Seven years since their first demo ("The
Slumbering Silence") released back in 1998 the Dutchmen strike with "Piene" this being their third release. The aim of the band has always
been to produce raw and fast black metal drawing influences from early
Samael and Tiamat and also incorporating elements from early thrash acts
such as Kreator. Throughout the course of their previous two albums the
band has always strived to push the envelope even further in terms of
aggression and rawness. Their latest work draws influences from both the
Norwegian and Swedish scenes especially taking heed of the early
Swedish school of black metal, namely early Bathory, early Marduk (up to "Panzer division Marduk") and even Thy Primordial. "Piene" presents us
with 10 tracks of harsh and aggressive black metal almost always pacing
on fast tempo rhythms but never loosing in momentum. Steakelhorn rasps
your typical angst-ridden vocals wavering between screams and screeches
never letting back in terms of pure aggression. Guitars are readily
emphasized and move on elaborate and interesting compositions and
retaining the harshness element at the same time. This deviates the
band's sound away from otherwise more minimalistic approaches employed
by other bands in the genre. The production is not overdone nor
neglected giving all instruments their room to breath so to speak.
Important thing to stress here is the excellent drumming delivered with
Fjildslach hammering blissfully throughout the record, never loosing a
beat whilst maintaining blasting and lower rhythms at any time. Some
standpoint tracks where the band shows its teeth are "Black Bile
desecration", "Striem Op De Pokkel" and "Hexencult" with the last being
admittedly the reference point for their future sound. I have a feeling
though that the overall output was not as convincing as the band
might've intended; leaving us (well atleast myself) hoping that their
best release has yet to come.
(originally written for Tartarean Desire - 9/7/2005)
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