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Genre: Black Metal
Label: Candlelight Records

Varg Vikernes needs no introduction. The man returns with his second album since his release from prison, and it’s everything one expects it to be: grim as fuck, while still pushing the boundaries of what black metal is and could be. Still seemingly not concerned with what anyone thinks, and stepping to the forefront of the genre with no fear, Varg delivers what could be his best album ever.
Fallen takes the listener through several moods, most of which is melancholy with a sense of hope, an anxiousness that is not generally one of Varg’s best known moods. It’s amazing to hear such music from the man, who has played some of the most bleak and misanthropic black metal ever.
I love Fallen, and eagerly await the next album.
10 out of 10.

Genre: Black Metal
Label: Candlelight Records

Limbonic Art have been making noise since 1993, and it wasn’t until 2010′s Phantasmagoria that I’ve listened to them. Poor me.
Black metal with a fair amount of ambiance, the riff structures remind me a little of Dimmu Borgir, roughly in the Death Cult Armageddon era, with less production and vocals lower in the mix. There’s also a bit more of a thrash element to the lead guitar, which Dimmu definitely lack.
Daemon is the only remaining member, which does afford a slight amount of same-ness to the album, sounding more like a solo project than a band, but it doesn’t detract from it’s high points (such as the songs “Dark Winds”, “A World in Pandemonium”, and “The Burning Vortex”).
6 out of 10.

Genre: Black Metal
Label: Candlelight Records

Now, there’s already a review of Quietly, Undramatically up on this site, but as my first review I wanted to get off to a good start, and thought I’d go for a release I really loved. Curiously enough, it was through reading on this website that I was introduced to Woe, so I figured where better to start? Here goes…

Woe are one of those bands that absolutely everybody seems to love at the minute. and 22 seconds into Track 2 of Quietly, Undramatically (“The Road From Recovery”), I can see why, this shit’s killer. It’s like a well produced Vordr or to make an even better comparison, it’s pure Under The Sign era Bathory, in terms of the actual music, it’s definitely Black Metal, but also very thrashy (read: VERY thrashy) and very Hardcore at the same time. It conforms much to the typical song structures of Black Metal, little in the way of verse/chorus/bridge/verse/chorus, but also the band wears its influences on its sleeve, the little breakdown in “The Road from Recovery” could have been on a Black Flag album 30 years ago but of course, everyone knows it is the spirit and atmosphere of a Black Metal record that makes or breaks it, rather than strictly the musicianship. In terms of Musicianship, if you want to hear basically the same album as Quietly, Undramatically but much less polished, go listen to Fuck Off And Die’s Anti All (2008, ). The difference between Woe and other such Punky/Thrashy BM outfits is definitely the atmosphere. Close your eyes when listening to this album and you could be standing in the room with the band when they recorded it, you can feel the energy literally flowing from your speakers, the whole thing has the air of a train that could derail at any second, whether it’s at a fast segment, a mid-paced atmospheric riff or even the slow, hardcore punk-ish breakdowns, it gives the impression it could explode into literally just frantic noise at any moment, but doesn’t, it keeps you on that razor’s edge of “oh shit what’s coming next” and “wow, they went there?!” without fucking up once, and it’s very rare that an album manages to pull this off on any tracks, let alone all of them.

The absolute stand-out moment of this album is the melodic/atmospheric clean section from 4:20 onwards in the track “Quietly, Undramatically”. Within seconds of this segment starting you can see why they named the album after this track, it’s probably the most ingenious bit of Black Metal I’ve heard in a long time. It is literally a case of Woe has taken musical ideas very often applied to progressive Hardcore Punk, think Dead Swans, Throats or La Dispute, multiplied by the atmospheric polyrhythm of progressive metal such as Fellsilent, and applied them to Black Metal, in a way I believe is completely unheard of. The clean vocals are a complete surprise, and the guitar that flows in and around them is beautiful and melancholy at the same time, the drums syncopated yet pounding, it’s literally hypnotic, and the only track I can name that it sounds anything like is “Oblique” by Fellsilent, which is the same idea but applied to a genre other than Black Metal. And then it kicks into pure raw black metal fury. Fucking beast.

Now, let’s talk about production. If there’s a bassist in this band, then I don’t think anyone would notice if he quit. I can hear 2 audible guitars, a vocalist and a drummer. Whoever produced this certainly knows what they were doing, the drums have a thick, earthy sound that’s more like modern Hardcore or Death Metal, yet the way they are mixed, they ebb and flow around and underneath the guitars, never masking them or diverting from them, they support them rather than play over them. The guitars are also mixed very well, unless each guitar is playing the same thing its always clear which one is doing something, and the vocals, while a little loud at first, by the end of the album whoever was mixing has them perfectly in the mix. It’s also very rare to have catchy hooks in BM. Half an hour after turning off this record I still have the floating, flowing and mesmeric riff from “A Treatise On Control” stuck in my head. Beasty. All in all, this album easily lives up to the hype that it has gained, and If they put out another like this then Woe ought to cement their place as leaders of the new USBM scene, I can only imagine people trying to sound just like this but not quite pulling it off for the next 10 years (Just like when Xasthur appeared and then every USBM band copied them for a little while, I think Woe will be the next band everyone rips off).

I would give this a 10 out of 10, but there’s no such thing as a perfect record, one man’s amazing is another man’s utter shite. And for the reasons why I would give this a 10, im sure many kvlt purists would score this a 0. Well, fuck them. This peculiar blend of modern Hardcore Punk, Thrash and atmospheric BM is fucking amazing. Buy it now, if you can.

North Carolina doom metal heathens, Sourvein, will kick off a short U.S. tour this March. Dubbed the “Disturbing The Peace Tour 2011,” the 13-date journey will begin in Baltimore, Maryland at Club Sonar on March 1 and level cities in North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee before coming full circle on March 13 at Krug’s Place in Frederick, Maryland. The band will be joined by Jucifer on select dates. Said vocalist/guitarist T-Roy Medlin of the upcoming jaunt: “Can’t wait to hit the road with Jucifer, bring the doom and unleash some new songs’!”

Sourvein Disturbing The Peace Tour 2011:
3/01/2011 Sonar – Baltimore, MD
3/02/2011 Volume 11 – Raleigh, NC
3/03/2011 Cadelonia Lounge – Athens, GA
3/04/2011 Wormhole – Savannah, GA
3/05/2011 Checkpoint Charlie’s – New Orleans, LA
Jucifer joins tour:
3/06/2011 Rouge – Fayetteville, AR
3/07/2011 Hi Tone – Memphis, TN
3/08/2011 Exit Inn – Nashville, TN
3/09/2011 JJ’s – Chattanooga, TN
3/10/2011 Soapbox Lounge – Wilmington, NC
3/11/2011 Tremont – Charlotte, NC
3/12/2011 Hideaway – Johnson City, TN
3/13/2011 Krug’s Place – Frederick, MD w/ Iron Man (no Jucifer)

Sourvein are readying to release their third studio full-length, titled Black Fangs, this June via Candlelight Records. Further details to be announced in the coming weeks.

Sourvein on Facebook.
Sourvein on MySpace.

Fallen, the eighth album from Burzum, will be released in North America on April 5. The album is the second to be released via Varg Vikernes’ imprint Byelobog Productions (via Candlelight for the territory). Fallen features seven new compositions by the controversial Norwegian musician, each adding another storied journey to the celebrated Burzum legacy.

Vikernes says of the new album, “Musically, Fallen is a cross between Belus and something new, inspired more by the debut album and Det Som Engang Var than by Hvis Lyset Tar Oss or Filosofem. The sound is more dynamic. We mastered the album as if it was classical music and I was more experimental than I was on Belus in all respects. Lyrically it is similar to the debut album, in the way that it is more personal and focuses on existential issues. But the mythological undertone known from Belus is still there. I have also included some ambient tracks, a short introduction and a longer conclusion.”

Fallen features artwork from renowned French painter William Adolphe Bouguereau. It is a striking contrast to art Vikernes has used for his albums in the past. He comments, “the cover is part of a painting called “Elegy”. I used it in this context because the album deals with the concept of falling, not least in a metaphysical sense. By definition, ‘elegy’ means a mournful, melancholy, or plaintive poem. It is a funeral song or a lament for the dead. It is a poem written in elegiac meter or a sad or mournful musical composition.”

Many credit Burzum with influencing much of modern-day black metal. While his music has traveled roads often far removed from what many consider black metal to be (with parts ambient, electronic, and more), his compositions have immediately been taken to heart by countless legions of fans the world over. It is a “no fear” mentality that has made Varg Vikernes both an idol and a bastard.

Said Metal Army of 2010’s Belus, “Whatever you might think of Varg Vikernes, it’s impossible to deny the depressive brilliance of Belus, which recalls his classic albums Filosofem and Hvis Lyset Tar Oss yet shows a marked increase of maturity.” Fallen is the second album from the controversial recording artist since his release from the chains that bound him for nearly two decades. It is the first album from the musician to benefit from a proper North American release.

Burzum was founded in 1991 by Vikernes. Under the pen name Count Grishnackh, the youthful musician quickly recorded four albums. During his lengthy incarceration, Vikernes recorded two additional albums, thus completing his initial series of compositions. Released from captivity in 2009, Vikernes immediately set out on a new path of creativity and quickly recorded/released Belus on his own label imprint, Byelobog Productions. Both CD and vinyl pressings of Belus quickly sold out with repressings of the album not coming quick enough to keep up with demand. Decibel Magazine featured a candid cover story with the musician while Guitar World and other key Stateside magazines lined up for interview opportunities. He graced the cover of England’s Terrorizer and several other key international magazines.

Fallen Tracklisting:
1. Fra Verdenstreet
2. Jeg Faller
3. Valen
4. Vanvidd
5. Enhver til Sitt
6. Budstikken
7. Til Hel Og Tilbake Igjen