Zanister - Symphonica Millenia (1999)

I have no idea what a 'Zanister' is, but I suppose like a 'Kenziner' or 'Metallica' it just sounds fit for a metal band's name, and without a doubt, this is pure US speed/power/heavy metal which culls its sound directly from the other projects of its seasoned membership. This is a collaboration of two guitar greats, David T. Chastain and Michael Harris, who have worked together numerous times and through Chastain's Leviathan Records imprint, which of course is also the home to Zanister. They are joined by Michael's brother Brian Harris on drums, James Martin on bass (he's performed in several other projects with Michael Harris, and the sole rookie on this album, Brian Sarvela, handles the vocals.

If you've heard Chastain, Surgeon, Spike or other bands that involved some of the lineup in the past, and appreciated them, then you're more than prepared for what Symphonica Millenia brings to the table, and you'll probably derive some entertainment out of this. There are at least 4-5 killer songs on the album, with the remainder passable, but what's most important is that it represents Chastain's return to the more traditional metal he once created through his self title band through many great albums in the 80s. It's not exactly a duplicate, especially when you've experienced the interchange between both David and Michael Harris' dual shredding abilities. Certainly, Brian Sarvela is no Leather Leone, but his voice has a good range and a cutting tone that well suits the melodic furor of the material here.

"Fighters in the Sky" is essentially Chastain upgraded to a more modern power metal feel, and it does much to heighten the excitement for the album, with solid, busy riffing and well written leads, but it's followed by some of the less interesting tracks on the album, with the exception of the "Save Me Now" bridge with a nice fusion of the rhythms and leads. Once you get to the meat of the album, basically the center of the track list, you're treated to some of the more memorable pieces. "The Edge of Sanity" mixes stout, dark Chastain grooves with great, frivolous riffing that recalls a mix of Liege Lord and Helstar, while "Let Them Live" picks your brain with some solid power riffing, and "Children of the Gods" and the glorious "Evil Will Survive" almost grant you your money's worth. There are a few I didn't care for all that much, including "Born in Cold Blood" and "Feed the Fire", but this is at least better than any of the 90s Chastain works (beyond For Those Who Dare, of course, which is superb).

The production here is good and even, without sounding too polished or overproduced, and I'll give the two guitar virtuosos credit that they manage to impress with their skills sans the slogging wank-fest they'd be capable of releasing if they so chose. If you're a fan of either man's instrumental works, there is just enough consideration for your tastes, but the banks of solos are held to their proper position amidst the verse/chorus sections and it's all quite professional. I do wish a little more effort had been placed in the vocal lines, especially the chorus sequences, because while Sarvela is more than capable of delivering, his note patterns are rarely all that memorable. Still, if you're dying to hear some US power/speed metal that you've been missing, and you've already exhausted your supply of Chastain's Leather Leone-fronted works, then I'd recommend this of the two Zanister albums, because there are some decent tunes that might take you by surprise.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (anger the angels, humor the devils)

Witchsorrow - Witchsorrow (2010)

The band is called Witchsorrow, the record label Rise Above Records, so it's only too safe to hazard a guess that this will be either traditional or psychedelic doom before you've even heard a note of it through your speakers. Well, the UK trio certainly lean towards the former category, if we're thinking in terms of Cathedral or the more sluggish material from Sabbath or St. Vitus, and one actually might conjecture whether or not Lee Dorrian signed the band because he saw a little of his earlier self in their sound. Certainly, there are apt comparisons here to the first few Cathedral records, before they adopted their more groovy, accessible format with Ethereal Mirror (which happens to be one of my favorite albums by that outfit).

So, if your expectations are for slow, tortured sequences of chords that swell and groove to the disaffection of the vocals, then Witchsorrow are only too happy to oblige you in a slurry of five tracks and 45 minutes. 'Necroskull' has a similar lamentable tone to his howling that falls in somewhere between Dorrian and early My Dying Bride, and the music is implicitly simple, with nary a surprise hiding out anywhere. The bass and drums follow the thick axe broth all too closely, and as a result there is a somewhat one track feeling through "The Agony" or "The Trial of Elizabeth Clarke", though "Gomorrah" thankfully picks up the pace in the verse to "Symptom of the Universe" levels before its own churning, nihilistic breakdown, and "Impaler, Tepes" had me slowly craning my neck when it too started to rock.

Unfortunately, these don't represent most of the album, which is rather lacking in memorable riffs despite the straightforward intentions of the band. Nothing here is quite so primal or aggressive as the heights of Electric Wizard, or the more recent Ramesses, and there's not much of a variation outside of slight, minimal psychedelic ambient phrases like the tranquil calm at the core of "Impaler, Tepes" or the drudging melodic hypnosis deep within "Thou Art Cursed". I'm a stickler for certain qualities in doom, in short the ability to create the feelings of inevitable oppression without ennui that bands like Sabbath, St. Vitus, Candlemass and Trouble first manifest, and I'm not sure I'd give this debut a passing grade. By no means are Witchsorrow terrible, and to their credit, they're actually quite sincere, but I'd like to hear more than just the bare minimum of effort laid out before me, spelling my damnation.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://www.myspace.com/witchsorrowdoom

Xasthur - Portal of Sorrow (2010)

It was probably inevitable that a musician so disenchanted with the status quo, so at odds with the living as Malefic (Scott Conner) would choose a finite period in which to vent his opaque nightmares to the audio obsessed, and thus the fact that he has stamped Portal of Sorrow as the final Xasthur full-length of that particular entity was not a surprise. Judging from the general quality of his prior efforts, which ranged from sobering and curious to downright suicidally indulgent, I could only have hoped that this belabored swan song would channel the same hazy, wondrous specters as prior issues. Sadly, this is not the case, and despite its variation and interesting atmospheric motifs, Portal of Sorrow is perhaps the least engrossing of his albums, though the 14 tracks do conceal a few priority gems.

The sultry, sickening despair is inaugurated with the roiling clean guitars of the instrumental title track, flecked with twisted ambiance and funeral organs that provide an early burial for this once prolific cellar dweller. "Broken Glass Christening" cycles back to familiar territory, the ghostlike strains of disgusting, repressed black metal painted with Malefic's tortured screaming, low piano keys central in the mix while ethereal, feminine choirs half-haunt the landscape. "Shrine of Failure" continues the grim portrait with aimless shredded guitars over echoing spoken words and coiled dissonance, and while this is sort of piece is not a great distance from his major works like the stunning All Reflections Drained, it just lacks anything truly gripping. The female vocals return for "Stream of Subconsciousness", one of the album's most accessible pieces, and it works rather well with the sad guitar lines and mumble jumbled vitriol in the background, proving that not all hope is lost as we mine deeper into the wealth of tracks.

"Karma/Death" is another winner, a fibrous, writhing serpent of fuzzy melodic glaze, and I also enjoyed the more ambient driven "Horizon of Plastic Caskets", or the funeral black doom of "This Abyss Holds the Mirror" with its more guttural vocal qualities, but there are a number of forgettable shorter instrumental segments like "Mesmerized by Misery" or the lush but empty tranquility of "Mourning Tomorrow" that serve to break the woeful climate. Of the later tracks, "Released from This Earth" is notable for the scarce balance of the pianos, eerie female vocals and thick, oozing bass, "The Darkest Light" being a very familiar approach for Xasthur that could be found on a number of the albums, but in all there seems an inconsistency, a disconnect to the usual disconnect which makes Conner's albums so engrossing.

There are plenty who won't bat an eyelid at the disappearance of this project, as Conner has long suffered and thrived in a love/hate relationship with black metal fans of all edicts, but I feel like he's made the right decision. Personally, I've slowly developed a fondness for a number of the Xasthur works, but I'm not sure where else there would be to go for this particular entity, and I can hear in Portal of Sorrow exactly why Malefic has become so disenchanted with this path. This is not the worst of albums to leave us on, and to be accurate it's got most of the oppressive characteristics common to his releases, but it just doesn't feel quite so dark. It's almost as if the album itself were exhausted, just trying to sluggishly gesture itself through an hour's playtime, and I never felt as lost in labyrinthine caverns of regret as I did in past years listening through his music. That's not to imply this is 'happy', because it is truly not, but I turn towards this man's music to feel drugged, shaken and truly fucked, not drugged, vapid dulled, and Portal of Sorrow is just too often guilty of the latter.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://xasthur.mercurous.net/

Yyrkoon - Unhealthy Opera (2006)

Whatever downwards momentum the French band had suffered in their 'oniric' transition from debut to sophomore was surely halted at the mighty Occult Medicine, upon which Yyrkoon finally declared that they were indeed a DEATH metal band and decided to act like such was the case, without entirely abandoning their progressive and melodic inclinations. That 2004 effort was and remains clearly my favorite of the band's favorite work, but it's follow-up Unhealthy Opera is thankfully not far behind in terms of effective power, as the band shun none of that newly discovered surge in brutality. Like its predecessor, though, this album is a far cry from mindless guttural banality, but an explosion of taste that never once abandons that fundamental concept inherent in 99% of good metal: the fucking riff.

Yes, the guitars are as carefully constructed as the album's next eldest sibling, and the result is pure, unconcealed excellence. The immediacy of the dark ambient intro "Something Breathes" parts for the shifting juggernaut of the title track, storms of thick riffs glistening against the melodic subtext, grooves emerging and then submerging throughout the verse as the drums lilt and stagger. Naturally, this track builds an enthusiasm that the band are not about to let loose, as they quake through the punishing developments of "From the Depths" and the caustic bounce of "Avatar Ceremony". Once the beautiful guitar instrumental "Temple of Infinity" cedes to the crushing "Abnormal Intrusion", it becomes clear that this is going to be quite the solid goddamn album, and there is nothing to sway you from this opinion later, for tracks "Screaming Shores", "Horror from the Sea" and the jerking closer "...of Madness" all deliver. "The Book" is probably the least interesting track here, but it's still heavily laden in explosive dynamics and deep enough grooves that there's no sore thumb about it.

In fact, if there's anything inferior here to Occult Medicine, it's solely the fact that the band is carving out more of the same turf, without the absolutely surprise by which that particular effort took me. I wasn't hoping for much after the rather average Dying Sun, but the band amplified their effectiveness in coordination with their commitment to extremity, and Stéphane Souteyrand has never sounded this good before, his throat finding not only power in the low end, but also his cleans are more sparse and improved. This is a direct continuance of that cycle, with the individual riffs perhaps being fleshed out ever so slightly, mildly more accessible than the stupendous bombast of their 2004 opus, but barking up such a similar tree that the fan of one has no choice but to experience the glory of the other. Season with some Andy LaRocque guest leads ("Horror from the Sea") and Mythos-inspired lyrics, and the album well earns its keep. Though in recent years the band has taken a hiatus, and we may never hear from them again, Yyrkoon should nonetheless be praised for breaching the creative cocoon of their earlier efforts to metamorphose into one of the very finest of French death metal artists.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10] (behind this irreversible theater)

http://www.yyrkoon.net/

Yyrkoon - Dying Sun (2002)

One wouldn't have to plumb far into the depths of Dying Sun to note its improvements over Yyrkoon's debut Oniric Transition, because those that exist are largely worn on the surface, in the area of production. The guitars, in particular, sound far more potent, with a thicker, melodic broth to them and less reliance on synthesizers. The riffs are not necessarily evolved to another plateau of composition, for they very closely resemble their predecessors, only delivered with a finer set piece this time around, partially due to the new members the band had attained, including a new axeslinger in François Falempin. Alas, there is also a downside to Dying Sun, and that's the rather haphazard lack of the debut's intriguing atmosphere in a mad rush to write more accessible material more clearly streamlined into the 'melodic death' category.

The band uses a lot of crossover between clean and harsh vocals this time around, and it's not always to the benefit of the songs. "Crystal Light" and "Flight of the Titan" are two examples, the latter particularly confused with its mix of gang shouts, clean soaring vox and largely uplifting rhythm guitars. Gone are the muted, fantastical hues of the debut, and we're left with something far more typical, and the jury's out on whether Yyrkoon are able to pull it off. "The Clans" and "Stolen Souls" offer a few good riffs each, but they're ultimately mediocre when rubbed against the better acts of Finland or Sweden. In fact, the best tracks found on Dying Sun are those that experiment the most, like the vast rhythmic dynamics of the progressive "Back to the Cave" or the jack hammering swaths of melody and aggressive that dominate the unfortunately titled "Thrash 'Em All". Then again, the instrumental "Gods of Silver" is your typical melodic death piece with added noodling, and "Screamer" is very inconsistent, with its mesh of progressive embellishments and mundane death/thrash.

For some reason, I really don't enjoy Stéphane Souteryand's clean approach to much of this record, and while it's not a negative to hear his capabilities in such a range, they feel rather messy over the substance of the meatier riffs. Perhaps this hurdle is due to his natural accent, perhaps not, but combined with the inconsistency of the music, it all culminates in what I find to be the least impressive Yyrkoon album. Oniric Transition certainly didn't have the tight and controlled mix of its successor, but at least it had charm, where this feels like a pretty daft peripheral to most of the European melodic death that was occurring at the time. When matched against one of the era's defining works like a Natural Born Chaos or Damage Done, Dying Sun is simply no structural comparison. There are well implemented ideas here or there, and it feels like a sure footed stepping stone towards their later, greater efforts Occult Medicine and Unearthly Opera, but I wouldn't never seek it out with those options available.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://www.yyrkoon.net/

Yyrkoon - Forgotten Past EP (2000)

After their debut Oniric Transition met with only a very small success, the French band Yyrkoon decided to follow it with this self released demo/EP Forgotten Past, seeking out an even deeper and darker symphonic sound. The result is perhaps the least impressive of their works, but still features a few traits associated with the first album, namely the swerving bass performance and the mix of snarled and clean vocals, and decent leads. Compared to their recent output, this is a lot more focused on using keyboards as the primary element of composition, and often the guitars just chug along with a sluggish interest, the riffs never really standing out from the dense, haunted castle embellishments.

Of the three tracks here, the two longer pieces are the most worthy of attention. "Forgotten Past" and "Enclosed in a Dream" are both dark, symphonic, with the latter containing the better use of the guitars. Each is over seven minutes in length, longer even than the more bloated tracks on Oniric Transition, but they fortunately don't become tired, only underwhelming when compared to the band's earlier and later material. I'd almost say that they resemble the mid 90s efforts like Passage by Samael, but they're nowhere near as catchy and the actual drumming differs from Xytras and his machinery. "Schyzophrenic Carnage" is a more brutal and grooving track, but since it's re-recorded and far superior on the Occult Medicine in 2004, there's no reason to pay it mind here.

Forgotten Past is extremely rare, but last I checked, you could listen to "Forgotten Past" and "Enclosed in a Dream" on Youtube. Coming in the middle of the four year period between Oniric Transition and Dying Sun, it certainly doesn't incite much hope for the future of the band, but thankfully those are words I'll be eating. Unlike Oniric Transition, there's just no promise here, almost as if Yyrkoon gave up to trend and decided to delve into the symphonic black metal of the time, only with less black metal ingredients. The EP doesn't exactly suck, but unless you are hell bent on experiencing obscure, simplistic haunted castle style atmospheric death metal, with few guitar riffs to write home about, I'd advise you to start anywhere else in their catalog.

Verdict: Indifference [5/10]

http://www.yyrkoon.net/

Yyrkoon - Oniric Transition (1998)

France has long been hallowed as a grounds for innovation in the black metal genre, but what of its death metal scene? Certainly, acts like Carcariass, Gorod and Atrophy stand out for their dizzying acts of unusual technicality, but Yyrkoon, named for the original nemesis and cousin of Michael Moorcock's fictional character Elric of Melnibone, wore a different stripe. Unshackled by the scripture of brutality and convention, they've undergone an interesting evolution through their career, which was 'officially' launched with this debut Oniric Transition in 1998, after the band's Oath, Obscure, Occult demo two years prior.

This is an unusual album, or rather an album of disparate parts merged into a functional framework. Yyrkoon were at this time a stark fusion of black, death, thrash and symphonic metal, all incorporating a progressive leaning largely through the song structure and the melodic lead work, the last of which was not all that far from what Death were doing in the 90s. As a result, the album can suffer from a mild lack of coordination, but so many of the individual pieces are pleasant to listen through that it ultimately succeeds. Perhaps not to the extent that later, more aggressive efforts like Occult Medicine and Unhealthy Opera succeed, but for 1998 it was an interesting footnote on a shifting landscape of emergent and transforming genres. Though the production of the whole affair feels little more than a glorified demo, its use of horror, occult and fantasy lyrics among the atmospheric sequences and largely effective guitar riffs is still refreshing over a decade out.

The center pieces are here are the real treats, and by these I refer to the longer compositions like "Throne of Complains", "The Awakening" and "Wind of Decline", each of which cycle through a fairly expansive number of riffs on their paths to the memory. Yyrkoon are capable of busting out memorable lines of melodic death or thrash metal amidst segues of heavily synthesized epic black/death metal, and this uncanny ability to bounce back and forth makes each a joy to listen. None of these tracks stretches on too long in any one particular tempo, and at worst they could be accused of carrying too much weight. Other tracks like "Elemental Storm" and the soaring, atmospheric "Lost Ideal" with its clean vocals, are likewise curious, and the remainder of the album consists of shorter 1-2 minute intros and interludes which are more or less forgettable.

Stéphane Souteryand's vocals do somewhat hold the album back from greatness, for while he expresses competence in his various snarls and howls, it's strangely his cleans that are the most effective. Also, as mentioned, the mix is pretty weak, the guitars feel very thin as they allow the synthesizers and pianos to breathe perhaps too fully, and a remaster of this with thicker tone would go a long way towards adding much needed power to the more emotional phrases. But aside from this, and the often scattershot feeling you get when the band continues to cycle out change after change, there are not a lot of complaints to be had with Oniric Transition. It was a sound debut for a solid career, and while it bears only a passing similarity to their later, better albums, you can hear the creative larva within as it struggles to chew the brains of its hosts.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://www.yyrkoon.net/

Candy Cane & Oranssi Pazuzu - Split (2010)

Muukulainen Puhuu turned out to be my top choice in all metal music for 2009, so I've naturally been very excited to hear whatever Oranssi Pazuzu would do to follow that, and it has now manifest in this split with a fellow Finnish act, bizarrely named Candy Cane, who are nearly as interesting in their approach velocity and have existed for 15 years now, releasing a number of albums, splits through the underground. As it would happen, these two are quite the match for one another, both chiming in from left field while paying service to the traditions of their core genre through the malicious echo of their rasped vocals and haunting chagrin of the guitar passages.

Candy Cane takes the first half of the split, with five numerically titled (they look like dates) tracks of treacherous, widespread havoc. "16061978" is an intro teaser with some doom laden riffs covered in scarce synthesizers and feedback, wandering into the three minute clowning black surge of "10091989" with death grunts and rasps wrangling above the din of straight up, darkly melodic riffing and flourishes of piano and oddness. "03012007" is not a lot different, perhaps imbued with some groovier breakdowns, but "25021994" is the most grimly symphonic and interesting of their input to the release, with a teething atmosphere created in the currents of the hydraulic bouncing turmoil of the verse and then the surreal, mocking atmosphere of the extended bridge. "29112008" returns to the jarring piano inflections over scorching primacy, with almost a deathgrind aesthetic paired to its elevating notation.

The Oranssi Pazuzu offerings are thankfully all new, and they pick up directly where their debut left off, alien, psychedelic and storming, like being thrust into a parallel reality in which acid cowboys are all that is left of humanity to discover the ruins of cultures both strange and beautiful, while asteroids and rusted debris dowse the star-blurred skies in collision. "Ole Muukualainen" fuses deep, sludgy punk rhythms and freak-out, jangling cleaner guitars into a vortex of uncomfortable grooves, a bazaar of the bizarre, and its immediately engrossing. "Unihämähäkki" lays out a big bass groove, not unlike that of "Korppi" from the debut, and then smothers it in Voivod-esque discord and glamorous, haunted tears of melody. "Torni" features a few moments of evolving, proggy jamming before it picks up into the swaggering of the chorus, spaced out guitars wailing off like lit angels to the atmosphere, and "Farmakologisen Kultin Puutarhassa" ends the effort with brooding, cutting currents of fibrous torture, Jun-His vocals the one stalagmite tethering the listener to the grim, oppressive sanity of his/her surroundings.

Of the two bands here, I was far more impressed by Oranssi, but that isn't much of a surprise, since they're one of the most incredulous new artists in all of extreme metal. That said, Candy Cane was actually pretty interesting, I just didn't feel any staying power in their compositions, where I'll be listening through "Torni" and "Unihämähäkki" on repeat until the next full-length is delivered. However, while I might not have thought it possible to find a stylistic balance with Oranssi, that has certainly been achieved here; thematically the bands are both strange and compelling. If you enjoyed Muukulainen Puhuu at all, then it goes without saying that this is a mandatory purchase, with the Candy Cane tracks a curious, added incentive to the hours of paranoid dementia that lie before you.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

http://www.myspace.com/oranssipazuzu

Calm Hatchery - Sacrilege of Humanity (2010)

It was truly a pity that more people didn't catch on to this Polish band's 2006 debut El Alamein, for it was a superb offering of blunt and brutal death metal that certainly would have pleased fans of their better known countrymen Vader or Behemoth, or US staples like Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Hate Eternal, and Suffocation. In fact, I'd go so far as to claim it was one of the better death metal albums of that year, with its cautiously carved and implemented inertia compensating for any dearth of new ideas that the band were incorporating. Well, four years on and the band have proven they're no one shot in the dark, with another impressive offering that, while still not among the more original acts in the genre, shows enough skilled craftsmanship and dynamic range that the band should surely be vaulted into the ranks of Decapitated, Trauma, Lost Soul and others of their trade.

This sophomore is essentially 37 minutes of rich, tightly executed material through themes both earthen and universal, examining and lamenting and fallen majesty of ancient cultures and the unthinkable acts of warfare. The musicianship is expertly exhibited through the battering ram blasts loaded with interesting fills, solid rhythmic guitars that thrust forth at both hyper ("Messerschmitt", "We Are the Universe", "Those Who Were") and measured ("Shrine for the Chosen One", "The Blood of Stalingrad") tempos, and the titillating leads which thankfully fall short of mindless wanking. Throw Szczepan's vocals onto the writhing, regulatory mass and you've got one of the better approximations of post-Morbid Angel on the international landscape, and I for one have no problem with this whatsoever. Obviously, the longer tracks like "Sea of Truth", "Lost in the Sands" and "The Blood of Stalingrad" have slightly more gravity and atmosphere than the quickened bursts of "Mirror Giants" or "Those Who Were", but the balance of both is appreciated and paces the album extremely well.

It would be all too easy to sell Calm Hatchery down the river as yet another in a seemingly endless plethora of influence worshiping death metal mavens, but even a cursory examination of Sacrilege of Humanity reveals such an ass kicking experience that it shouldn't be missed. Akin to their Polish brethren, they're able to equip their bruising hostility with elements of melody, mysticism and proficiency that are both compelling and rare. Not a single song on this album sounds forced or effortless, even if a small handful of the riffs fall behind the rest in overall tone and quality. In fact, it's nearly comparable to its predecessor El Alamein, though where it makes up in complexity it lacks in the surprise of that debut. This is by far one of the better, straight modern death metal albums I've heard this year, falling in line with the latest efforts from Trauma and Severe Torture, and let's hope some effort is placed in its promotion, and that the band isn't ignored this time around.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]

http://www.myspace.com/calmhatchery

Istapp - Blekinge (2010)

Istapp ('icicle') seems exactly the sort of project that those who favor the more accessible flavors in black metal, without entirely abandoning or alienating its more aggressive components, would die for. It's a wonder that they've not stirred up more of a reception for their debut, despite its fairly high profile release through Metal Blade Records. Sharp, melodic and with crisply plucked guitars, they bear the semblance of some cross pollination of Dissection, Vintersorg and Immortal, with the addition of clean, low vocals that soar off against the wintry landscapes the band are so desperately intent on crafting. Blekinge is named for the band's traditional province in Sweden, and judging by the influence its had on these barbarians, who dress as if being filmed in a Mad Max sequel set on some glacier, it must be a cold, dead and beautiful place...

The band honors many of the environmental cornerstones of the black genre, with a mix of blasted and rock beats, streams of gleaming melodic chords that whip about the production like whorls of silvery snow-dust, almost a more uplifting alternative to the more recent records from Norwegian's Immortal, found here in a track like "Vinterriket" or "Fjällhöga Nord". There is also the obvious weave of folk influences, manifest through the clean vocals, acoustic guitars and pompous majesty of the compositions, "Evig Köld Koncentrerad" and "1160 (Miovik)" being a few examples that might appeal to the fan of a Finntroll, Thyrfing, or Moonsorrow. Most tracks thread through passages of charging grace and skirts of gliding, mead swilling frolic and frenzy that are just catchy enough to be heart again, even though they don't ultimately leave that much of an impression, and (ex-Spawn of Possession) Mordechai von Revaktar's rasp, which is loud and abrasive, simply feels somewhat overbearing in the mix over such razor thin guitar lines.

Blekinge is best recommended to those who favor the Swedish sounds from Dissection and Sacramentum to Otyg and Thyfing, due largely to the mix of folk elements, and storming stringy melodies, and the fact the band don't shy away from writing a catchy chorus bit. If it's a necrotic, newsprint nightmare you seek, then it's unlikely you get much from this. The mix of the record is quite nice, with the possible exception of the vocals being a sliver loud, but the band segues into the cleaner passages and back effortlessly, and there are enough infectious guitar lines to please the atavistic wintry jarl in all of us. I didn't enjoy the album on the same plane as many of the band's obvious precursors (some listed above), but it was pleasant and crisp enough to help welcome in the first snows of December.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://www.istappofficial.com/