What’s up, foos? Your old boy Waldo here with all the new releases that are fit to hate/love or otherwise be indifferent to…
France’s Blut aus Nord has been around forever, like they’re on their 13th (spooky) full-length Hallucinogen on Debemur Morti Productions. BaN has experimented with a lot of different subgenres involving black metal. Industrial and progressive seem to really be in the forefront of BAN’s blend of black metal, but Hallucinogen is more of an exercise in psychedelia (I mean it IS called Hallucinogen). This is pretty different from the bulk of their discography, sure, there are blasts, and dissonant riffs, but this is more soundscapey. There are a couple of things to note here… there is NO intro here that sets up the record, it just kicks right in. Also, there are no real screeched vocals, a lot of “moaning” going on. Anyway, this struck me as pretty cool at first, but really kind of starts to wear out after a couple of listens. This is good, but definitely not their peak. 7 Fucking Pecks
Sacrilegious, that’s the name of the game from one of the original US black metal bands, Profanatica. Led by Paul Ledney, they’ve (or he has) been kicking around the underground forever. Looks like they’ve finally stepped it up and are trying to get a little more above ground. Rotting Incarnation of God on Season of Mist is an exercise in nastiness. This is black metal/early death metal no doubt but REALLY has a lot of nasty pecking tones and sounds here. Explaining this is a little tough, like if you don’t know who this is… Certainly no polished black metal BS the recording is clear and crisp but REALLY maintains the tones and the vitriol of “trve” black metal. I’m pecking digging this. Well done. 8 Fucking Pecks
Am I on a black metal kick or what? 1349 is releasing The Infernal Pathway. Let’s get right into this right? So this is “TRVE NORWEGIAN BLACK METAL” I mean, that’s a legit subgenre right? Well it is to me, and it really describes this. Probably their most complex record to date, The Infernal Pathway shows the band pretty stripped down but also slightly diverse. There are elements of rock and roll and the death metal roots here show up but all of it plays a second fiddle to the very “trve black metal.” Ravn’s voice and Frost’s drumming here are on another level. One complaint is that the whole thing sound very thin (lack of bass presence), but, all in all, a really good record. 7 Fucking Pecks.
Waldo out!
