black metal
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New Book Of Sand material gets me mighty excited and you know why? Because ever since its 2010 debut 'How beautiful to walk free' mainperson dcrf has polarized the black metal crowd like no other band can. Initially more or less self-labeled as Vegan Anarchist Feminist black metal this might give a good idea of the unorthodox viewpoints that Book Of Sand holds. Unorthodox to the general public I might add, because in more adventurous circles these themes are not that uncommon. That's what always attracted me to Book Of Sand; their ability to create this 'love it or hate it' music. And to be honest, the more people hated it, the more it catched my interest. I don't know why, but in my strange head, hate is a much stronger emotion than love, and so therefor I am attracted to things that people hate. I'm not trying to be different for the sake of being different, it's just who I am.
So yeah, after some fairly unorthodox black metal releases that saw some influences not often associated with black metal, like Indonesian gamelans, spoon-like drums, meandering violins and cellos, Indian chants, acoustic guitars that seemed to have a life of their own and lots more, it was a wild guess what 'Occult Anarchist Propaganda' would bring. And Book Of Sand has done it again, yet again an album that nobody would expect. Although, not because it is weird or avant-garde (I loathe that term).. This time, gone are the unorthodox influences and what we have here is a fairly orthodox black metal release. In fact, it is so orthodox that it had me scratching my head in bewilderment. I mean, it definitely sounds like Book Of Sand, but this is as close to 'mainstream' black metal as they have ever been. I mean, opening tracks 'Crumbling palaces' and 'The white man's burden' almost sound like a rawer Emperor! That poses a question though: do I like it?? The answer is a resounding 'Yes!'.
Because even though it might be more accessible to the general black metal audience, that doesn't mean Book Of Sand have made compromises. Anything but. It still demands focus and attention from the listener, like their other releases. And because of the blurred, raw production and the layering of the mix the whole thing is a veritable feast for anyone who wants to immerse him- or herself in the music and start digging for all the subtleties. One of those subtleties is the bass guitar. It is very prominent, but at the same time so blurry, it almost becomes a droning ambient layer in the music. There are also some creepy strings and even some bits of slide guitar but overall it's a hurricane, nay a maelstrom of furious raw, melodic blasting black metal.
So for those who stuck up their noses for the previous releases, now it is time devote your attention to this amazing band. Book Of Sand is truly one of a kind. Highly recommended.
Bjorn
So yeah, after some fairly unorthodox black metal releases that saw some influences not often associated with black metal, like Indonesian gamelans, spoon-like drums, meandering violins and cellos, Indian chants, acoustic guitars that seemed to have a life of their own and lots more, it was a wild guess what 'Occult Anarchist Propaganda' would bring. And Book Of Sand has done it again, yet again an album that nobody would expect. Although, not because it is weird or avant-garde (I loathe that term).. This time, gone are the unorthodox influences and what we have here is a fairly orthodox black metal release. In fact, it is so orthodox that it had me scratching my head in bewilderment. I mean, it definitely sounds like Book Of Sand, but this is as close to 'mainstream' black metal as they have ever been. I mean, opening tracks 'Crumbling palaces' and 'The white man's burden' almost sound like a rawer Emperor! That poses a question though: do I like it?? The answer is a resounding 'Yes!'.
Because even though it might be more accessible to the general black metal audience, that doesn't mean Book Of Sand have made compromises. Anything but. It still demands focus and attention from the listener, like their other releases. And because of the blurred, raw production and the layering of the mix the whole thing is a veritable feast for anyone who wants to immerse him- or herself in the music and start digging for all the subtleties. One of those subtleties is the bass guitar. It is very prominent, but at the same time so blurry, it almost becomes a droning ambient layer in the music. There are also some creepy strings and even some bits of slide guitar but overall it's a hurricane, nay a maelstrom of furious raw, melodic blasting black metal.
So for those who stuck up their noses for the previous releases, now it is time devote your attention to this amazing band. Book Of Sand is truly one of a kind. Highly recommended.
Bjorn
