Weltbrand - 2006 - The Cloud of Retaliation

Out of the Netherlands comes this Black Metal horde, with their second fullength. Presented here are eight tracks of mostly fast Black Metal with the odd slower track thrown in for variation plus one industrial sounding interlude and an outro. The sound actually has somewhat of a  eath Metal feel to it.

The vocals sound like a mix between Nimroth, formerly of Cirith Gorgor, Maniac, and early Emperor, with some Aldrahn and Quorthon showing up every now and then.

Musically this reminds me mostly of the Zyklon-B sideproject from the '90ies as well as earlier Frozen Shadows. Not at all a bad combination.

The soundquality is slightly murky and, as with the music presented here, also quite similar to Zyklon-B and Frozen Shadows, and as mentioned earlier with rather a Death Metal approach to it. The vocals are at the front with the guitars and the snare drum quite high in the mix as well. The rest of the drums and the bass unfortunately disappear to a certain extent in the murky production. This is quite good. Released as a limited A5 digi, as well as regular CD.

Standout tracks are "Channeling Black Energy", "Descending of the Black Ash Rain", "...And the Winds Brought Death".

Tuesday October 14 2008, by :Vragh:

Spektr - 2004 - Et Fugit Interea Fugit Irreparabile Tempus

Out of France comes this horde consisting of members from Haemoth and Battlehorns. On this their first album we are presented with eight tracks of industrial tinged mostly fast Black Metal, intense and unlike most others. This is quite an impressive first release.

Musically this is a bit similar to ideas from 666 International era Dødheimsgard in structure, but taken many steps further, with some parts Thorns added. I am also reminded of Gaahlskagg's Erotic Funeral, but that is mainly due to the intensity and the sound on this recording. Samples are used extensively throughout the album, and here are also parts sounding like soundtrack music. It is quite a
varied album, composition wise, with crushing speed and aggression one minute, which then flows into calmer parts and then gets back to crushing your bones once again.

The vocals remind me quite a lot of Ildjarn, with a hint of Filosofem era Burzum, earlier Immortal and some early Gorgoroth as well, for good measure.

The soundquality on this album is very sharp and clear. Everything seems to be on the same level here, the guitars with their sharp, lethal sound, the crushing drums and the possessed vocals form a wall of sound where you can still hear the details. This is an album where you're not entirely sure what's coming next. Most excellent! This is an album that works best if you play it from start to finish. This is among the elite bands, along with such acts as Deathspell Omega, Funeral Mist
and Glorior Belli. Very highly recommended!

Standout tracks are "Reveal the Four Seals", "A Return to the Flesh", "Wizened Hand" and "Confusion/The Persistence (Ending Contakt)".

Wednesday October 15 2008, by :Vragh:

One Tail, One Head - 2008 - One Tail, One Head

Out of Norway comes this horde with their first demo containing four untitled tracks. Musically this reminds me a lot of the early half of the '90ies. Groovy Black Metal with a very classic sound and feel to it, somewhat reminding me of earlier Deathspell Omega at times.

The vocals mostly sound like a more desperate and guttural version of those by Fenriz on the first Dødheimsgard album and are moving with the music more than I expected. There are also some parts Mannevond of Koldbrann present.

The soundquality is typical demo sound, also reminiscent of the earlier years. This reminds me of the Emperor demo from -92, the music is a bit distant and though you do hear all the instruments, they are distant and some of the nuances of the music might get lost because of this, the first few times you listen to the tape. What can be heard most is the vocals, followed by the guitars and then the drums. This band is part of the Nidaros scene in Norway among such bands as Kaosritual, Selvhat,
Knokkelklang and Min Kniv. Grenjar and Vantro should also be mentioned. A very interesting scene for those of us who miss the raw sound of the earlier days.

Standout tracks are "I" and "IV".

Sunday August 23 2009, by :Vragh:

Necrovomitör - 2005 - Vomit Porn Satan

Out of Finland comes this thrashing Black Metal band with their first five track demo. Mid-paced Black Metal, in the vein of Dødheimsgard's Monumental Possession is what we get here, which basically describes it all. Even slightly groovy, at times.

The vocals remind me of those done by Aldrahn on Monumental Possession and those by Grendel of
Blodulv with some slight Satyr of Satyricon at times.

The production is harsh and a bit chaotic, which fits the music perfectly. What you hear in the mix is mostly the filthy sounding guitar, the vocals and the drums. There's just such an amazing raw power and aggression to this demo. My only complaint is that the demo feels a bit short. Limited to 150 copies.

Standout tracks are "Genuine Crackwhore Mutilation" and "Rotten Corpses in Vogue".

Saturday June 4 2005, by :Vragh:

Koldbrann - 2003 - Nekrotisk Inkvisition

Norwegian band Koldbrann really amazed me the first time I heard this, their debut album. They play fast, necro Black Metal, with some mid-paced parts present as well. The soundquality here is really cold and harsh, with a chaotic feel to it, yet it is also rather clear, somehow. The drums and the vocals are what you notice most here, but all the instruments can be heard in the mix.

The very grim vocals are somewhat reminiscent of those in early Dødheimsgard, and this goes for the music as well, at times, although there's more aggression here. The vocals are actually the driving force here, which is a bit unusual. The entire album is very much in your face, with a good roduction, good material, great lyrics and very competent musicians.

This is definitely one of the better Black Metal albums released in years. Quite an achievement to
have released such an album after only a year as a band. Be sure to check this album out!

Standout tracks are "Fortapelse i Svovel og Helvetesild", "Kaosmanifest" and "Phlegetons Bredder".

Monday November 1 2004, by :Vragh:

Interview with Mannevond of Koldbrann 2005

Norwegian Black Metal horde Koldbrann played at the pre-Infernoconcert in Drammen, Norway. :Vragh: caught up with vocalist Mannevond after the concert for a little chat about the past, the present and the future.

:Vragh:: So what's happening with the new material?

Mannevond: What's going on with it? We're currently recording 3 new songs for two seven-inchers,
which have been known for quite some time, too long, but things take time. Everything is coming along now at any rate, we have finished the bass.. No wait! Not the bass, the drums, vocals and the guitars are done. One of them is an EP with two songs, one of which we played here tonite, "Atomvinter" [Nuclearwinter]. The other is a split-seven inch with Faustcoven, quite a good doom-black band from Norway signed to Barbarian Wrath.

:V:: Similar to Furze?

M: No, not at all. Imagine Darkthrone mixed with Pentagram, something like that, very chic.

:V:: When is the new album coming out?

M: No we dare not divulge any date this time, you know what happens when we set one, we're waiting until we've finished a couple of songs, but we're hoping it'll be out by the end of the year, I don't dare be any more specific.

:V:: There was a reprint of your first album, recently. Was that remastered or edited in any way?

M: That's right. There are no bonustracks, or anything new at all, unfortunately. The only difference is probably the addition of lyrics.

:V:: Lyrics for all tracks?

M:  No, four tracks only. For collectors it could be mentioned that the cover is slightly different. And I could mention that it'll be out on vinyl finally.

:V:: And is there anything extra on the vinyl?

M: No.

:V:: ...or nothing new there either, no.

M: But at least there will finally be a vinyl!

:V:: On the German label Northern Silence?

M: That's right. We've had a lot of offers about releasing it on vinyl, but we wanted to wait until we found a label that we would keep working with, then they could release both the CD and the vinyl, but as things go, despite everything we licensed it to a label that had previously asked to press it, so it could have been out 18 months ago on the same label.

:V:: As I understand it, you've had good reviews and an overall good response to your album?

M: It's been surprisingly good actually, we really hadn't expected it. It's pretty funny, the album is two years old and we still get reviews as it's reprinted, and it's still getting good critique, and that's
always nice.

:V:: Is the current lineup the same as on the album?

M: No. There's three of us, well we're essentially the core of the band, I guess you could say, there's been problems with bassist and second guitarist, people have come and gone, it's difficult to find people who aren't already involved in a hundred other bands, and that don't have that real feeling and dedication. But now it's working out great, we've had the same lineup for a year.

:V:: Considering sideprojects, is anyone of you involved in any sideprojects?

M: Yeah, the drummer Fordervelse has been playing a bit with Slavia, I'm not sure if you've heard of them.

:V:: Sure, he [Slavia] played on your album.

M: Yeah I've no idea what the fuck is happening there, it's all moving so slowly. He's my roommate that man.

:V:: But he's probably busy with Disiplin. [Note: Disiplin guitarist Drakul Azacain has since kicked out all other bandmembers since they weren't members of MLO.]

M: Yep. That's right. It's been slow with Slavia but he's [Fordervelse] still playing on with his things. There was talk of him playing drums on the next Vulture Lord album. Chic old-school death metal with some members from Urgehal among others. There's not much more to be said really.

:V:: You haven't been at it for long have you?

M: No we started in 2001, so four years now, three years with the old lineups.

:V:: And then an album after two years?

M: Ah yes, it's gone fast, very rapidly, maybe a little too quick.

:V:: No plans for any extensive touring?

M: Fuck no, we really have to finish recording the new album, there'sbeen far too many concerts lately, but when you get an offer, it's just really hard to say no. There's one more concert planned, in

Fredrikstad with Myrkskog, and there will be some festivals in Germany, but the rest of the time we'll spend concentrating on the new album, it's just about time.

:V:: There's an awful lot of touring in Germany among scandinavian bands it seems, I assume black metal is pretty big there...

M: Ye-ees..

:V:: ...despite them being german.

M: Oh yeah, Watain and Dissection were touring at the same time as us, we almost followed in their footsteps, every place we arrived at there were Watain stickers, it was like, OK! They were here three days ago! Fucking awesome band by the way.

:V:: To finish up, a standard question; What do you listen to?

M: Heh, well that's a lot really. Good ole black metal, DHG,  Mysticum, those types of bands. Of course it's more norse, oldschool-norse, but Sweden has a fucking copious amount of good bands now, Craft, Arckanum, Watain, I could probably ramble on for half an hour, Grand Belial's Key has to be mentioned. I listen to other genres aswell, crust like Skitsystem and similar, it's just so good. It's important for me to not limit myself within black metal, it quickly becomes boring. Like, metal and extreme-metal as a base, but there's so much else you have to catch on to.

This concludes the interview. It should be mentioned that halfway through, the proprietor of the establishment wanted to kick us out as he was closing, however, confronting him with an official look of importance and mention of interviewing, quickly shut him up, and kept him coming back for a seemingly small part of this piece. So here it is.

Also, I love germans, you're just so easy to make fun of.

-:Vragh:

Interview conducted Wednesday March 23 2005, by :Vragh:

Translated into English from the Norwegian and Swedish languages.