Füneral Rain Press Cörps

Genres: Black Metal, Black ‘n’ Roll
Label: Indie Recordings

True Norwegian black metal combined with the progressive mindset of Opeth and the straight forward approach of good old rock results in the great combination that is V (vee, not five).

Strong riffs that evoke black metal as well as some elements of death, thrash, and punk form the basis of the songs. There are even some forays into a folk metal territory, which is just fine by me. I love that stuff.

The songs themselves, unlike Opeth’s epics, rarely make it much past the five minute mark, with only “The Other And The Look” reaching the 10:31 mark. All of them are well crafted, thoughtfully arranged to lead you from beginning to end, rather then start you on a journey and then just drop you off somewhere lame, and all of them follow a great progression through the album as well, meaning listening from beginning to end gives you the impression of something larger in scope, while still having distinct individual songs to listen to. Plus, no riff overstays its welcome, no drum beat is unnecessary, no bassline a third wheel, the keys are always a nice coloring to the music, and Sture’s vocals are always a good overlay. In other words, it’s full of wonderful songcraft. These men know their shit.

If you’re a fan of Immortal, I, Ritual, Morgul, Black River, and their like, then V is right for you.

9 out of 10.

Vreid on Facebook.

Genres: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Rock
Labels: Armoury Records, Mystic Production

The second album out of three from Eagle Rock’s package, Black River is a very nice surprise. Especially considering that two of the members are from the Polish blackened death legends Behemoth, and this album is really nowhere near black or death metal.
In fact, it’s pretty much straight up cock rock right out of the pages of AC/DC’s Book of Writing. And damn it is an asskicker of an album. It’s hard, heavy, and pure fun. Lyrically, it’s about drugs, drinking, and fucking, so there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t own this.
8 out of 10.

Black River on MySpace.