When Mine Eyes Blacken - When Mine Eyes Blacken

Screaming Alone In The Dark.

When Mine Eyes Blacken is a depressive black metal project from New Zealand. This is, in other words, a one man band formed by Mort. This is not his only depressive project out there, but it is one of the ones with better quality.

Like I already said, this is one of only many projects. His other "bands" include: Exiled From Light, Beyond Light, Serpenthrone, Winds of Sorrow, Schizophrenia, and Einsamkeit. Like what was stated above already, they all play a form of the same type of music found on this album, depressive black metal.

Nothing on this album is particularly different from other DBM bands, but the overall sound of the band is a little bit more "metal," so to speak. What this means here is that there are moments of more traditional black metal in the songs. Beneath Pale Stars showcases this by using more traditional double-bass work on the drums and more tremolo picking. While this is not all that impressive in the long run, it is a little bit more metal than some bands in the genre.

The drums on the album are probably what makes this album a bit different from others putting out similar work. The drums here exhibit more fills than 90% of the bands in the same genre do. This breaks up the monotony of a record like this, which prides itself of more repetitive cycles of melancholic guitar parts.

Most of what you will hear from the guitars is very clean and sorrowful on here, the entire opening track, Secluded Within Sorrow, Solace Awaits, is done in this format. While Beneath Pale Stars has more distortion to it, giving it a little more edge than the rest of the songs. But the guitars on here are mainly used like in other bands of the genre, to create a hypnotic type of vibe and a dark atmosphere.

The vocals on here are probably similar, if not the same, to what you'll get on another record by similar bands. The majority of vocals are shrieks that have a lot of reverb on them, making them sound all distant and creepy to people who don't know about this style of black metal. The vocals don't vary themselves a lot, you might have some screams or murmuring/speaking/talking within this record but that's about as varied as they get.

The lyrics from what Mort is screaming about, if you can understand them, isn't all that bad considered to most of the bands within DBM. The lyrics don't really go on and on about this guy wanting to die or commit suicide or kill other people, he isn't even really complaining at all. Most of the lyrics on this album are almost poetic at times, yes they are dark, and depending on the person, depressing, but they feature a tone and phrasing to them that many "bands" don't have.

The songs on this record are long in length. Featuring only 4 songs, 2 of them exceed 10 minutes, one going just over 20. Depending on the person listening, this could be good or bad, those who enjoy longer songs could easily find themselves entranced by these tracks, while those who don't will find these songs to be boring and monotonous.

Overall, this is not the worst DBM album ever made, but it's not the best. Those who do enjoy the style will find points that stand out more than others and points that are more obvious to them than me. If you're a fan of this genre, you either probably already have this or should check it out, if you aren't a casual listener of this style, this would be one of the better ones to take a look at.

Overall Score: 7

Highlights: Beneath Pale Stars, Within Deaths Embrace

Quadrivium - Adversus

The Best of Both Worlds.

Quadrivium is a progressive black metal band from Norway. "Adversus" is their first album and shows incredible potential for what they might achieve in the future. Influences on their sound are quite obvious from a black metal fan's perspective, so their not entirely unique, but they have something.

Influences on Quadrivium's sound can be drawn from bands like Emperor, Arcturus, old Ulver, Ved Buens Ende, and even a little bit of Borknagar. These give the band a different flavor, bits of symphonic and progressive filter though their more black metal sound. Stripped away of these and the band would most likely be a black metal band with some more melancholic sections. But the overall sound of these guys can be summarized into a symphonic blend of Emperor's works, the progressive tendencies from Arcturus and Ved Buens Ende, and the more folky bits of early Ulver and Borknagar.

What sticks out for most people on this record, probably, is the clean vocals that will appear here and there. No, it's not just an impersonation of Bjornar from Vulture Industries, he sings as a guest on this record. People seem to view the screamer on this album as an impersonator of his style or a rip-off. But the main vocalist, Lars Jensen, from Myrkgrav, provides all of the growls and screams on the record.

Besides vocalist Lars, only two other people are on this record, who are regarded as members of the band. Those two people are bassist Sven-Ivar Sarassen, and multi-instrumentalist Erlend Antonsen, who performed guitar, keyboard, drums, and lyrics on this album. With only two instrumentalist on this record, it shows an incredible amount of vision and potential.

Musically, this record is dense and full of different soundscapes. From the more symphonic elements of the band, which show a great similarity to Vladimir's, from Mirrorthrone, use of symphonic music. The symphonic side of the band is much more orchestraly based, not the kind of symphonic black metal that just uses a synthesizer to replicate the orchestra parts, this uses a wider scope of vision in that department. This type of orchestral sound is shown on every track, but seems more appropriate in a track like Principal Cognizance.

While the guitar riffs range from more groovy mid-paced parts to regular tremolo picking parts. What sticks out the most is in a track like Svartamaal, where the ending goes into an acoustic part that leads into the next track, this drives the more progressive edges home. Another track that introduces more progressive tendencies is the track Is, which features a clean guitar based sections. The introduction of acoustic and clean sections gives the listener take a break from the aggressive sound that the rest of the sound produces.

The drumming on this record is more varied than in most black metal bands. On a track like Nordover, the drumming is more mid-paced and goes into some cool rhythms in the middle of the track, while it's ending is faster and uses blastbeats,bringing a bit of a different flavor to the band's sound. On a track like Works of Glory, faster tempos are utilized more often, on the other hand.

The bass work on the album is pretty much a standard for bass playing. It mainly stays in the back of the sound and rarely comes out. The track that probably has the most emphasis on the bass playing though is Into The Void, a track which features quite a lot of different bass lines throughout the song.

Overall, this is a solid debut record for a new band. Though not completely original in their sound, you can tell that they're on their way to finding something unique. People should check this band out and support them, since they recently got a new clean vocalist and drummer. Watch this band and see what they are able to do next.

Overall Score: 8.5

Highlights: A Sophic Fire, Works of Glory, Principal Cognizance, Into The Void, Is

Vulture Industries - The Dystopia Journals

Fans of Arcturus? I Think Maybe.

Vulture Industries is an avant-garde metal band from Norway. Many consider them to be the successors to the style Arcturus had founded. Continuing in their footsteps can be obviously seen, but they have a more extreme side of them.

Vulture Industries does have a lot in common with Arcturus. The avant-garde parts of the music do give it a tone similar to what would be a bridge between Arcturus' "La Masquerade Infernale" and "The Sham Mirrors." Another comparison is vocalist Bjornar Nilsen and the first vocalist of Arcturus, Garm. They both have a similar approach to their vocals and both use a more baritone range for their singing.

But as already stated, Vulture Industries is more extreme sounding compared to Arcturus. The guitars feature a more prominent place in the overall sound of the band. While the latter band used more keyboards and pianos for the basis of their sound. The overall tone is also a bit more easier to digest due to less avant-garde, left-field moments in the sound.

The overall sound of the band is very metal. While those doses of progressive and avant-garde do have quite a large part in the band's sound, they do not consume this the sound. Heavy and technical riffs and weird drumming patterns make up the musical background.

Riffs wander from traditional black metal tremolo picking to more progressive melodies. This makes things a little more tolerable to listen to more than constant barrage of avant-garde heaviness. But the touches of avant-garde a mainly bought in by the use by Bjornar's keyboard and programming on the album. Another thing that brings in these touches is the guest appearances of a cello and viola player on the album, when these back up the guitars, they bring an almost sorrowful melody to the song, namely The Benevolent Pawn.

The bass is pretty standard for metal. It mainly sticks behind the guitars providing a low end, but it does come out and make appearances in the front of the sound once in a while. Grim Apparitions is a track that showcases this the best due to the bass, drums, and keyboards coming out at the very beginning of the song. The bass is still very audible in the sound though, without listening very hard, you can hear the bass rumbling in the behind the guitars.

But again, as stated before, vocalist Bjornar has a similar style to Garm. But he performs more extreme vocals on this album than Garm has done in recent years. Whether it's the death growls on opener Pills of Conformity or more black metal rasps on A Path of Infamy he has a range that is larger than most. His primary style of choice though is a more baritone clean style which borders on laughable crooning and whimsical meandering.

Overall, this is a band still finding their sound, but has a greater chance of finding one that is unique to them more so than other bands. The sound on this record is very enticing and is both catchy and odd at the same time. Definitely a band to watch out for.

Overall Score: 9.5

Highlights: Every song is a highlight

Equirhodont - Black Crystal

Black Metal Legend Get's His Prog On.

Equirhodont is the side-project of Jioi "Big Boss" Valter of black metal legends Root. Big Boss has explored prog in Root's more recent material but Equirhodont expresses more low-key styles of prog rather than the metal side. Showcased in this album you will find a distinct sound that has not been expressed in metal very often.

Being from the Czech Republic, this band does not get a lot of press. This can also be said for Root, who helped to define the black metal genre, but I digress. Equirhodont would be a band that many prog fans would come to enjoy if they had better press for their work. Having a more experimental and conceptual approach to the prog style gives them a little different vibe.

"Black Crystal," though coming from a black metal musician, is not very black metal. Most of the prog references that are used here come from the combination of prog-rock, ambient, trip-hop, post-rock, and psychedelic and symphonic music. Metal does comes into the picture, though some parts do have heavier points than others. The fourth track, The Way, is the first pure metal track on the album and leads into more of the metal side of the band.
When compared to Equirhodont's debut album, "Equirhodont Grandiose Magus," it is very clear that this album is nowhere as heavy. While the debut had an emphasis on a melodic prog style mixed with some of the black metal that is expressed in Root. This album, as already stated, is focus much more on melancholic atmospheres and subtle melodies taking the place of more constant heavy riffs.

Big Boss is known for his screams rather than his singing, which is what he does here. His clean vocal style brings to mind an almost Dracula-esque vibe due to his vocals almost sorrowful crooning. Since the music rarely becomes heavy, it provides the perfect atmosphere for this vocal style.

But throughout the album, there is a narrative that carries the whole record together. This moves the album along with the intent on continuing the story found on the debut record. Featuring the return of certain characters from that album, as well as the introduction of others, providing a different way of approaching this album.

Lost Nation is perhaps the best track on this album. Featuring all sides of the prog spectrum, it features a more metal backdrop, but the solo section in particular is what is impressive. Moving through three solo sections, it begins with a flamenco styled solo, then a typical metal guitar solo, and then a more traditional 70's mellotron solo. This track also features one of the best choruses on the record, that is not as apparent on a first listen, but the melody will find itself locked inside your head.

The final track, Blood and Punishment, is perhaps the odd song on the record. Moving from an almost prog-metal song into an almost a cappella and ambient moment then back into metal. This vocals particularly on this track stand out, due to their odd nature and the performance Big Boss gives. Being a mid-road between spoken word and gibberish at some points and more dramatic speaking or quiet singing at others.

While the band moves through different progressive moods, they always seem to keep a textural atmosphere that remains in each song. From a more Porcupine Tree-esque track like Power of Crystal to a more Spock's Beard-esque track My Father's Message, they move through different cycles of prog without sounding like they're just trying to be really eclectic. This carries through the mellower more neo-prog work to more extreme progressive metal songs.

Overall, this is a record all fans of progressive music should check out. There is nothing like this band out in the scene today and people will find a lot to like from this band. Whether it's the more neo-prog moments or the progressive metal moments, Equirhodont will be able to find a home in any progressive fan's heart.

Overall Score: 8.5

Highlights: Return, The Way, Lost Nation, Blood and Punishment

Reverend Bizarre - II: Crush The Insects

All Hail, The King Is Dead.

Reverend Bizarre is a doom metal band from Finland. Unlike many doom bands that were out at the time Reverend started, they play a style similar to those of old. Though they are no longer around they were brain child of doom-man himself, Sir Albert Witchfinder, and played old-school doom.

The doom style played by Reverend Bizarre is the kind of doom the bands like Black Sabbath, Pentagram, and St. Vitus did. More old-school sounding than anything retro does these days, Reverend possessed the very spirit of doom in their work. From the insane lyrical topics of Doom Over The World to the pure heaviness of By This Axe I Rule!.

But this is not a one-man band. Albert plays the bass and acts as the vocalist while Monsieur Earl of Void plays the drums and Father Peter Vicar plays the guitar. These three guys provide some of the best old-school music to come out in recent years.

While the style of Reverend Bizarre is most obviously traditional doom metal/heavy metal there are differences in the performance and nature of the songs. The first 3 songs on the record, Doom Over The World, The Devil Rides Out, and Cromwell, are very upbeat in tempo and feature a much more accessible sound. Once these 3 tracks are done, the epics become the standard of the album. Most songs reaching over 10 minutes in length.

The first of these epics being Slave of Satan, being the longest one as well, reaching over 13 minutes. Opening with a strong, but slow moving, bass line that gradually brings the other instruments into the sound. Albert's vocals hark back to the days of early Candlemass both in the tone and style he's singing in and the lyrics he's singing about.

The final track, Fucking Wizard, harks back to the days of Black Sabbath, with the opening riff sounding very much like the band's signature title-track. Possibly the slowest moving track on the album, with Albert acting more as a narrator more than a singer for the basis of the track. It isn't until the last 3 minutes that the song picks up speed and becomes more like the first few tracks.

With the exception of a few select parts, like the last few minutes of Council of Ten, the music of these epics is slower and heavier than the first tracks. But those moments where the music does pick up tempo again, it is worth listening for the unexpected change. But this usually occurs only after a longer series of more dirge-esque hard hitting doom.

What many people may not realize about Reverend's sound is that the bass is quite high in the mix. But the bass is both a part of and separate from the sound of the band. Most of the time it is the former, being an essential part of the heaviness of the band, but when it moves away from the sound, it is usually for only a short and catchy bass-line that adds to keep the listener tuned in.

Due to there only being three members in the band, and the fact that this is drawing influence from the classic doom bands, the overall sound of the band is very stripped down in comparison to others in the genre. No keyboards or folk instruments are brought into the mix in Reverend's sound, so it is very stripped down with every instrument that is played having a large place in the overall sound.

Doom Over The World is probably one of the best metal anthems to come out in the last 10 years. Presenting a picture of war and destruction in it's lyrics, the music itself features a catchy groove that is memorable. Albert's vocals are very retro sounding, with everything sounding very dramatic in nature. Compared to many of the other songs on "II: Crush The Insects," this song is very upbeat and simple sounding.

Overall, this record is definitely worth your time. If you're a fan of the classic metal bands or a fan of doom metal done the old-school way, this is a must for you. This band has released some of the best metal anthems in recent years, so this album is one every metalhead must hear before they die.

Overall Score: 9

Highlights: Doom Over The World, Cromwell, Slave of Satan, Fucking Wizard

Hypothermia - Skogens Hjärta

Post-Suicide.

Hypothermia is a depressive black metal band from Sweden. This is the brain child of depressive/suicidal black metal cult icon, Kim Carlsson. Those who are familiar with his other work in Lifelover, Kyla, and Life Is Pain will know about his dark views on life and humanity.
This is the fourth album under the Hypothermia name, not including all the splits and EPs he's released. This new album is both similar and different, structurally, from his previous records in that it is just 1 song that extends over and hour. While Kim has never produced an hour long track, previous records have contained songs that are over 20 and 30 minutes long.
While this is the longest piece of music Kim has ever released, it is also his most melancholic. The use of cleaner guitars and simplistic drumming adds to the starkness and repetitiveness in sound. Bordering between minimalistic and drone tendencies while retaining a core sound that is very bleak and sorrowful. But this is not a drone piece, in fact, it has more in common with post-rock/post-metal in the way it gradually builds upon itself. The song starts and goes through many phases of clean guitar but then has it's more distorted black metal tendencies, having build-ups and falls along the way.
Compared to his previous releases under this name, this new album is, by far, the best production he's had under his Hypothermia belt. While the distorted moments do feature the usual noisy production, the cleans sound very dark and atmospheric while remaining very streamlined. Compared to most of his piers in the genre, depressive black metal, Hypothermia showcases a sound that is much more easy to listen to than others in the genre have produced.
As with other Hypothermia releases, Kim is not alone on the record. Although Kim does provide the main musical direction with his vocals and guitar, he has gotten Richard, from Through The Pain, to play the drums and Johannes to play the second guitar. These three guys manage to create a sound that sounds like sorrow and guilt consuming a person and leading to an eventual suicide. Though that is sometimes the goal of some of these bands.
Some will argue, and it will fit given the overall sound, that this piece was improvised. Given the repetitive sound and small pauses in repeating melodies, it is a rational observation. Since Kim provides the melody and Johannes gives a background, more bass heavy, atmosphere with his guitar and is usually the one providing most of the distortion in the song, gives reason that most of this piece was done on the spot.
Though the pace and tone of the album are definitely not for everyone, it is actually enjoyable for those who are into more bleak forms of music. Fans of funeral doom, drone, improvised music, DBM (Depressive Black Metal), and atmospheric music, namely new age or ambient, will find this album entertaining. The use of sparse soundscapes and bleak images that will fill your mind from listening to this may not sound all that great on paper, or Internet paper?, but is actually very enjoyable.
The melodies that are scattered throughout the recording are melancholic but act as small hooks that are quite catchy. Though it may be hard for people to swallow a piece of music that is slow and sparse, it is actually melodic and entrancing due to it's repetitiveness. The people who have already listened to Kim's other bands know that every one of them has a quality that stands above the rest in the genre of DBM, and this release is no different.
Unlike other releases under Hypothermia, Kim does not scream on this record. Containing only the melancholic bleakness that the instruments provide. Faint traces of vocals can be heard in the last minutes of the recording, it is hardly his mirror-breaking screams from other records.
Overall, this record is thoroughly enjoyable. Though a lot of people will find this record boring, it contains the right elements to pull you down into submission and will entrance you. The depressive sound that Hypothermia has always brought to the table has only been enhanced with Kim's approach toward improvisation. Worth a look into for fans of the above styles.
Overall Score: 8
Highlights: The only song on the record

Beyond Black Void - Desolate

A Slow and Painful Death.

Beyond Black Void is the funeral doom/drone project by Belgium doom-maker Stijn van Cauter. This project holds only 3 songs, but is over an hour long. Anyone looking to hear some slow and brooding doom metal, look no further.

As already stated, this is just a project. "Desolate" was the only record ever released by this project, as Stijn has about 15 other projects going on right now, most of them in the doom/drone areas. Though many people will find this project to be similar, if not the same, in style to almost every one of his other projects, BBV does have some more "accessible" moments to it.

Again, there are only 3 tracks on this album. Having the number of tracks that it has and being over an hour means that every song on here is over 10 minutes long. One song reaches over and drags itself along for over half and hour. If this appeals to you, read further.

The first track, Desolate, starts with a very slow and melancholic guitar melody that echoes around for a while and carries on for about 3 minutes. Once you get into that 3 minute mark, the bass comes crushing in, and I mean crushing. The way this bass is used isn't so much to create a groove as much as it just comes in on top of everything else and creates a giant drone. Once in a while vocals come in. Not that that says much, because the vocals are both below the sound of a droning bass and are more like gurgles anyway, so you can't even understand them. Around 12 minutes, the droning guitar fades, leaving the "lead" guitar to echo on it's melody for a while longer. Around the 17 minute mark the drone comes back in, booming as ever. That drone lasts for several more minutes before, once again, fading around 21 minutes. The melody then carries on for the rest of the song before a final crash at the 23 minute mark.

At this point in the review, many, who are reading this, are probably wondering what that "accessibility" I mentioned before was from. That "accessibility" is used both loosely and lightly, because that which could make people listen to this is the melody/lead guitar that carries along a slow, but melodic sense to it. While this obviously will not please everyone, those who enjoy this type of droning music will find it interesting.

The second song, Storm Over Jupiter, is over 30 minutes long. This song picks up right where the previous one left off, with a melody coming in slowly and a droning bass following the main melody line. Though nothing new has been introduced into this song, musically, this track feels much more interesting and enjoyable than the first. Instrumentally, Stijn introduces a timpani to the sound. This adds to the trance-like state the music can bring you into.

The final track is EverVoid. This track is almost 15 minutes, and is the shortest track on the album. This track is a little more like the opener for the album, it's mostly a droning bass over a melodic guitar line, this track really doesn't sound too different from the opener due to this. The melody, of course, is different, but it doesn't quite live up to the previous track's monolithic stature.

Overall, I know a lot of people aren't going to get into this record due to the volume of the track lengths or the style itself, but that doesn't mean you should ignore it. Give this, or one of Stijn's other projects a listen and see if you like anything there. But for this record in particular, if you like big, droning, minimalistic metal, this is a thumbs up.

Overall Score: 6.5

Highlights: Storm Over Jupiter

http://nulll-void.com/nulll/