interesting enough and nicely executed but just as often the songs are just 'there', thus not really rewarding and I doubt I'd be reaching to 'Royaume...' for a listen any time soon, if ever. This is not worthlessly bad per se, but I've had my fix of bands sounding similar to Borgne's musical intentions already and the appeal was limited even the first time around. [6,5]

(Vladimir Petrov)

Borgne Facebook