Wewelsburg - 2007 - Ultima Intolerance

Out of Russia comes this NS industrial Death/Black Metal band. Musically I find influences from a lot of different genres and groups. Mysticum and The Kovenant are apparent in the first track, Morbid Angel with a big dose rock n' roll in the second, the third track starts off with a classical piano piece, then moves on to more The Kovenant sounding elements. Track four is straight forward Death Metal. Over all this reminds me of early Stiny Plamenu.

The vocals are also reminiscent of The Kovenant, metallic and distorted but with more reverb, but as
with the music, the vocals change throughout the album. On the track "Gott Mit Uns", rather influenced by white power music, for instance, the vocals are deeper and much more catchy.

The sound is set very high on this album which tends to result in a chaotic effect, which indeed is the case here as well. They use a drum machine, with the cymbals set a bit too high which is annoyingly in the foreground at times. There is also a keyboard present. The vocals and the  drum machine are in the foreground, closely followed by the guitar. When there is a solo without any singing the guitar steps up to the foreground. There is also a keyboard present, fighting with the other instruments to be in the front. Despite all this this is a fascinating album, somehow, most likely because you do not know what to expect next. It is also a tiring album to listen to, since the recording level is so high and there is a lot of stuff going on. This is not bad, but it is not very focused. I think it would have been better if there were different bands for the different musical ideas.

Standout tracks are "Ultima Intolerance" and "There Where the Winds Sing Their Songs".

Sunday August 23 2009, by :Vragh:

Valaskjalf/Hrodvitnir - 2005 - Under the Ban ner of Vinlandic Heathen Might

Presented on this split effort are two American NS Black Metal bands. Each band contributes with four tracks.

Valaskjalf presents us with Black Metal ranging from slow to mid-paced, slightly melodic Black Metal in the vein of the real early '90ies bands, but with a melancholic sound rarely found. I find both Kvist, Beherit and Root influences here. Also presented on this release is a cover of Hellhammer's classic track "Euronymous".

The vocals mostly sound like a more guttural version of those done by Legion of Marduk and also somewhat like those done by Akhenaten of Judas Iscariot and Quorthon.

The soundquality is quite good, with all the instruments being audible in the mix.

Standout tracks are "Grove of the Neoliths" and  "Black Forest".

Hrodvitnir play a mid-paced to fast, more Viking / Folk themed Black Metal, and is the band I liked best on this release. Musically this sounds like a mix of Falkenbach and amore Black Metal oriented version of Borknagar, with vocals that mostly remind me of those done by Garm on the first Borknagar album. Some traces of Wyrd are also present in the overall sound here.

The soundquality on these four tracks varies a bit, which I found to be slightly annoying. You can hear the instruments and all, but the two last tracks have a murky, slightly distant sound to them, and the volume is lower.

Standout tracks are "Dawn of a New Aryan Empire" and "Hrodvitnir (The Wolf Unleashed)".

Quite a good split album, actually, with both bands being quite able to handle their instruments. This release is limited to 500 copies.

Friday December 2 2005, by :Vragh: