black metal
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I’m finding it increasingly difficult to review albums released by IFP. Pretty much all of them have been brilliant and amazing and a true feast for people who are longing back to the golden age of black metal: the mid 1990s. I mean, take this, Oath’s new album. I thought about doing a review without mentioning things like “second wave”, “mid 1990s” and “Scandinavian classics”. But it can’t be done. Curse you IFP!
‘Mustan Liekin Veljeskunta’ (Brotherhood of the Black Flame) is quite literally everything you would want from classic second wave black metal. The riffs, the melodies, the production, the artwork.. Everything just breathes that classic atmosphere thought to be left in said 1990s. ‘Thought’, because IFP have proven time and time again that there is a plethora of quality bands around that follow their own path and don’t care about what is fashionable, accessible or whatever. If Oath was around back in the day, ‘Mustan Liekin Veljeskunta’ would have sounded exactly the same. Because this ís what Oath sounds like. It sounds like they haven’t given it much thought. This may sound strange, but I mean this in the best way possible. You know why?
Because this music seems to flow from a source within, bypassing all rational thoughts and handlings. Pure emotion translated straight to an audio carrier. Opener ‘Aamutähden Poika’ (Son of the Morning Star) starts off pretty fast, after a brilliant droning intro. Brilliant buzzing riffs, great melodies, ethereal keyboard melodies delicately placed in the sound mix all contribute to a truly great atmosphere. Unmistakingly Scandinavian in its nature, I was hooked from the very first second.
‘Lankeemuksen Tuhannet Kasvot’, ‘Khaos’ and ‘Amen Apollyni’ are all quite a bit slower, much in the same vein as the tracks on the Azaghal/Oath split, also released by IFP. But all of them have that classic atmosphere that makes old guys like me long back for the old days. ‘Pedon Profetia’ ends the album at a faster pace again and before you know it, 36 minutes have passed. The 5 tracks are all quite long, longer than I would like for most black metal, but Oath manage to keep your interest and focus without any difficulties.
I could go namedropping and give a list of bands from the 1990s as comparisons to see if you might be interested, but screw that; I have no problems to simply proclaim that if you love black metal, you will love this. Period.
Bjorn
‘Mustan Liekin Veljeskunta’ (Brotherhood of the Black Flame) is quite literally everything you would want from classic second wave black metal. The riffs, the melodies, the production, the artwork.. Everything just breathes that classic atmosphere thought to be left in said 1990s. ‘Thought’, because IFP have proven time and time again that there is a plethora of quality bands around that follow their own path and don’t care about what is fashionable, accessible or whatever. If Oath was around back in the day, ‘Mustan Liekin Veljeskunta’ would have sounded exactly the same. Because this ís what Oath sounds like. It sounds like they haven’t given it much thought. This may sound strange, but I mean this in the best way possible. You know why?
Because this music seems to flow from a source within, bypassing all rational thoughts and handlings. Pure emotion translated straight to an audio carrier. Opener ‘Aamutähden Poika’ (Son of the Morning Star) starts off pretty fast, after a brilliant droning intro. Brilliant buzzing riffs, great melodies, ethereal keyboard melodies delicately placed in the sound mix all contribute to a truly great atmosphere. Unmistakingly Scandinavian in its nature, I was hooked from the very first second.
‘Lankeemuksen Tuhannet Kasvot’, ‘Khaos’ and ‘Amen Apollyni’ are all quite a bit slower, much in the same vein as the tracks on the Azaghal/Oath split, also released by IFP. But all of them have that classic atmosphere that makes old guys like me long back for the old days. ‘Pedon Profetia’ ends the album at a faster pace again and before you know it, 36 minutes have passed. The 5 tracks are all quite long, longer than I would like for most black metal, but Oath manage to keep your interest and focus without any difficulties.
I could go namedropping and give a list of bands from the 1990s as comparisons to see if you might be interested, but screw that; I have no problems to simply proclaim that if you love black metal, you will love this. Period.
Bjorn