Reviewed - 09/05/05
Split CD
[Evil Morgue Entertainment]
The first thing that should be noted before I go on to write this review is that I am NOT a fan of black metal. I find most of it to sound the same and think that it has a tendency to be silly with the corpse paint overkill and idiotic pseudo-satanic tripe in the lyrics and imagery. That being said, this black metal split release kicks major ass.
We start things out with Portland, Oregon's Fall of the Bastards. They begin their side of the CD with a very nice, fairly speedy mandolin intro that lasts for about a minute. Things are very folksy at the onset, though that is quickly obliterated. The closest thing to a label that I can put on Fall of the Bastards is melodic black metal. I guess that fits, but I get a very strong vibe off of them that reminds me of pre-"Jester Race" In Flames (back when they still had folk influences) and pre-"Skydancer" Dark Tranquillity. In other words, this is melodic, yet very dark sounding. .
There are some nice folk elements to be found on occasion through the use of the mandolin and acoustic guitars and Fall of the Bastards know how to properly incorporate them into the chaos without drowning them out. The vocals border on a near black metal scream much of the time, but never give me that horrid feeling like I'm listening to someone go through a very painful throat culture. And for those who have heard their previous album, "Dusk of An Ancient Age", you'll be pleased to know that the sound quality has been much improved upon. .
Seattle's Book of Black Earth are responsible for the final two tracks of this split CD and they did not disappoint me after the great tracks from Fall of the Bastards. They start things out with a simply awesome keyboard intro on "Olden" that sounds like it could have easily been used in an old school Dracula movie during a scene where the Count is stalking after his next victim. Simply great stuff there. .
As for the rest of the music, it starts out as mid-paced black metal with keyboards, but then goes off at a blistering pace, destroying everything in it's path. There's a lot of nice, rather jarring guitar work on here and a nice ambient noise intro on the last track of the CD, "Silent Through The Black Vortex". .
I'd have to say that Book of Black Earth's strongest point is the keyboards, but then again, since my favorite metal subgenres are Progressive, Power and Symphonic, I'm a little biased in that direction to begin with. .
Awesome Northwest black metal, I recommend this CD to anyone who likes good metal, regardless of genre.
[Evil Morgue Entertainment]
The first thing that should be noted before I go on to write this review is that I am NOT a fan of black metal. I find most of it to sound the same and think that it has a tendency to be silly with the corpse paint overkill and idiotic pseudo-satanic tripe in the lyrics and imagery. That being said, this black metal split release kicks major ass.
We start things out with Portland, Oregon's Fall of the Bastards. They begin their side of the CD with a very nice, fairly speedy mandolin intro that lasts for about a minute. Things are very folksy at the onset, though that is quickly obliterated. The closest thing to a label that I can put on Fall of the Bastards is melodic black metal. I guess that fits, but I get a very strong vibe off of them that reminds me of pre-"Jester Race" In Flames (back when they still had folk influences) and pre-"Skydancer" Dark Tranquillity. In other words, this is melodic, yet very dark sounding. .
There are some nice folk elements to be found on occasion through the use of the mandolin and acoustic guitars and Fall of the Bastards know how to properly incorporate them into the chaos without drowning them out. The vocals border on a near black metal scream much of the time, but never give me that horrid feeling like I'm listening to someone go through a very painful throat culture. And for those who have heard their previous album, "Dusk of An Ancient Age", you'll be pleased to know that the sound quality has been much improved upon. .
Seattle's Book of Black Earth are responsible for the final two tracks of this split CD and they did not disappoint me after the great tracks from Fall of the Bastards. They start things out with a simply awesome keyboard intro on "Olden" that sounds like it could have easily been used in an old school Dracula movie during a scene where the Count is stalking after his next victim. Simply great stuff there. .
As for the rest of the music, it starts out as mid-paced black metal with keyboards, but then goes off at a blistering pace, destroying everything in it's path. There's a lot of nice, rather jarring guitar work on here and a nice ambient noise intro on the last track of the CD, "Silent Through The Black Vortex". .
I'd have to say that Book of Black Earth's strongest point is the keyboards, but then again, since my favorite metal subgenres are Progressive, Power and Symphonic, I'm a little biased in that direction to begin with. .
Awesome Northwest black metal, I recommend this CD to anyone who likes good metal, regardless of genre.
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Tracklist:
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| Rating: 8/10 | |
| Release Date: 2005 | |
| Length: 34:33 | |
| Review By: Philip Wickstrand | |
| Total Reviews: (1) | |
| Bands Website: Go Here | |
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