We do sometimes have a bit of a joke about this label (in a nice way) but they have got a bit of a reputation for releasing rather a lot of “airy fairy metal.” Of course the industrial side of things with bands such as Fear Factory and associations with Ministry are well and truly welcome but it is only just recently the label have been dipping their toes into the rancid pool that is black metal. Byfrost and Rev:16 may not have been hugely adventurous signings but news of a Merrimack album did make me sit up and take notice and perhaps the label are going to start pushing those boundaries out. Now I have before me a band that does dwell within the confines of black metal albeit in a very different fashion from any of the aforementioned; Thormesis are a pagan black metal act from Germany.
The band have two albums before this one on small labels before they were taken under the wing of AFM. They also sing entirely in their own language making what they are on about a bit superfluous for those of us not speaking the lingo, so why should Thormesis be of any interest to us? This is what I wondered after listening the first couple of times but then the songs started getting under my skin and winning me over. Considering the above facts and that the numbers on this album are on the whole quite epic and lengthy (often between the 8-10 minute mark) they must be doing something right.
After a nice mood setting intro piece things flow into ‘Sterbend Herz’ which to me could be a make of car but I guess it’s something of greater depth they are on about (ok it’s Dying Heart’). A meaty yell powers itself out the speakers and a jaunty fist pumping melody quickly follows. This is what I would call warrior, battle metal with more balls than the likes of Amon Amarth and with a more blackened feudal furrowing feel to it, one that would have me placing said disc (if not a download) in amongst my black metal collection. As the clean Viking clamouring vocals add other dimensions to the music it is clear that this also has a largely accessible feel to it. Thormesis straddle the commercial sector of black metal per se but as the vicious drums bite and blast back in those into the more serious aspects of the genre are going to find themselves enjoying this if they give it a chance.
This is not one of those albums to go into a track by track dissection of, as I said songs are long and all have strong similarities in mood and pace. They are all fairly fast and strong of melody. There are plenty of thorny guitar harmonies, backing barbarian chants and gravid rasping vocals, impressively flying through the tumult. If you like your black metal ballsy, jubilant and swaggering this is definitely going to be your bag. The addition of a final cover by the unheard of (to me) Grabfeld, rounded things off nicely. I found myself a new and thoroughly enjoyable band here, so thanks to the label and here’s to a lot less airy fairy stuff in the future please.
(7/10 Pete Woods)
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