Iconoclasm - 2005 - Iconoclastic Warfare

Out of Belgium comes this Black Metal outfit with their second full-length album. On this album are twelve tracks of fast, slightly thrashing Black Metal. I find quite a few influences in their music,
earlier Marduk, Dissection and Sargeist, with some slight Darkthrone riffing here and there. Quite interesting, especially with their own ideas thrown into the mix.

The vocals mostly remind me of the ones of earlier Marduk, with some Nattefrost and Dissection,  harsh and desperate sounding, slightly in the distant.

The production has a lot of bass in it and sounds slightly muffled. I would have prefered a slighlty clearer production, so you could hear a bit more of the drums, but that is just a minor detail. We get
good musicianship and strong material. A good album indeed.

Standout tracks are "Iconoclastic Warfare", "Welcome to Hell", "Daemonz" and "Screams of the Banshee".

Monday May 24 2005, by :Vragh:

Gotmoor - 2005 - Pain Provider

Out of Belgium comes this Black Metal horde with their first fullength album, following their demo collection a few years ago. 17 tracks are presented on this disc (some of them being shorter interludes). The music is at times mid-paced, but mostly fast Black Metal reminding me of Watain and Funeral Mist, due to the chaotic feel to it, as well as Niden Div. 187 and Gorgoroth, which is a bit more descriptive of what the band sounds like.

The vocals remind me mostly of those by Ares of Aeternus but also of  those by Nacht previously of Goatlord Corp., consisting of Black Metal vocals with a slight Death Metal growl approach.

The production is slightly muffled and rather chaotic, with the vocals in focus and the drums slightly behind them. This is for sure an intense release. It took me a few listens to get into, which is usually a good thing. Releases that take a bit more time do tend to keep my interest longer, and I return to them more often.

Standout tracks are "Hate Addiction", "Lebensraum", "Family Man" and "Aftermath".

Thursday November 30 2006, by :Vragh: