At Dusk / Idolater (Split)
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Independent
Not only are these guys carrying my favor for sending me some ultra-depressive, ultra awesome black metal, but they also drop a little something extra in the envelop. In the past, I’ve received buttons, patches, stickers, photos, signed posters, t-shirts and on one occasion a pair of voodoo dolls. This time, incense. I love incense! And the stuff they sent (I can’t place the fragrance and it’s driving me mad!) complements this split perfectly! I can still smell it as I’m listening to it again while writing this review! It’s crazy!
…so. Two fiendish, hooded individuals from Santa Cruz collaborated on a wickedly evil piece of metal and set it free among the general populace? Seems a bit reckless all things considered, doesn’t it?
At Dusk – Slow to start, like a frustrating joint… but once it hits, you’re on your way to a wonderful evening. Muddied and bleak, At Dusk presents a gripping audio journey through the overgrown forests, burning churches and empty solitude. The music simply cannot be described here. It’s epic on a grim scale. Easily some of the best black metal I’ve heard from 2010. It gets a little static-y (lots of hissing and feedback, NOT the music) as The Profaned Temple begins around five tracks in, but I think I can forgive that due to the overwhelming awesome.
Idolater – The Idolater serves up two tracks of Black Sexual Blasphemy on this split and he hardly wastes anytime ramming it down your throat! Idolater’s form of black metal is more traditional than heard from the previous contributor, but rad none the less. Evil, low production, fast paced with raspy as hell vocals, blistering riffs and maddening snare abuse! That’s about as close to the good ol’ tape trading days as you can get! These two tracks also suffer from some annoying static. But again, whatever. The blasphemy bleeds through.
Overall: If you can manage to get your hands on this split, I STRONGLY urge you to do so.
9.5/10
At Dusk On MySpace
Idolater On MySpace