Having not heard the debut by this US act but hearing the compilation “Trial By Ice 2002 – 2010” a few years ago I was very pleased to have this sophomore land on my review pile this month. These monolithic and epic black metal outfits have surged in recent years and this second album is sure to sit in the ranks of the genres fans top ten albums of the year with ease if given the chance to hear it.
The album art work is as bleak as the sonic contents as a windswept sound is heard at the start that gathers force as the guitar fades in very gradually to be accompanied by bass and a rapid cymbal tap. The tension it raises is excellent as the tune eventually sets off on its melancholic journey using stripped bare guitar riffs but by adding various keyboard elements the tune has an esoteric feel reinforced by the clean gloomy vocals that owe much to the gothic sub-genre in black metal. “Seeker Of Secrets” has a very old melodic black metal style reminiscent of Gehenna on their first three albums, exhibiting a solemnity that continues through its duration with droning incantation like vocals seeping through every abyssal pore of the song. This style of epic black metal can render you speechless at its sheer spine tingling drama and none more so than “Eye Of The Storm” which begins with delicate acoustic like guitar accompanied by percussive touches before boldly expanding with onyx like desperation courtesy of the mournful vocals and anguished guitar riffing. As the tune expands further into heavier dimensions there is an aura of grandiosity revealed that is breathtaking.
Every composition here displays ingenuity as “Waxing And Waning” proves which listens like a gothic dominated song through its grief-stricken vocals and dolent guitar work. The pace is slow, funeral like and drowned in elegiac qualities but contrasts with “The Darkness Of Once Was” which is explosive sending shards of obsidian malice outward all the while retaining that atmosphere of dejectedness.
An eight minute dark ambient track, “Paradox”, closes this monumental release and has similarities to Burzum on similar atmospheric compositions but also uses spoken words and various sound effects of battle and clanging metal that dissolve to leave the sound of the sea and a thunderstorm that bookends with how it all started.
(8.5/10 Martin Harris)
https://www.facebook.com/Cold-Northern-Vengeance-203140363039801
Leave a Reply