Weekly album: М8Л8ТХ - Чёрным крылом

М8Л8ТХ - Чёрным крылом

2004 / Black Metal

1. Пролог / Prologue

2. Где ветви опавшей листвой / By the Fallen Leaves

3. Запах крови / Scent of Blood

4. Вселяющий страх / The One Inspiring With Fear

5. Под падающей звездой / Under the Falling Star

6. Мразь / Scum

7. По ту сторону сумерек / Beyond the Twilights

8. Чёрным крылом / By the Wings of Black

tp5170: This album originally caught my interest when just I happened to hear a glimpse of one of its tracks, and I am really glad it did because the whole album turned out to be a rather interesting one. These days when there are steady streams of new black metal projects and releases coming from basically everywhere, I have slowly started to appreciate more and more those bands that try to mix up things or otherwise do something differently.
I think that M8L8TH is a decent example of such a band. ‘By the Wings of Black’ is essentially recognizable as black metal, but it doesn’t really feel or sound like an average release of the genre.

The strongest aspects of the album are without a doubt in my mind its composition and the peculiar vocal style used. Every track is clearly different from the rest and interesting at least on some level. And the vocals are just amazing, bouncing between aggressive screams and shrieks of insanity and desperation in a rapid succession. The execution of vocals is pretty much top notch and it easily bypasses the other elements of the album in quality.

The only ‘complaint’ I have about the album is the fact that the mixing is kind of meh, and the drums sound maybe a bit too flat at some points, but in the end, those things don’t feel like a such a big deal in in the grand midst of things. So, if you don’t mind the ideology or can look past it, like every grownup should be able to, you are left with a surprisingly invigorating take on black metal.

Favourite song: ‘Чёрным крылом / By the Wing of Black’

btcarey:  “By the Wing of Black” is a studio album released in 2004 by the Russian NSBM band M8L8TH. Even though NSBM is not my favorite type of black metal, there is no doubt the subgenre has strengthened the black metal scene and inspired some of the best black metal albums of the past decade and a half. “By the Wing of Black” isn’t necessarily one of those classic black metal albums but it is a solid piece of work.

 M8L8TH is a pretty traditional black metal band, relying heavily on the drums, guitars, and vocals. There were quite a few moments where the album reminded me of Taake or Horna’s “Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne”. The riffs were a bit slower paced, melodic, and heavy metal influenced, with the frantic screams of the vocalist being the main factor of contrast.

Overall “By the Wing of Black” is a good, approachable, album that I would recommend to any fan of NSBM or black metal in general.

Favorite Song: “Scum”, “By the Wing of Black”

Orostider: Tp's picks are almost always most likely black metal of some form and this case was not different. Russian black metal scene is not too familiar to me and it's probably the least familiar to me from the Eastern European scenes. The Eastern European black metal I usually listen to incorporates quite a lot of pagan influences and M8L8TH's head is actually part of Temnozor these days.

'By the Wings of Black" is quite a slab of black metal, but it ends up being pretty mediocre. Don't get me wrong, this album will probably charm quite many black metal enthusiasts, but these days the genre itself is overflowing. The riffs and production were standard quality. Like usual, there were also superb riffs, but the rarity of them is kind of a letdown.

Even though the instrument section is important in every genre, vocals are the true focus in black metal. 'By the Wings of Black' really caught me off guard with the hallowing shrieks. You can almost feel physical suffering via them, but not in a bad way. This is how you differentiate yourself from the infinite sea of average black metal.

Even though M8L8TH didn't really impress me completely, I do recommend this album to fans of black metal and especially the ones who want some dsbm elements.

Weekly album: Profanatica - The Curling Flame of Blasphemy

Profanatica - The Curling Flame of Blasphemy

2016 / Bestial black metal

1. Ordained in Bile

2. March to Golgotha

3. Magic & Muhr

4. Black Hymna

5. Host over Cup

6. Rotten Scriptures

7. Yahweh Rejected

8. Bleed Heavenly Kingdom 

9. Vile Blessing 

10. Curling Flame

btcarey:  Profanatica is a seasoned black metal band with an impressive career that spans more than two decades. The band cannot only boast a worldwide kvlt following but also has a solid discography that’s helped establish bestial black metal as we know it. Profanatica has my utmost respect, but I couldn’t help feeling disappointed after hearing their most recent release, “The Curling Flame of Blasphemy”.

I understand the band has a minimalist perspective but the album was lacking. It felt like Profanatica was just “going through the steps” when writing the record rather than actually creating something. Sure, there are some solid riffs and the songs aren’t bad, I just expected more from such a notorious band. I probably listened to their previous record, “Thy Kingdom Cum” ten times but it was a struggle to get through “The Curling Flame of Blasphemy” even twice.

To any fans of bestial black metal or Profanatica, of course check out their new album. But to prospective listeners start with Profanatica’s earlier stuff to get a feel for the band, because this album is not their finest moment.

Favorite Song: “Ordained In Bile”

tp5170: Despite being a longtime fan of bestial black metal, I still haven’t found the time to check out Profanatica more thoroughly, even though I have known for quite a while that those guys seem to know what they are doing. I can’t really say how their albums usually are, because I haven’t digged that deep yet, but I sure hope there has been more variation on the band’s previous releases than on their new one. The biggest problem for me with the new album, ‘The Curling Flame of Blasphemy’, is that it can simply get a bit dull at times. 

During my fist spin before realizing what the album was aiming to do I felt like killing someone just to get some changes in the tempo. The simplistic and repetitive nature of the music is an iconic trait of the genre and I usually enjoy it, but when it gets to the level where you don’t actually care about the track changing because they are all so very similar, it’s a bit strange, maybe even frustrating considering we are still talking about bestial black metal here. 

But what you gain from this kind of style at the same time is a consistent atmosphere throughout the album. This is probably the only bestial BM album I have encountered that has devoted itself to this extent to creating an atmosphere. The setting is somewhat interesting and in this case it works reasonably well I guess, but only because the atmosphere is pretty entertaining and the album’s playtime is not especially long - but though I kind of liked the way the album played out, I have to point out that a cool atmosphere alone can carry an album only so far. I don’t think that ‘The Curling Flame of Blasphemy’ is a bad album, but on the other hand the genre has also much more memorable experiences to offer.

Orostider: We went to see Profanatica perform earlier this year and I kind of forgot to familiarize myself with them beforehand. This didn't really matter, because the performance Profanatica put up was a good one. Bestial black metal bands don't really disappoint with their live shows and most of the well known artists of the genre release magnificent albums. Will Profanatica succeed in delivering the same ferocious atmosphere and groove as they did live on their latest album 'The Curling Flame of Blasphemy?'

The album isn't exactly as high tempo and chaotic as Archgoat and Diocletian, but it also isn't as sludgy as Ride for Revenge. This, of course, can be counted as a pro, since distinguishable sound is always enjoyable in this genre. The album starter 'Ordained in Bile' is a powerful opener, but when the rest of the songs are similar mid-tempo bestial black metal with high echo vocals, the album gets a bit dull in the end. 

At some point the track changes are quite difficult to notice and the album just keeps going. 'The Curling Flame of Blasphemy' isn't a bad album, but it somehow falls into the 'background music' category. Some of the riffs are clearly far above average, but the rest are ridiculously mediocre. The album's production receives a huge plus from me. This is how modern black metal albums should sound. The echo could be decreased, but all in all the production is wonderful.

'The Curling Flame of Blasphemy' won't be remembered as the classic of the genre, but it certainly isn't the worst of the genre. The album would probably have sounded better in the right state of mind so I will re-listen to it when the weather is more grim and cold. 

Favourite track: 'Ordained in Bile'

Weekly album: '68 - In Humor and Sadness

'68 - In Humor and Sadness

2014 / Noise rock, Hardcore

1. Track One R

2. Track Two E

3. Track Three G

4. Track Four R

5. Track Five E

6. Track Six T

7. Track Seven N

8. Track Eight O

9. Track Nine T

10. Track Ten .

Orostider: Intensity is a broad term in music and comes in many different forms. Some artists trust velocity, some trust emotion and some trust precise rhythms. '68 aren't as high speed as grindcore bands, but there's a lot happening in quite short time periods. Emotion and intriguing rhythms on the other hand can be found in large quantities. When '68 was recommended to me by a friend, the description was: "It's noise rock." Noise as a genre is somehow strangely therapeutic and when mixed to other genres, the result can be amazing. 

The album consists of ten songs only named as tracks or/and letters. The influence variation varies from noise and hardcore to blues and classic rock, which sounds like sort of a bad idea, but in the end the result actually works well. The intensity of '68 comes from the gritty and unpolished sound, catchy and groovy riffs and powerful vocals. After hearing the first songs, the listener may already assume what's to come, but '68 manage to surprise with alternating elements. The ubiquitous elements of the album are the noise-ridden rockish passages and hardcore elements similar to Converge's. 

The noise element isn't really harsh noise like in Insect Warfare's 'Noise Power Grind Death', but the sound of amps failing and miscellaneous cracks and pops. The way the guitar tone breaks and results in amp screeches somehow sounds magnificent and doesn't even cause your ears to bleed. In an interview, the vocalist/guitarist Josh Scogin stated that he writes audibly stressful music. I found the statement to be true, but the sense of stress and even anger just add intensity. 

The album isn't good only because it has noise elements or because it's louder than many records. The real reason is the overall quality of the material '68 managed to deliver even though they didn't polish the recordings. The cracks and pops give the album a humane touch. The instrument work and songwriting are of high quality and the mood varies from mania to feels. 'In Humor and Sadness' is the album you could listen to while trying to rip your own head off and think of the reasons after trying.

Favourite tracks: 'Track Two', 'Track Four', 'Track six', 'Track Ten'

tp5170: I didn’t really know at all what to expect from ‘In Humor And Sadness’. Pretty much the only thing I knew about it prior listening was that it was supposedly quite a ride style/genre wise. And I can’t really argue with that now that I have listened to the whole thing. 

There is a constant variation in style throughout the album and the music can quickly go from something rather punkish to something that seems like a heavier version of Muse, or basically anything in between. The randomness is absolutely delightful and every track, with the exception of the ninth one which felt a bit out of place, is pretty well composed and has clearly earned its own place in the mix. On the other hand, although I liked almost every track at least on some level, there were definitely three tracks that just instantly made me wanting to hear them again, and in the end kind of outshined the rest. 

Also, as someone who doesn’t really hear that punkish vocal style in the music I usually go for – you can count the punkish albums I have listened during the last few years with fingers from one hand -, I have to say that I really, really liked the vocals throughout the album if nothing else. 

But overall the ride was pretty enjoyable and offered a nice change of pace for an evening, and left yearning for more of those sweet vocals. 

Favourite tracks: ‘Track Seven’, ‘Track Two’, ‘Track One’

btcarey:  ’68’s 2014 release “In Humor and Sadness” is an energy-packed emotional roller coaster that had me completely enthralled by the end of the album. Each song has its own character and mood, keeping the album fresh and me attentive the whole time. With such a diverse array of songs you would think that the album would lack an overall direction. To the contrary, the album had a very unified feeling, and this diversity provides impressive replay ability and enjoyment.

’68 doesn’t really fit into any specific genre. While some call it punk rock, I would argue there’s much more to it. Sure, most of the songs have somewhat of a punk passage, but the outside influences are far too great to be defined as such. There is a heavy blues/rock aspect to the album that's comparable to Jack White’s guitar and vocal style.

I would recommend “In Humor and Sadness” to almost anyone, whether they like blues/rock, metal, or punk. This is an excellent album.

Favorite Songs: “Track Two”, “Track Five”, “Track Eight”

Weekly album: True Black Dawn - Come the Colorless Dawn

True Black Dawn - Come the Colorless Dawn

2016 / Black metal

1. Intro

2. Come the Colorless Dawn

3. The Light Goes Out

4. Cinereous

5. The Ring-Pass-Not

6. Downwards the Serpent Spiral

7. Strange Shaded Sky

8. The Sectile Shadow

9. Eyes of the Cadaver

10. Into the Tomb of Her Mirror

11. Outro

tp5170: I think Wrath has always been one of the more interesting personalities in the Finnish black metal scene and his past band, Enochian Crescent, was actually rather good and also somewhat different from the other major BM bands around. So after realizing that he was involved in the True Black Dawn I got pretty excited to see what kind of material the band would be producing. I actually haven’t yet listened to the band’s debut album of 2001 for some reason, but now that band’s second album is here, I thought it couldn’t hurt to start with the new one. And it turns out that the new album is in fact pretty darn good. 

The sound of “Come the Colorless Dawn” might be slightly more traditional than Enochian Crescent’s in general, but it’s very, very well put together and Wrath’s characteristic vocal style is fortunately still there, adding a lot to album’s atmosphere. I thought that there were no weak tracks on the whole album, and with the healthy amount of variation between the tracks and some well composed build-ups this has to be one of my favorite releases this year.

Favourite track: ‘The Light Goes Out’, ‘The Ring-Pass-Not’

Orostider: After Wrath left Enochian Crescent and told about his plans to focus on True Black Dawn, my anxious wait begun. Some folks shared this feeling, but some wished for a release similar to Enochian Crecent's albums. Even though I think highly of Enochian Crescent's albums, I anticipated something that would reflect Wrath's fascinating visions.

True Black Dawn occasionally reminds me of Enochian Crescent, possibly due to Wrath's unique sound, but the album mainly consists of more traditional black metal than Enochian Crescent were. Some of the riffs are actually rather high quality black metal riffs and prove that the wait wasn't in vain. There aren't really any low quality songs or riffs, only somewhat generic ones, but black metal albums without any generic attributes are almost impossible to produce. 'Come the Colorless Dawn' is a mighty slab of fine black metal. The production is as modern and high quality as I predicted. If the approach would be rawer, the album could possibly lose some of its punch, so modern production is a pro here.

'Come the Colorless Dawn' is a worthy album and proves that there's still room for great black metal albums. Even though the album is purely black metal, there's plenty of variation. The wait to witness True Black Dawn's live ritual begins. 

Favourite song: 'The Light Goes Out', 'Cinereous', 'The Sectile Shadow'

btcarey: With releases from both True Black Dawn AND Behexen, 2016 is starting to look like a pretty good year for Finnish Black Metal. I’m not all that familiar with True Black Dawn’s other material or it’s band member’s other projects, so I went into “Come the Colorless Dawn” with almost no expectations.

The record carries a deeply dark and haunting atmosphere, as if a raving asylum patient gave birth to it. An eerie dark-noise aspect is prevalent throughout the album giving it an even more dismal sound. The vocals might be the most distinguishable trait of the music and are delivered by the somewhat symbol of the band, Wrath. His distinctive style ranges from a slow distorted drone to an almost power metal shrieking style allowing the album to rise above the black metal masses and be something special.

Favorite Songs: “The Light Goes Out”, “The Ring-Pass-Not”, “Eyes Of The Cadaver”

Weekly album: Behexen - The Poisonous Path

Behexen -The Poisonous Path

2016 / Black metal

1. The Poisonous Path

2. The Wand of Shadows

3. Cave of the Dark Dreams

4. A Sword of Promethean Fire

5. Umbra Luciferi

6. Tyrant of Luminous Darkness

7. Chalice of the Abyssal Water

8. Pentagram of the Black Earth

9. Gallows of Inversion

10. Rakkaudesta Saatanaan

btcarey: Finland is an extremely fortuitous country. It’s not for their top-notch education, impressive healthcare system, or indestructible cellphones, but the country’s unwavering ability to produce some of the best metal bands in the world. Charging in the front lines of Finland’s Black Metal Battalion is the almighty Behexen. The phrase “black metal” can scarcely be brought up without reference to the legendary band or their classic album “By the Blessing of Satan”. For this reason when Behexen’s most recent album, “The Poisonous Path”, was released I had to check it out.

The album is more “clean-cut” or professionally mixed, than previous releases, giving the songs a less chaotic yet tight sound. As far as songwriting, the album’s pace is much faster than Behexen’s previous record with better, more memorable songs. The vocals are about the same as on “Nightside Emanations”, but the guitar tone is the best of any of their releases. It has an incredibly powerful, crushing tone with a sweet fuzz that really pulls the mix together.

This is an solid album and could even have the balls to be one of the top black metal albums of 2016. I recommend it to any fan of Finnish Black Metal.

Favorite Songs: “The Poisonous Path”, “A Sword of Protean Fire”, “Chalice of the Abyssal Water”

tp5170: Behexen has always kept the quality of their work rather high despite the numerous changes to the band’s musical style and it’s nice to see that they managed to keep the flag high also with the band’s fresh, fifth full-length release. ‘The Poisonous Path’ represents a return to a slightly more traditional black metal and the album sounds far more conventional than its predecessor ‘Nightside Emanations’ did. Now whether this can be considered a positive or a negative thing is highly subjective. Though I have to say that for me the biggest problem with the album is indeed the return to the traditional style as otherwise the album is of superb quality. The fact that apart from the excellent execution there is basically nothing, at least in my eyes that would separate this album from the rest of the bunch is frankly unfortunate. 

But like I said, I think Behexen has yet to release a bad album. ‘The Poisonous Path’ is far above the average conventional BM releases in almost every respect, but it lacks the innovation to be a true gem.

The thing is that today there exists simply so much black metal in the world that one needs to mix up the formulae at slightly to make it actually interesting again. Behexen didn’t really set out to do this with their new album, which is a shame in my opinion because even though the album is solid it doesn’t really stand out all that well.

Orostider: Behexen have been preaching their black mass since 1996 and have done it in several different styles. Their early material, the material I discovered Behexen from, was fierce and raw black metal. Just what I sought at the time being and won't be forgotten. Especially 'By the Blessing of Satan' which could quite possibly be my all time Behexen favourite. As the time passed by, Behexen's sound transformed into less lofi and raw form of black metal, but the core was still the same. For me the evolution reached it's glory on the split with Satanic Warmaster and 'Nightside Emanations.' 'The Poisonous Path' seems to follow the same path as 'Nightside Emanations'.

'Nightside Emanations' offered semi-modern sounding black metal with catchy grooves and powerful riffs. The high shrieks that were present on the first two albums were gone and were almost completely replaced with lower chanting vocals. The same pattern is repeated on 'The Poisonous Path.' These new Behexen releases are definitely more approachable than their previous material, but that doesn't mean quality loss. I enjoyed 'Nightside Emanations' and 'The Poisonous Path' offers the continuum I've waited for this ritual.

'The Poisonous Path' is a worthy successor by all means, but it would probably be more powerful it it wasn't as lengthy as it is. I wouldn't call the album repetitive, but the overall sound stays pretty much the same throughout the almost an hour long album. Apart for lengthiness and the somewhat dull snare sound, I have no complaints. This is what modern production black metal should be. I can always go back to the early years if I long Behexen's raw black metal days, so complaining about their new sound is pointless.