Here goes with Horizon Ablaze’s second album. Described as a “nihilistic apocalypse of molten extreme metal”, “Dødsverk” (Death Work) calls upon the violence you would associate with fellow Norwegians 1349 with a bit of our own Anaal Nathrakh thrown in and plenty of insane ideas of their own.
This album isn’t without its interest, and in amongst all this violence I certainly didn’t expect the bit of moody jazz on “Dømt til Frihet” (Condemned to Freedom), but for the most part it would be a prime contender for an extremity competition. After an opening black metal mantra, the destruction and violence begins with “Leviatan”. It reminded me of blackened death from Poland. It’s old school. Between the blasts are the back-of-pan style drum beatings. Smoky, carcinogenic clouds rise and are accompanied by the anarchic sound of the guitars. All hell then breaks loose. “Fordomt” (Prejudice) blasts out industrial horror after an impressive drum introduction. There’s an unexpected exotic flavour to crown the track in majestic style at the end. Horizon Ablaze, in spite of their passion for total and utter extremity, are good at the unexpected. “Håpløs” (Hopeless) reverts to type. The guitar sounds like its sawing people’s heads off. Growls and ghastly screams make this an ode to terror and nastiness. The vocalist’s cries for mercy, which we hear a lot, are drowned in the extremity and cutting guitars. “Håpløs” moves in a sinister way. The curious jazz of “Dømt til Frihet” sandwiches the customary rampant violence. It’s all designed to penetrate your inner being and disturb us, I guess. A quick explosion directs us to the creepy “Skjaersild”. This is much better for its lingering representation of death. It’s not without gunfire, sinister voices and a minimalist guitar section towards the end. This is original, as is “Der Untergang” (Downfall) which follows. Its tortured manglings are pungently heavy and bassy. After dark utterances, the track descends into the usual chaos and violence as if the world is collapsing. Cue an extended blood-curdling scream. The latter part of this album is more interesting, I found. “Svarte Flammers Aske” (Black Flame Ash) has a modern-style Norwegian black melody (yes, melody) but it still conveys the idea that someone’s out to get you. Unusual but engaging, it’s like black metal rock n roll. It all culminates in complete anarchy, crackling fires and the inescapable impression of death by horrible means. So what else to finish with but a nice delicate little acoustic tune? Actually, “Avskjed” (Farewell) is accompanied by disharmonious and raucous vocal pleas, so it’s not that pleasant. Then the whole experience is brought to a close with a distorted and disturbing electronic sound.
When I first heard “Dødsverk”, I appreciated its venom but it didn’t tamper with my immune system. I then listened to it again … and again, and I’ve come to realise that this representation of clearly dark and twisted minds is full of subtleties. There are so many clever touches in this 32 minute work to reinforce the nastiness that I couldn’t describe them all. I’m not sure if “Dødsverk” borders on genius or whether it’s completely insane. Either way, it’s a work of extreme creativity.
(8.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
Leave a Reply