Reviewed - 08/20/04
Agrarian Menace
[Self Released]
You just don't expect a black/folk metal project to come out of Minnesota. You just don't. It's no surprise, though. I have family up there so I know how fucking cold it can get. If those arctic temperatures can't inspire black metal, nothing would. Encrimson'd aren't exactly a typical folk sounding band, they are mostly influenced by rural medieval themes. It definitely lends them a different edge than what you'd expect, but it's not enough to make me enjoy this release.
It's really tough for me to be fair to a self-released album. I just don't like bad production and I don't want to be an ass to a struggling new band, but this straddles the fence too much. Everything is cleanly recorded, but sounds weak. It's mainly the mix that sucks. The vocals are the worst for it as they just sort of sit on top of the music. Since they are a black metal band, it might have been better to intentionally sound shitty instead. Might have saved them some scratch, too. I really think they would have been better off going with a more lo-fi, muddy sound.
Production issues aside, I have issues with the vocals themselves. They said that the vocals were improvised during the recording, which sounds cool, but isn't always a good idea. Literally every kind of extreme vocal is attempted. Overall they work, but there are a lot of places on this disc where they really, really don't. Again, a few effects or at least proper mixing would go a long way, but so does knowing your strengths.
Musically, there are some cool melodies at work, but generally nothing that hasn't been done before. I really liked their clean guitar passages and wished they'd done a lot more of them. The songs tend to be long and somewhat complex, but unfortunately, I was left with a feeling of ambiguity. Nothing really stood out or grabbed my attention. Nothing about them felt all that special. Now, I'm no expert on folk metal of any sort, so take this review with a grain of salt. If you're into folk metal, you should look into them for yourself.
[Self Released]
You just don't expect a black/folk metal project to come out of Minnesota. You just don't. It's no surprise, though. I have family up there so I know how fucking cold it can get. If those arctic temperatures can't inspire black metal, nothing would. Encrimson'd aren't exactly a typical folk sounding band, they are mostly influenced by rural medieval themes. It definitely lends them a different edge than what you'd expect, but it's not enough to make me enjoy this release.
It's really tough for me to be fair to a self-released album. I just don't like bad production and I don't want to be an ass to a struggling new band, but this straddles the fence too much. Everything is cleanly recorded, but sounds weak. It's mainly the mix that sucks. The vocals are the worst for it as they just sort of sit on top of the music. Since they are a black metal band, it might have been better to intentionally sound shitty instead. Might have saved them some scratch, too. I really think they would have been better off going with a more lo-fi, muddy sound.
Production issues aside, I have issues with the vocals themselves. They said that the vocals were improvised during the recording, which sounds cool, but isn't always a good idea. Literally every kind of extreme vocal is attempted. Overall they work, but there are a lot of places on this disc where they really, really don't. Again, a few effects or at least proper mixing would go a long way, but so does knowing your strengths.
Musically, there are some cool melodies at work, but generally nothing that hasn't been done before. I really liked their clean guitar passages and wished they'd done a lot more of them. The songs tend to be long and somewhat complex, but unfortunately, I was left with a feeling of ambiguity. Nothing really stood out or grabbed my attention. Nothing about them felt all that special. Now, I'm no expert on folk metal of any sort, so take this review with a grain of salt. If you're into folk metal, you should look into them for yourself.
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Tracklist:
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| Rating: 5/10 | ||||||||||||
| Release Date: 2004 | ||||||||||||
| Length: 46:57 | ||||||||||||
| Review By: K. Ledbetter | ||||||||||||
| Total Reviews: (1) | ||||||||||||
| Bands Website: Go Here | ||||||||||||
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