This is in fact a re-issue of an album originally released five years
ago in tape format from Ancient Nation Productions. I have to say,
Wizard (the sole member behind the band) has a knack for catchy riffs
that are well enmeshed in black metal melodicism particularly in
post-Burzum outfits. There are few Scandinavian influences with regards
to music style here, with a lot of the riffage bringing to mind bands
across the Atlantic such as Xasthur, Velvet Cacoon etc. The drumming
exhibits little to no variation but the monotony here befits the bleak
soundscapes of the music quite well. The keyboards which are sparsely
dispersed within songs also enhance the atmospheric effect. On the
negative side, the technique is sub-par: the album is riddled with
disjoint passages and there is an irregular, almost hectic alternation
between themes. The weak sound doesn't ease things either; the guitars
fluidity flails and whines in the midst of it all becoming almost
incoherent in some songs. An improvement in this department would
definitely raise the music's quality quite a few notches. There are
attention-grabbing ideas here but alas they are in desperate need of
clarity and direction. If in lieu of this debut, they had taken the few
highlights from this effort and released it as a demo, it would have
probably been one of the top demos in its field. However, taken in the
scale of a proper album release there is still a number of things to be
desired from this strident slab of black metal in terms of organization
and prudence.
(originally written for Tartarean Desire - 3/1/2007)
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