[iron mitchell]

i've been uploading lots of black metal for some homies at another board. here they are... grab 'em fast!

eikenskaden - the last dance

hxxp://s44.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3D9D4WM82TJRZ3JH5FHTBTUTUI

"We were totally bowled over by the brilliance of the first album by Eikenskaden (reviewed in issue #9), the so-called side project of Mystic Forest's Stéfan Kozak. Arty and weird and stunningly original, we looked forward to more, and more we have received.

The Last Dance is creativity within what is accepted in the black metal spectrum. Uniquely caustic and impassionate, the blistering fuzz of the fucked production is sliced through by clean piano melodies. As ever, the feeling of angst and sadness are the main players, be it during the manic, melodic, wall-of-noise riffs backed by relentless drumming to the more relaxed, piano segments with spoken parts that remind us of a scene in a French movie where the main character is depressed and reflecting on his life and loves.

Some relatively minor but important stylistic changes have been made, the most prominent of which are the vocals. For one, it seems that someone has really been enjoying De Misteriis Dom Sathanas lately. The Last Dance's vocals have also been greatly turned down in a way that make them stick to the melodies from the guitars and bass, making them more of a layer in the maelstrom of sound rather than an element to ride above it all. The constant explosions caused by the mere playing of a guitar string or the hitting of any part of the drum kit found on the first record have also been turned down, which could be considered as a good or bad thing.

While it's tough to say that The Last Dance is better than The Black Laments Symphony (the first record), it is certainly on par. The Black Laments… is more experimental and bizarre, but in a way that turns out is all too similar to the first two works of Mystic Forest's. As promised in the interview with Kozak in issue #12, Eikenskaden is beginning to move in a separate direction from Mystic Forest (I'll give you an advance tip to tell you that the next, yet unreleased Eikenskaden's style is even more removed from the main band). Be sure to get this and anything else by this one-of-a-kind French genius." -Roberto Martinelli

nokturnal mortum - nechrist

hxxp://s41.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=19M1KDWPMA9LT074BKJYHHZHR7

"Imagine the Charlie Daniels Band jammin' with Emperor. Or rather, playing at the same time in adjoining practice rooms -- out in the forest. The ancient forests of the Ukraine, to be precise. That's where Nokturnal Mortum hail from. This is their third album. You may remember the big fuss we made over the amazing Mistigo Varggoth Darkestra disc last year? Well, Mr. Varggoth is the main guy in this band Nokturnal Mortum. With "NeChrist", he and his comrades have created a unique sound, one that combines a raw, roaring black metal attack with the pipes and fiddles and "yee-haws" of folk/country music, Ukrainian style. And, to make us AQ-ers enjoy this EVEN MORE, all of a sudden all the music will stop and the middle part of a track will be occupied by the croaking of frogs! And you know we like frogs and the noises they make. Similarily, the final song on the disc is preceded by 78 short (3 sec.) tracks of twittering birdsounds and forest ambience. Therefore, if you play the disc in "shuffle" mode, you get lots of cut-up bird calls mixed with the occasional actual fantastic Nokturnal Mortum song! The unanimous AQ black metal pick of this lunar month!! Brilliant. Yee-haw!" -Aquarius Records

drudkh - forgotten legends

hxxp://s50.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0QZRZ1ZG48HYI3RVIXGHX85SSO

"Hypnotic, majestic and raw are the adjectives I find best suited to describe Drudkh's debut record. This Ukranian act can rightfully claim to have turned the crushing powers of nature into music. Imagine yourself on top of a barren cliff, watching the untameable waves of a tumultuous ocean crushing into it over and over, day after day; feel the ice-cold spray freezing on your face, the vibrations of the impact reaching your feet through the mass of stone until it finally crumbles; and you might get an idea which kind of images songs like "Forests in Fire and Gold" are evoking. In a very general sense, Primordial or Amon Amarth are exploring remotely similar territory while coming from totally different angles, but neither of them has been avoiding the cheese-factor which is often imminent in Pagan or Viking metal so completely and ventured as far into underground black metal and Burzum-esque territory as this Ukranian act. While others feel the need for a certain pompousness in their music and "we're Pagan warriors and come back to take what once was ours" lyrics and imagery, Drudkh's approach is stripped down, droning, hypnotic, and, while relying on proven concepts, original in its execution. With two Hate Forest members in their ranks it's not really surprising that there are certain similarities between the two bands, but overall Drudkh sound less dissonant, more melodic and less sterile, which is also due to a more natural sounding production, especially as far as the drumming is concerned. This is an awesome debut record which is highly recommended not only to fans of obscure underground material but also those who look for emotional, raw and violent music devoid of keyboards and acoustic sections somewhere in between black, Pagan and Viking metal." -Matthias Noll