No-one could ever accuse The Meads of Asphodel of being boring. The formula is sound: black metal at the core but with no limitations on imagination or range. Who can forget the snappily titled “Behold the Kindred Battle Carcasses Strewn Across the Bloodied Dunes of Gilgamesh Mute in the Frenzied Clamour of Death’s Rolling Tongue and Ravenous Bursting Steel” or the cover of Louis Armstrong’s “Wonderful World” on the same album, “Damascus Steel” (2005).
Having half an album in which to express themselves, they still manage to surprise and horrify us. It’s a bit of a musical mish-mash when looked as a whole but each of their five contributions has typical character. I was pre-alerted to the fact that “You’ve Got the Hate” is a spoof of Florence and the Machine’s “You’ve Got the Love”. In the interests of research, I listened to the latter and to my amazement I had heard it. This version maintains the X Factor cheesiness apart from the metal riot at the end, and the lyrics. I’m not going back to check whether Florence started with “Sometimes I feel like throwing grenades in the air”. I think not. Two of the tracks are devoted to 16th century Catholic conspirators and in the case of Balthasar Gérard, graphic details of his death. I preferred the less narrative and fast and creepier heaviness of Chidiock Tichborne and his treasonous actions. There’s a short mediaeval intro “An Ebullient Prelude to a Loathesomely Grim End” but the highlight of this short collection is the more musically rounded “Infidel”. It’s traditional in its metal style but creepy, crawly, irregular and spooky at the same time. It’s robust and goes through the motions of sweeping black metal. As cold winds blow, it marches on, stops, starts and portrays this world of “shivering monochrome hatred”. Old school black metal is enhanced by interruptions of flighty passages.
(7.5/10 for The Meads of Asphodel)
Tjolgtjar are known for their experimental psychedelic rock. This description would fit “The Fifth Mass and Her Works”, the first of their four tracks but I’d also say it was aimless. For me this is the worst of experimentalism. “Near You Always” is out of tune, bizarre and at a push atmospheric in its way. From this we stumble to “A Goat in the Wood”. It’s like something from the late 60s or 70s. I half expected cheesy pop but the overriding impression ultimately is of spaced out hippies playing psychedelic prog for no apparent riff. The riff manages to be both weak and irritating. “Winter Research”’s driving rock riff sounds familiar, possibly because you’d hear it in your local pub every Saturday night. The echoing vocals are distracting and it’s just unoriginal.
I can’t think of anything good to say about Tjolgtjar on the basis of this. I read that they might be mentioned in the same conversation as Arcturus, Urfaust and Sigh. Personally I wouldn’t but I have to recognise that they’ve going for 17 years and have released 11 albums, so I may be in the minority with my reservations.
(3/10 for Tjolgtjar)
(Andrew Doherty)
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