Kult of Taurus - Divination Labyrinths (2013) Review

Album | Divination Labyrinths
Country | Greece
Genre | Black Metal
Label | Forever Plagues Records

| Lost in chaotic madness |

I don't remember when or how I first listened to this band, but I remember it was the Fallen EP they released in 2009 and I was intrigued by their execution style. Naturally, I completely lost track soon after until I got this album, which is also their debut full length after six years of activity, which are more than enough for a band to bond and find it's own personality. Divination Labyrinths is a solid effort that should reach the ears of as many fans of hellenic black metal as possible, as it isn't repetitive or significantly weak at any point, while not breaking through any borders either.

If you haven't noticed already, Vicotnik of Dodheimsgard has been giving the helping hand to various Greek bands (most importantly being in Naer Mataron) and he is involved here too, since the mixing and mastering of the album was done by him. Taking good care of the band's sound, it's not dusty at all, but still hostile to outsiders, while there are no glitches or annoying imbalancies among the instruments and the vocals. It is also a major improvement compared to their previous releases, which had the low-fi, one channeled black metal production plague. The album lasts a little bit over half an hour and contains eight tracks, including two instrumentals.

The musicianship of the album is relatively insightful and legit, worshiping a pure black metal philosophy that's based on satanism and occultism. Despite their semi-mythologic name (if you want to know more about Crete and the minotaur, click here) which also confused me a bit at first sight, the band does not speak that much about Ancient Greece or other pagan subjects,  keeping track of the core of the genre. I found a couple of really good guitar lines among the generally authentic work and most of the tracks have an eventful moment or two, something that I think is decisive in my final and positive view of the whole album.

A dude named Sarpedon handles the vocals in Divination Labyrinths and his effort is terrific. There is a significant level of harshness and anger in his tone, he steps correctly on the songs and has great capabilities as a whole, judging from the screams and the very few, narrating cleans he does in the album (for instance, in the track "ΠΤΩΣΗ", meaning "Fall"). The drums and the bass also have nice feelings, even though they never get the first role in the album, since the memorable elements are mostly the vocals the guitar. Musically, the album stands above average because of the beautiful and original compositions, like the tracks "Where No Moon Rises", "Hidden In All Ages" and "Channeling End".

This is by no means another regular hellenic black metal album. Apart from the main and intelligent instrumentation, discreet electronic samples have been used very beautifully. First of all, the two instrumental tracks are electronic based. The introduction contains a haunting synth with a man speaking above it, similar to horror movie introductions or serial killer crimes information. Even though it's quite clear, I don't fully get what it says, but it has been made clear by the band that it's a piece of an interview of the psychiatrist Carl Jung. "Tree of Gifts pt. 2" is the outro of the album and includes a wondrous piano line, synths, whispers and generally is much better than the simplistic intro. Anyhow, I enjoy both of them.

Apart from these, there are some weird noises during the end of the track "Channeling End", which remind of industrial black metal, or experimentations of early Norwegian black metal bands with electronics. Same unidentified but entertaining additions have been used in "The Light That Divides the Earth" and "Tree of Gifts pt. 1" (which has a fully ambient part towards the end". The result not only fits the album, but also provides a refreshing sound, fond of innovation and quality. Black metal fused with machine electronics is not a new idea in the scene and it's not completely appreciated by the die hard fans, something I don't go along with, especially when a band uses them correctly.

Divination Labyrinths is a remarkable debut by Kult of Taurus, lacking almost nothing and having a personal facete. Built on solid ideas, it has variety and efficiency in content, even if I think I would not mind if it was ten minutes longer or something. The band's hard work all these years is presented here and it might end up being one of my favorite black metal bands from Greece, if it continues like this with a second release in the next years.

DAMAGE: 8.0/10

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Theosis - Behold the Glorious Night (2013) Review

Album | Behold the Glorious Night
Country | Greece
Genre | Black Metal
Label | Self-released

| My pale queen |

Theosis is one of the projects led by Astraeos, the Greek musician also behind Mortuus Sum, Vetusmora and Morbid Fog. When the last called it quits earlier this year, I guess his attention was focused on his other projects, all revolved around primitive black metal with a few epic / pagan elements. This is the third release of Theosis this year, since there are already two official demos out, behind this final full length entitled Behold the Glorious Night. The band attempts to worship the obscure bands of the nineties (Vlad Tepes, Moonblood and the likes) with a truthful but average record.

Containing eight tracks (from which one is a Satanic Warmaster cover), the album climbs up to thirty eight minutes in length, more than enough for one to form an opinion about Theosis. A couple of one song demos are definitely not enough but as I got my hands on this, I knew what to expect. The cover art and the song titles as well as the lyrics come directly from the heart of the old school, authentic brand of the genre. Therefore, it shall be a tempting record for any closet brat, who hunts down such underground artifacts within a minute of recognition.

Behold the Glorious Night should only be experienced by the fans of the scene, people who know their way around the genre and have certain standards and likes. The atmosphere of the underground during the second wave is present here, with every composition depending on a few guitar riffs. Seldom are there changes after the introduction and the record keeps rolling at it's own rhythm, not overtrying or overproducing. Sadly, this does not turn very well for the result as a whole, because it seems like nothing more than a comfortable, time approved and repeated effort of older bands.

The production is murky equivocal, deliberately channeled to sound like something of the earlier years. Creating such a sound for the band is no innovation to the genre and if you choose to do it, know that we have listened to it like a thousand times so far so the music must have something really special in order to select it out from a load of other records. I don't think there is any special ingredient in this one though and that's why it will scarcely reach mediocrity to the judgement of an exacting listener. There is no doubt that it will affect many die hard fans that can be satisfied with anything similar to their beloved, dusty sound (and I am partly one of them) but that's it, really.

The first tracks didn't move me at all. There is this church organ / synth made introduction "Celestial Grace" which opens the record nicely, but when the first song "Rise of the Black Legions" kicks in, the instability is obvious. There are two main riffs in the whole song with a few melodies above them here and there, and I assure you that you that these thoughts will come to your mind: "Oh, isn't this the other band I was looking the other day, coming from Kvltland with only a few demos during 1991-1993?" or "Yeah, I wrote this riff as well the other day when I was randomly jamming with my guitar". The first song sounds like a filler and that's not good at all. "Drink His Blood from the Cup of Immortality" is the best track of the album. It has a nice churchlike chant in the beginning and then strikes with a nice and horrendous main part.

"Behold the Glorious Night" sounds like a mixture between early Norwegian / Swedish black metal, as if members from Emperor and Throne of Ahaz gathered for a one-night rehearsal. Again, there is one main riff, which is pleasant enough, even though it's strangely familiar. There are two songs "Blessed be the Black Moon" and "I Invoke the Forces of Darkness" that offer very few to the whole idea, while "Under the Spell of Thy Lord" has a melodic and epic part that reminds of epic black metal and more into early Summoning. Hardly a highlight but still worth mentionable.

Throughout the album, I could not make my mind whether I like the vocals or not. At some points, they seemed really sharp and rigid, and then as if it breaks, it fades out and loses it's power. To me, it's a mere imitation of other black metal singers (I thought of Ihsahn in more than half the songs), mostly indifferent if you exclude a couple of good moments. As a whole, Behold the Glorious Night is one of these lookalike albums. Bands should stop releasing stuff trying to get close to the music of the classic albums, not in their essence but with copying and pasting their music as it is. This record is a trip around Europe, presenting the sound of other bands, resulting in something typical and faceless. Like every other, you won't remember a thing after it finishes.

DAMAGE: 4.75/10

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AOTY 2013: Top 20 Albums

The time has come.

Everyone talks about how great the aging year was and how many great albums were released, then presenting their personal favourites and move on. I stumbled upon all kinds of quality music this year and I will keep a number of records under daily listen if possible, for quite some time. However, I don't see why Sunbather, Colored Sands, Teethed Glory and Injury are so great that you guys couldn't grasp a breath while listening to them. I could not get very much into any of these, so don't expect them high in this list at all. 

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Wishes I.

AOTY 2013: Top 10 failures

I don't want to widely justify why these albums were a disappointment for me, that's why there will be the list only. Of course, I included albums from bands that I had hopes of something good and received a washed out, lame record, not just any bad album I came across this year. I'm usually polite with my negative points but some albums this year hit me hard and got on my nerves, so I present the hate.

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10. Ghost B.C. - Infestissumam

Loma Vista Recordings

Stop worshiping this band like they're the inventors of music because it's really nothing more than fancy dark cloaks and pseudo satanic imagery. I would stand this album if it was not so shallow and annoying. While Opus Eponymous almost had a couple of nice rhythms, this fails everywhere.

9. Nocturnal Poisoning - A Misleading Reality

Self-released

I do not want Xasthur back either and that's not the reason why I put this in the list. I was actually interested to listen what would this acoustic project would be, but it shares little emotion after all. I was not touched by it at all and the repetitive mellow melodies made me sick. It's not atmospheric or melancholic as it was supposed. Keep going if you feel it guys, but I'm not going to follow.

8. Glorior Belli - Gators Rumble, Chaos Unfurls

Agonia Records

Did Glorior Belli always have so many stoner elements in their music? If these guys tried to mix black with stoner here, they totally failed, apparently they're not good at experimentation. Most of the songs are way too boring to even review this at all, spare your time with something better.

7. Alice in Chains - The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here

Capitol Records

The only thing that reminds of Alice In Chains with this band of today, is Jerry. All is fragile and mediocre, apart from Jerry, who is like the Iommi of grunge. This album will break the hearts of all grungeheads out there, because the once huge AiC are now mainstream, MTV rock. Fetch me!

6. Rotting Christ - Κατά το δαίμονα εαυτού

Season of Mist

I respect this band very much, but this is one of their worst albums I have listened, if not the worst. Incomprehensible subject, too many studio effects, hardly any solid guitar work. The whole album is like an introduction to a main part that never came after all. No.

5. Burzum - Sol Austan, Mani Vestan

Byelobog Productions

Ideal for sleeping! As much as I like his past albums up until Fallen (yes, all the way until Fallen) this one is average, spiritless ambient that bores me to death. Read more here.

4. Gehenna - Unravel

Indie Recordings

This is really bad, for something to come out after eight years of waiting. I don't expect Gehenna to return to the glorious times of their first four albums, but I didn't expect a snail paced, weak and monotonous album like this either. The production is horrible (are there any drums? Or is that a pumping noise behind the harsh guitar moaning) and the tracks are juvenile. I asked myself more than once during my first listen, are these the same Gehenna I knew?

3. Sepultura - The Mediator Between the Head and Hands Should Be the Heart

Nuclear Blast

Not a single good guitar riff was produced that day. Did you laugh with the title too? Wait to hear the music. Anyhow, Sepultura are long gone, the guys should stop raping the band's corpse and leave it at peace at once.

2. Satyricon - Satyricon

Roadrunner Records

Definitely one of the hardest punches in the face I got this year, from a band I adore(d) that decided to go, who knows what. The modern Satyricon play thin rock that even the last rebel laughs at. Again, do not get fooled by various music sources that call it a masterpiece and an album that will mark the future, the band's highest peak so far and other stupid statements like these. It's by all means bad. A bad album. Check my review here.

1. Megadeth - Super Collider

Tradecraft

I can't get into Mustaine's mind, what the heck is he thinking? Is he jealous of the wonderful carreer of Metallica and wants to be like them? Did he aim for another classy album like Risk? Did he forget how to write solid lyrics? He found God again and finally got educated about this scientific thingy called super collider that got him so impressed that he wrote an album that's close to the worst in his carreer. I don't put 0 in a rating easily, but this would get it. By far the worst album of the year and now my image of Megadeth is further damaged, for life.