Reviews Archive
News Archives
|
Site Location > Reviews Archive > O > NHZ001
ONDSKAPT (Swe): "Dödens Evangelium" CD
(New Horizon Records)
With a typically Scandinavian sound, only showing the bleakest side of the Swedish winter, the religious nihilism of their debut set the stage for this superb follow-up. As in the case of DEATHSPELL OMEGA, ONDSKAPT have taken a minimalist formula and elaborated upon it to emphasise the atmospheric elements. The difference here is that whereas DSO has acquired a monastic air about their newer material, ONSKAPT explore the same religious Black Metal concept from a more morbid and unhealthy perspective. Their "Ghospel of Death" exudes eerie misery and weeping tragedy, with the agonised howls that rip across the vault of darkness woven by the instrumentalists horripilating with their deranged intensity. There is no doubt that twisted, traumatised minds afflicted by all manner of depressive psychoses are in evidence with every jarring chord and tortuous melody. The album appears divided into two parts, the first consisting of slightly longer mid-tempo songs, the second of faster, shorter ones. This construction is quite effective and show a good understanding of the psychometrics of listening, for attention spans tend to shorten as albums progress through their tracklist, and thus it is wise to front-load an album and then ease the listener out of it. An effective devise that prevents monotony is the insertion of what sounds like the creaking and screeching of a wooden hull inside a ship; the heavily reverberated sound exands into the darkness and sucks you in before stopping abruptly and making way to the next song. My favourite track is the last one, simply because it is the weirdest and most twisted of them all. In fact, it reminded me of the first XASTHUR track in the latter band's split with ANGRA MAYNIU. If it is a presage of things to come, then I cannot wait to hear their next magnum opus. Reviewed by AK-47.
|
New Releases:
Forthcoming:
|
