Emperor - Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk (1997)

This is the best black metal album ever created. Now, I do not claim to be an expert on black metal in any sense at all, but I still make this statement. I'm sure there are thousands of people that will agree with me on this, as well. Emperor is a band that needs absolutely no introduction; their name is synonymous with symphonic black metal. They are the greatest driving force behind the second wave of black metal. This is their masterpiece, Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk.

As I've explicitly stated on several occasions, raw black metal annoys me to no end. It genuinely infuriates me. I loathe Varg Vikernes, not only because of his horrible outlook, but for his terrible music that millions seem to love religiously. Have you ever been to burzum.com? If you're looking for a laugh, read Varg's account of what happened with Euronymous. Apparently, Varg was just walking around the man's apartment waiting to talk to him and was assaulted! Thank God he produced that pocket knife! My point here is that Varg Vikernes is not only a moron, but he also paved the way for some of the shittiest music in existence.

Emperor is not raw, nor is it full of preachy National Socialist messages. On a side note, National Socialist Black Metal is the stupidest thing ever. Anyway, Emperor are extremely tasteful. I'm a big fan of In the Nightside Eclipse as well, but I find that this album just has more consistency. All of their songs are not constant blast beats and cringe-worthy vocals. There are breaks from the standards of black metal. The greatest example of this would be the song Opus a Satana, which is completely symphonic. It's really, really excellent.

Each song provides an excellent look into what black metal really should be. The highlights of the album are most definitely Ye Entrancemperium and Thus Spake the Nightspirit. Both of those songs embodies what so many other black metal bands have failed to do. They retain their ferocity, but are able to fit in tasteful, melodic interludes.

The use of keyboards on this album is extremely intriguing. They're not completely overbearing to a point where they're annoying. They're in there for ambiance, not for wankery. They add emphasis to powerful notes. When a certain song slows down, they hold the background together. I think they're excellently done.

With all this being said, I greatly recommend this album. I'm still debating whether or not to see Emperor. I don't think tickets are still even available, but it's extremely possible that, if they are, I may be going. This is a fine, fine band and a fine, fine album.

8/10

Moonsorrow - V: Havitetty (2007)

This year is looking extremely bright for metal, folk metal especially. In 2007, several pivotal folk metal bands have already released new albums or will be releasing them. The notable ones are Equilibrium, Ensiferum, Eluveitie, Korplikaani, Finntroll, Vintersorg, and Moonsorrow. There are so many more, but those are the ones I really care about.

This brings us to Moonsorrow, an already extremely established folk / viking metal band based out of Helsinki, Finland. They're just another testament to the dominance of Finland in modern metal. This is their newest album, entitled V: Havitetty.

To start this off, this album only has two songs on it. The first, entitled Jäästä Syntynyt / Varjojen Virta, comes in at 30:10. I'm not going to pretend I know what that means. All I know is that there are no vowels in the second word, and that is both frightening and confusing. The second song, Tuleen Ajettu Maa, is a lowly 26:19. Each of these songs is utterly mind blowing. Because of their extremely long length, they make for some of the most epic pieces of music I've ever listened to.

Jäästä Syntynyt / Varjojen Virta starts off with the faint sounds of wind blowing through a forest. This, while cool, is not very original in the case of folk metal. Anyway, it still sounds badass. About four minutes in, a solitary bass line comes in, which is then accompanied by an orchestral keyboard background. Eventually, this is joined by a light electric guitar lead, which is then accompanied by acoustic guitar. After a while, this is accompanied by Finnish chanting. If I were to dissect the direction this song takes entirely, it would undoubtedly take up several paragraphs. There are so many tempo changes and shifts in vocal patterns and variable distortion. It goes from light acoustic folk music to an onslaught of aggression with blast beats and gritty, foreboding vocals. Just as it seems to pick up, it comes into a single bass line, which then goes back into an emotionally charged distorted buildup. There's not much else to say about this song than that it's epic.

Tuleen Ajettu Maa is the stronger of the two songs, I believe. It starts out with the sound of a burning fire and comes into a Celtic style folk song predominantly chanting. Just as with the other song, it builds into an epic piece of mind-blowing intensity. By the last eight minutes of this song, it even comes into an orchestral piece. It's simply stunning.

When it comes to growls, I can only enjoy ones that are done tastefully and masterfully. When they're done poorly, I will completely abandon a band and most probably delete their album. As a fan of clean falsettos, I do not tolerate crap when it comes to coarse, guttural vocals. Ville Sorvali knows what he's doing. These are some of the most tastefully done coarse vocals I've ever heard. They also don't appear to be heavily enhanced, which is the only downfall of bands like Equilibrium. I was very impressed.

The guitar tone is very crisp and refined. This album is extremely well produced. I think the idea of having two very long, very epic songs on one album is very original. In fact, I think they should have just combined the two songs into one and attempted to put Sleep's Dopesmoker to shame. While we're on the subject, I would like to express my utter confusion as to why people enjoy Sleep. They do what their band name suggests; put me to sleep. Bah.

Anyway, this album rules. If you're impatient, go download some Excrementory Grindfuckers. Their mindless 20 second songs will be sure to give you the quick thrills you're looking for. If you want to sit down for a while and really take the time to enjoy some the most epic music ever, get V: Havitetty.


7/10

Sungate - Neverending Silence of Pompee (2001)

I suppose if I were to be asked what my definition of an underground band it, I'd just give the person the name Sungate. With the internet the way it is nowadays, underground as a musical term is outdated and completely meaningless. You can find anything through the use of the internet. There are no rocks left unturned. But...if I were to have to give my idea of an "underground" band that doesn't blow, I'd go with Sungate.

I was just introduced to this band like 2 days ago. Already I am having trouble not listening to them. Sungate is not very easy to define as a band. They're Slovakian and they call themselves experimental gothic doom metal. I suppose that's about as close as anyone's going to get. They're completely instrumental and have a very indescribably awesome sound. I'm really trying to get more information on them, but it's really hard seeing as their entire website is in Slovak. What makes this album so remarkable is that it was entirely self-produced and self-distributed. Sungate has no label and therefore there is no hindrance of their creativity. Whatever this band is producing is coming from what they desired to create as musicians, not from the interests of some corporate label.

With all of this aside, I can still confidently say this album is spectacular. It's very epic, but it maintains a certain melancholy undertone that I find very interesting. Alot of the tracks are begun with acoustic guitar and enter in with what I believe is a cello with a synthesizer used for ambiance. On most of the tracks, there is an ever triumphant guitar line that is emphatically backed by a powerful keyboard line. What's created is very, very epic. It's almost reminiscent of Powerglove, but without the whole video game thing.

This album is obviously rooted firmly in medieval styling. Most people struggle with finding meaning in instrumental music. I don't quite understand why. Most instrumental music is instrumental for a reason. Either their singer sucks or they're trying to communicate a point in a more subtle manner. You can still retain messages and emotions from music with no lyrics, people. That's why classical music is far superior to most other forms of music.

This band is gracious enough to share its album Neverending Silence of Pompee completely free with anyone that wants to hear it at their official website. Just right click the tracks and save-as. This is what I like to see. Free expression of music is what we need. Profit ruins bands.

Anyway, this album and this band is absolutely great. I wish I could find their other album. Go get their stuff immediately.

7/10