[Previous entry: "VOBISCUM, BLACK FUNERAL (VROLOK), & ISTAPP IMPORTS IN STOCK NOW!"] [Next entry: "SOD MAGAZINE Issue #27 - 2 special VERWIMP covers! +FREE CD!"]

07/27/2008: "REVIEW of BlackMetal.com Records releases!"

[_]- THULE "Anthology" CD
Reviewed in Metal Maniacs Magazine August 2008 issue (Vol.25, No.6)
by Alex S. Johnson

"As bracing as a shot of super-chilled vodka downed in an ice-storm, this 'best of' [anthology] from Icelanders THULE hits on all cylinders; it's everything we like about Black Metal, from knife-like trebly riff thrusts (ok, still in the minimalist partial-chord school of frenzied 32nd-notes, which can approximate symphonic massiveness but under lo-fi conditions resembles anguished razor-wire) to uber-distorted blender-blur of the Darkthrone school (skull?) and a lineup which appears to mutate from year to year, leaving Einar Thorberg Gudmundsson (aka Eldur from CURSE, FORTID, and POTENTIAM) holding down the grubstake while vocalists, drummers, and bassists buzz around him like rogue neutrinos... Fast, wintry and melodic, this album should appeal to fans of Dissection and Dark Funeral."

- - - - - -


[_]- CURSE / SYKDOM (split) CD
Reviewed by: Mladen Skot
http://www.maelstrom.nu/ezine/review_iss61_4521.php?

* Score = 8.9/10
"...The poetic essence of the split album 'In Life & in Death / Verden og Fanden' is in that it doesn't go against Nature. It flows along with it. And yes, we are still talking about black metal here. There are ten tracks, but, in reality, just two songs. And there's the world in each of them.

"We know Sykdom from before. At least, we thought we knew 'him' (it is a one-man endeavor). On 'Under Krigen', released two years ago, Herr Sykdom was all about paying homage to the Viking-era Bathory in a somewhat harsh but endearing way. 'Verden og Fanden (The World and the Devil)' is a small symphony, a six-piece tribute to the impressions of darkness descending on the world, to take revenge for being too self-assured of its own greatness. It flows and it crushes, and it doesn't need much to achieve that. All it takes is one grandiose guitar doing straightforward, continuously driving chords with a nasty distorted but perfectly natural sound. Another guitar responds with cold and evocative melodies consisting of long, simple, starlight-invoking tones. Either serving as an echo above, or exchanging dialogue with the blood-curdling screams, the words fail to give any sensible description.

"Sykdom's six parts are a journey from earth-shaking thrashing, simple mesmerizing double-bass drums and calm moments, with one short guitar-solo moment where it almost sounds as if the stars actually started responding. Hear it to witness it.

"The feelings Sykdom must have felt in Norway, Curse shared in Iceland. Two albums and an EP behind them, but we just know one of the four members: Eldur (guitars, keyboards, vocals) sung on the aforementioned Sykdom album, as well as being a member of Potentiam, who released the most despair-filled, icy, crushing album last year ('Years in the Shadows'). The closing four tracks belong to Curse, and to no one else. At least to no one human.

"Although the sound is slightly different, the beginning of 'In Life & in Death' is a seamless transition from what Sykdom was doing a moment ago. Again, two bass drums, heavy distortion and a cold, distant guitar. The chords are simple and fluid, yet there's an unexpected, short, cymbal-accentuated motif that repeats a few times but it leaves such an impact that one spends the next fifteen or so minutes having it in mind, hearing it where it isn't and waiting with suspended breath for it to return. It does [return], but in your search for it you will have to go through frozen fields, ice-cold lake water and foggy mountain rain just to get there again. One theme, but once it catches speed, it's a small miracle how many elements will spring out of it, and how many layers of sound will there be to describe them. Even when it's calm, it is going ahead with full intensity.

"It seems that there were some words written, after all. But they are nothing compared to the first-hand experience."

- - - - - -

[_]- ENDLESS BLIZZARD "Remember Your Death" CD / DOUBLE-LP VINYLS
Reviewed by Andee Connors [Aquarius Records]

"We've long been fans of LA's retro black thrashers LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH... But recently we've become even more obsessed with LSOD guitarist Roskva's other outfit, the much blacker and buzzier ENDLESS BLIZZARD, who channel classic Norwegian style BM (we assume the Blizzard in their name is an homage to the original Blizzard Beasts, Immortal) through more traditional classic metal, with lots of prog going on as well, which you know we love. Heck, they even begin the record with their own interpretation of a classic Popol Vuh Track! But at their heart (of winter), they are a blasting grim war metal beast, offering up epic majestic riffage, furious blasting beats, intricate melodies, killer hooks, and awesome shrieking vokills.

"Most of the tracks are blackened juggernauts, roiling and relentless, but the record is peppered with unexpected sounds, the haunting liturgical organs of 'Luciferian Crown' complete with soaring strings and mysterious chanted vocals, the looped medieval folk of 'Under the Tranhelm', a totally mesmerizing stretch of mysterious buzz and moody melody, and the epic two part final track, 'Buried Still Breathing / Remember Your Death', which begins with a whirring warbly organ, playing out a minor key melody, lots of wheeze and buzz, almost like some sort of bagpipe style raga, before shifting into a plodding Doom drift, heavy on the buzzing synths, which shift into some deep minimal dronemusic, before acoustic guitars join in and allow the track to unwind dreamily.

"But it's not just the weird bits that make this so good. The tracks, beyond being buzzy and heavy and complex, are also catchy as hell, blending classic eighties style metal with more modern black buzz, the riffs and melodies sticking in your head like crazy. One of our new favorites BM records for sure!"

- - - - - -


[_]- DEVATHORN "Diadema" CD
Reviewed in Metal Maniacs Magazine August 2008 issue (Vol.25, No.6)
by Mike SOS

Greek Black Metal trio DEVATHORN come barreling through the gates with misanthropic viewpoints and classic corpepaint garb in tow on 'Diadema'. The nine-track offering gets as raw as you can get without actually being from Sweden, as this enraged outfit's frequency-challenged BM assault reveals a penchant for backwards masking on 'Prelude to Possession' in addition to a chaotic Nordic-influenced element heard on cuts like 'Bleed Heaven Bleed'. Supplying a 36-minute blitz of raspy vocals over crude guitars and harsh rhythms with an occasional atmospheric spoken word diatribe thrown in for added thrills, DEVATHORN's method of battery is far from unique, yet manages to illicit an eerie chill thanks to the malevolent compositions and deadpan [grim] delivery draped in utter disgust, as exemplified on the nihilistic six-minute title-track, laden with buzzing guitars set at a furious pace."

- - - - - -