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:

Acrimonious - 2006 - Broken Bonds of Balance 7"

Out of Greece comes this Black Metal band with a promo of an upcoming 7" containing 2 tracks of mid-paced to fast, Swedish and French sounding Black Metal. The material presented here reminds me of both Watain and Deathspell Omega, really, and is just slightly melodic. You can hear a distinct progress since their Perdition Gospel demo here. The material is harsher and sharper.

The vocals remind me quite a lot of those by Erik of Watain.

The soundquality is quite good, and has improved since their demo as well. Slightly murky sound, but that is something at least I enjoy. You mostly hear the guitars and the vocals with the drums ever so slightly further back in the mix. The production reminds me slightly of that on Mayhem's De Mysteriis dom Sathanas and Watain's Casus Luciferi. Both the tracks presented here impressed me, I must say. I am most definitely keeping track of this band, and so should you!

Saturday October 21 2006, by :Vragh:

Acrimonious - 2005 - Perdition Gospel

Out of Greece comes Acrimonious with their second demo. Presented on this tape are 4 tracks of mid-paced to fast Black Metal, with a slightly melodic touch. This reminds me somewhat of earlier Deathspell Omega as well as some Kampfar for some reason, with a twist of earlier Morbid
Angel. Quite an odd mix.

The vocals sound a bit like the vocals from the first Ancient album, but mostly they remind me of those in Dom Dracul, but with more distortion to them.

The production is good. You hear all the instruments clearly, and even the bass is allowed some room here, which is rather unusual in Black Metal I think. There is a distinct demo sound to this recording, but not in a bad way.

Over all a quite enjoyable release, although I do prefer the Broken Bonds of Balance 7" they released this year, which shows a clear progression from this release.

Standout tracks are "Goatrapture" and "On Serpent Wings".

Monday November 27 2006, by :Vragh: