Glorious North Productions 2012
1.Voscara 2.Thule 3.Morth 4.Messenger Of The Vortex Winds
5.Lord Of The Great Dwelling 6.Nordland 7.Nord Uliima
There’s a real sense of melancholy as ‘Voscara' slowly
begins to crawl into life, an extremely creepy and eerie intro setting the tone
perfectly before the black metal onslaught furiously spews forth in a hellish
barrage. For all the savagery on display there is a real sense of melody to the
music, melodically harsh. The Scandinavian influence apparent from the outset,
harsh tremolo picked guitars are accompanied by simplistic, almost militaristic
drumming and scathing, harsh and scornful screamed black metal vocals,
apparently being belched from a tortured
individual, namely Vorg, the one man behind Nordland. Tempos range from
a doom laden crawl to all out bestial blasting, and everything in between which
all adds to the appeal and certainly adds variety (not a word commonly attached
to harsh black metal of this nature). When tempos are slowed, windswept samples
are introduced under the music which only adds to the atmosphere. An amazing
opening track and as it draws to its atmospheric conclusion, those Kvlt
Norwegians Kvist sprang to mind, Vorg producing something very similar in
sound. ‘Thule’ begins in similar fashion to the opener, atmosphere
introducing the track before all hell breaks loose in a barrage of bestial
black metal blast beats and frenzied, but melodic lead guitar work. Again,
tempos are varied to suit the guitar riffs perfectly. Unusually for this style
of black metal, the bass really grinds through in the production and is more
prominent in the faster sections, adding a really grimy, sludgy edge to a lot
of the riffs. The sense of urgency being pursued in this track (as it ends) is
enthralling, the guitar riffs are monstrous, picked at lightning speed with the
devastating atmosphere being retained throughout, the track fading slowly away
amongst a windswept themed sample.
Beginning in mid-paced territory, ‘Morth’
sounds slightly different to the two tracks before it, the chosen pace being
used heavily throughout; rather than chopping and changing tempos, Vorg opting
to stay in or around the same pace throughout the entire track which actually
gives it more appeal, granting the listener something a bit different whilst
retaining the familiar atmosphere and delivery of sound. Vocally, the delivery
is very reminiscent of Shagrath of Dimmu Borgir fame; musically its opposite
ends of the spectrum from Dimmu. Having said that, there is still the very
heavy Scandinavian black metal feel to the band’s sound. A similar pace greets
the opening to ‘Messenger Of The Vortex Winds’ with the barren windswept samples again being
introduced to retain the cold, sparse and wintery atmosphere being created. The
track begins to take on a really epic feel and sound, the harshness of the
guitars and bass really adding to the bleakness of this track, the sense of
despair really being brought to the fore. It’s almost as if Vorg is preparing
for his own untimely demise and wants everyone to know about it, such is the
atmosphere. There’s no let up in the punishing onslaught as ‘Lords Of The Great Dwelling’ spews
forth its bile ridden message. Re-introduced are the faster blasting sections
which when mixed with the more mid-paced approach sound amazingly brutal but
which manage to retain the haunting atmospheres. The re-introduction of the
faster pace is welcomed as it breaks from the suffocating melancholy so
prevalent in the two previous tracks and it once again allows some harsh
melodic riffs to lead the song to a dramatic and utterly brilliant conclusion.
It’s all about worshipping at the altar of the Scandinavian black metal
forefathers once again, and what a fitting tribute this is!
‘Nordland’ is the
longest track on the entire album, being 11:41 you just know this is going to be
another brilliant, yet punishing journey and Vorg has once again decided to
implement the slower suffocating tempos which as ever, never lose the sense of
harshness and melody, but instead drag you down into a pit of pure black metal
hell, albeit a fucking extremely catchy one. There’s so much on offer in this
track, it’s quite remarkable how quickly the time passes. You’re never allowed
to get bored or wander off in a mire of normality, the music just doesn’t allow
such behaviour. Ending with ‘Nord Uliima', a five minute ‘outro’ comprised of eerie
samples and simple melodic guitars it’s a fitting end to an album that oozes
atmosphere from every note, every hate filled scream. Coming from one man; as
this album does, is testament to Vorg’s talent and ability to craft and create
an utterly devastating album of atmospheric black metal of the highest order.
Having reviewed some amazing black metal releases already this year, ‘Norldand’
sits right up there as being one of the best black metal releases of the year
so far. The harsh, yet melodic atmospheres created throughout are utterly
captivating, bordering on the epic. Heavily influenced by Scandinavian black
metal, but no mere copycat, ‘Nordland’ is probably going to be as good a black
metal album coming from the UK that you are likely to hear for quite some time.
This comes very highly recommended.
9 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment