The Mistress and the Icelanders

The Mistress...

Not satisfied with having given birth to the forefathers of drone - Earth; one of the most inspirational black metal bands of the 21st century - Wolves in the Throne Room and a splendid little arty blackish metal band in Fauna, Olympia, Washington has decided to honour its majestic landscape via an unholily awesome blend of Diamond Head, Thin Lizzy, Jex Thoth and Witchcraft! I'll be damned to a purgatory of enforced neverending exposure to Massive R 'n' B Hits if their debut album Agony & Opium is not one of the best albums in any genre of 2010. Lead singer Christine Davis takes her vocal cues from such disparate artists as ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, Witchcraft's Magnus Pelander and dame Diamanda Galas. In a recent interview for Asgard Root Issue 3 (which is a long term project I'm afraid folks - but will be something to look forward to!) she confessed to smoking kitten fur before singing - a fantasy of course, but one that can give as apt an idea of her enchanting voice as any blow by blow account. Added to the charming yet forceful ebullience of Mistress Christine's sultry, whiskey drenched vocal chords is the band's uncanny ability to forge riffs and hooks that weave their way into your very being and demand you (in my case) to make the considerable effort to get off your arse and return the needle to the start of the record and get on the Agony and Opium train for yet another intoxicating ride.

The Icelanders...

Árstíðir lífisins, or to you and I 'The Seasons of Life' is the debut album of an Icelandic collective brought together by a deep respect of Iceland's fascinating history and an urge to document it through the medium of music, and more specifically a 70 minute blackened 'folk' metal masterpiece that makes a mockery of its 'first album' status. Major praise must go to the designer of the artwork and booklets, which as you can see are nothing short of spectular and in containing text in both Icelandic and English are no less informative. Founder Stefán's astounding vocal display is a real highlight, spanning the deep reverent Pagan-esque baritone to howled depressive black metal malcontent with supreme efficacy. Unlike the rather popularised accounts of Iceland portrayed by the 'Viking' metal hordes, Árstíðir lífisins' stories tell of the subtler and yet harsher truths of the settlement of their great country prior to 950AD.

'It will not be long before the cold creeps around our homesteads. We freeze and we starve...Nobody comes, nobody helps. We are alone facing the giants and the waves of cold death. Heavy waves attack our little wooden boat, saving fish from being caught. Hunger drives us out to sea, not knowing what lays behind the dark waters. Nothing.'

Of the nine beautifully composed tracks, each a chapter in the band's sensitive and heart-wrenching retelling of the settlement story, it is hard to pick out the stars as each shines brighter than any band could hope for on a debut album. Tracks iii and iv however, are as good as any to showcase the band's unbelievable range - the former a sprawling, epic account with such diverse elements as acoustic guitar, clear baritone narrative, ghostly female backing and seagull field recordings as well as the staple metal footing. Meanwhile the fourth piece is a harsh, black metal affair (albeit with some clear vocal moments) that conjures an atmosphere of pure hopelessness and despair that the likes of Silencer would be proud of. Above all, these ten (yes 10) Icelanders have laid down a stormer of an album and the benchmark against which all future heritage black metal (why should the term apply to England alone) records should be judged. The Filosofem of heritage black metal if you like. Congratulations must go to Van records for releasing this extraordinary recording and for creating such a beautiful product. Heilsa!

Nechochwen - Azimuths to the Otherworld

Nechochwen - Azimuths to the Otherworld

Just a quick one to recommend this amazing neofolk-tinged US black metal project. I've been meaning to post something on here about this little beauty for a while now, and if it happens to have passed you by then I hope this acts as a prompt to dig around for a copy. The two chaps behind Nechochwen hail from West Virginia and have a shared fascination in Native American history and heritage. This has inspired them to create an epic hour long fourteen track journey into the ancient history of the noble story of two factions of these fascinating people - the Adena and Hopewell - occupants of the Ohio River valley 3000-1300 years ago. Archaeology has gleaned that these people were responsible for vast and impressive earthworks and mounds that were aligned to the sun and the moon using astrology and a (not fully understood) unit of measurement as well as hallucinogens and rituals to enable these structures to act as space ships for the souls of passed ancestors.

Just how passionate these two men are for this ancient history and these mysterious folk is evidenced in the emotion and energy imbued in the album, which via lengthy song structures and a potent use of cathartic release achieves the rare feat of working only as a whole piece. The magnificent sound is realised through a potent combination of raw sounding, expertly produced black metal, combined with some really beautiful acoustic passages. So, sit down, plug in and be taken away to the Otherworld.

A phenomenal achievement, and another extremely.

Xasthur - Portal of Sorrow

Xasthur - Portal of Sorrow, 2010 (Disharmonic Variations) 78%

Eschewing any kind of major label, for this, Xasthur's final album is understandable when the work is as grand a departure from the established sound of the band. Malefic has expressed a desire to remove the shackles that genre-releases place on his work and move further into neoclassical territory. Portal of Sorrow sees Malefic - this time listed in the liner notes as Scott - paired with US dark folk chantreuse Marissa Nadler - whose own work comes highly recommended by me, by the way. Nadler's otherworldly vocals are used not only used in a choral way, but themselves can be seen as an added instrument, aiding the flow of the lo-fi songs. There is of course, a black metal foundation to the release, with the trademark buzzing guitars and mid-paced drumming taking prominent roles in many tracks. Then, we have the plodding, doom-like elegies such as The Abyss Holds the Mirror, which in reality is closer to Amber Asylum than any black metal - and if not for the croaking vocals of malcontent (which themselves are barely audible) it would be, as Scott wishes, free from any genre constraints.

The packaging for the album is, to be kind, minimal - the two page booklet in its purple hue has a DIY feel to it and holds little information bar some lyrics to a few of the songs. The album's cover, meanwhile is a collage in homage to the dead and the ghostly apparitions peering through the fog represent the vestige of black metal that remains, gloomily in the background from the netherworld, bidding farewell as one of the scene's most prodigious contributors prepares to embark on another journey.

So, after all that, is it any good? The short answer is YES. Upon more indepth analysis, however I would have placed this as high as any of Xasthur's previous albums had the songwriting been as strong. Arguably this is the most ambitious of the Xasthur works and the atmosphere is amazing - there is, however sadly just that little bit of magic missing from too many of the songs to herald Portal of Sorrow as the classic swansong it could have been.

Palace Of Worms - The Forgotten

Palace Of Worms - The Forgotten, 2010 (Flenser Records - FL01) 95%


The first release a label offers up is an important mission statement to the world and a chance to make a real impression. Jesus Christ impaled on a sharpened stake do they make their mark with this offering. San Fransisco has proven to be a gritty urban backdrop to some truly great black metal related artists - just thinking on my feet there have been Leviathan, Weakling, Ludicra, Crebain and of course in the past the almighty Possessed. You can add Palace Of Worms to this list and they will not be out of place.

Like Crebain, Xasthur and Leviathan, Palace Of Worms is the work of one man - Balan and like Leviathan before him Balan's work in the form of a demo was taken to the (vast) shelves of Amoeba Records by a guy named Stevil. Far harsher and more intense than the Palace Of Worms demo, The Forgotten is a blast of fresh (foul) air that carries the trademark Bay Area sense of melody along with a buzzing, feverish intensity and an almost psychedelic guitar sound at times that perhaps owes to San Francisco's history in this Nuggets-era style. There is evidence in the pulsating drone, accompanied by grim sound effects and sporadic rasps during the fourth track of a keen interest in experimental/noise, while some of the more dizzying necro stylistics scream Watain and Deathspell Omega.

The songwriting on the album is second-to-none, with a real highlight personally being the third track and its ridiculously addictive guitar sections - a track, which like all the others remains nameless. The lack of song-titles and indeed lyrics in the inlay means we can only guess at the source of Balan's own personal misanthropy, but who cares? Let's just rejoice in it, irrespective of its source and pray to Lucifer himself that the Bay Area scene continues to bear such succulent fruits for us to pluck, horde and fucking devour. This comes with the highest possible personal recommendation.

Bosse-De-Nage - S/T

Bosse-De-Nage - S/T , 2010 (Flenser Records, FR03) 85%

New label Flenser have sent me two absolutely stunning releases by USBM artists The Palace Of Worms and in this instance Bay Area troupe Bosse-De-Nage - both of whom are strong contenders for interview space in issue 3 of Asgard Root. It'd be fair to say that both bands have impressed me immensely, a fact that coupled with Flenser Records' stunning attention to detail prompt me to recommend that you keep a firm eye on this label if you have any intention of experiencing the very best that USBM has to offer.

Bosse-De-Nage recorded this debut back in 2007, but due to a variety of reasons, not least being a (ridiculous) difficulty in finding interested labels, the release is finally seeing the light of day. That Flenser picked up on the release owed much to Ludicra/Agalloch drummer Aesop Dekker posting some of their songs on his popular blog The Cosmic Hearse.

Musically, Bosse-De-Nage blend raw black metal aesthetics and vocals with dreamy guitar led meanderings and tangibly human drumlines that together form a potent mix that recalls early Darkthrone as much as it does the likes of Alcest, UK black metal horde Fen and even at times some postrock. Fellow US black metal ecowarriors and Asgard Root interviewees Wolves in the Throne Room may be another influence for their use of repetition, while 6th track 'Excerpt...' builds tension in a similar way to Godspeed You! Black Emperor. What is most impressive over the 7 strangely titled tracks ('Marie Pisses Upon The Count' anyone) is the fluid assimilation of the bands disparate influences into a convincing concoction that never feels forced and resounds with passion and organic fury.

A mention must go to the surreal black and white Lynchian artwork which is stunningly presented on a linen textured insert - the icing on the generously and sumptuously filled cake indeed. Suffice it to say that I consider this to be one of the most interesting and worthwhile black metal releases of the year so far. Shame on which ever labels passed this by back when it was recorded and praise be to Flenser for giving it the platform it deserves.

Ludicra - The Tenant

Ludicra - The Tenant, 2010 (Profound Lore - PFL056) 90%

San Franciscans Ludicra are unusual for a black metal band in that they count among their number two women (vocalist and guitarist) and yet there is absolutely nothing ‘gothic’ about them. In fact, Ludicra have links to the crust and grindcore scenes and the gritty elements to their sound owe in part to this and also to the city that spawned them; many of their themes deal with the struggle and grime of daily life in San Francisco. ‘Black metal with a social conscience’ I hear you cry! I believe I’m right in saying that frontwoman Laurie even helps out at the soup kitchen. Yes, it would appear that Ludicra’s distance from the original xenophobic, nihilistic black metal scene is more than mere geography. Ludicra are one of the most idiosyncratic of USBM bands, using black metal as the canvas onto which they splash the paint of many an outside influence.

The Tenant represents the band’s fourth album proper, since their exhilarating albeit raw debut Hollow Psalms. It also marks their debut on ever-reliable label Profound Lore, who give the release their trademark digipak makeover and a rather sexy gloss/matt hybrid cover. The interplay of Laurie’s acidic black metal rasp and understated clean vocals is excellently implemented and never sounds forced or overly artistic as it can on say an Opeth album.

The songwriting undergoes an improvement again even after the amazing Fex Urbis Lex Orbis. It would be fair to label The Tenant as not only Ludicra’s most ambitious work to date but also their most diverse. One might surmise that the band’s heavy touring with prog-metal troupe Hammers Of Misfortune has rubbed off on them somewhat. The percussive element is superb and varied, which one might expect considering that the drummer is, as ever, none other than Aesop of Agalloch fame. There is nothing left to say but to heartily recommend that you pick up a copy of this sprawling post-black metal masterpiece.