Review Summary: Gather your friends...........raise your sword.................storm into battle............fight the zombies.........
The winter air is cold and dry as I trudge through the barren woodlands. Large pine trees and dense shrubbery are sporadic, often times blocking my chosen path and forcing me to confront new options. A fresh coat of snow lies above the great cold earth, masking the natural greenery that my Pagan ancestors once settled upon. Soon I begin to feel ambivalence in my heart for although there was a great sense of peace and solitude to be found here, I couldn't help but feel that something sinister lied beyond the surface. As I held camp and poured the mead I went off to find wood to create a fire, however in one instant I realized my earlier premonition had come true. Staring straight at me was a horde of demon meese. For the uneducated that is moose in plural form. Their cold, dead eyes stared straight at me as the harrowing frames of these beasts begun to align themselves in an ominous manner. I knew then that I must fight to survive. I rip off my cloak, unsheathe my Celtic swords and face off against this bestial legion. We clash antler to blade. I immediately fell two of these fiends as three more approach me from the rear. I face the new targets and fight with my pagan pride. One more has been slayed but I have been speared in the gut with anothers antler. I stumble back and fall down a hill. I am quickly greeted by six more meese yet I have realized that I have lost both my blades. Sensing my imminent doom, I begin to unsheathe my mammoth tusk knuckledusters and head straight into the enemy. I fight valiantly, slaying two more of these daemon beasts but finally I succumb to the meese ferocity. In my dying breath the Moose King honors my heart and grants me the opportunity to morph into one of the elite meese warriors after I pass.
Morkekunst was a short lived Norwegian black metal band who only managed to release one self-titled E.P in their brief lifespan. Yet with this one E.P they managed to be more culturally/musically relevant to Norwegian black metal than Immortal and all their other ***ty countrymen attempting to bring back the krieg in a post 90's world. Morkekunst sounds great to me because they carry that 90's aura and frostbitten authenticity. Morkekunst employ a simple is better approach. Their music is not original by any means but Morkekunst help restore the depressive/atmospheric black metal scene by their ability to create passionate music. The production is subdued, letting the engrossing atmosphere swarm the vicious instrumental onslaught. The repetitive buzzing guitar riffs provide depth and aggression. Mid paced rhythms and tremolo picking are integrated to lend a authentic old-school black metal feel. Riffs are often memorable due to how catchy they are. If you don't find yourself raising the devil to "Ondskapens Kraft" then well you can *** off. There is a discordant sense of melody that runs through the spine of Morkekunst that proves to enhance the aggression. Drumming is muffled behind the dense reverb and distortion but it doesn't really detract from the music. Vocals are performed in a deep growling manner that any seasoned black metaller has heard a thousand times before. However, black metal is one of those genres that revels in traditionalism more so than experimentation. And in this case it works splendidly for the throwback sound Morkekunst is aiming for. Morkekunst employ a simple is better approach and don't give a *** if you have a problem with it. Hail Satan!!!!
To put things in perspective, Morkekusnt is forest dwelling music for the bestial, anti-modern savage inside us. Let's face it, we all descend from barbarian tribes from one side of the world to another. Our people battled, farmed, hunted, bore children and bathed in filth and grime. Now it's acceptable for men to shave their eyebrows, it's now acceptable to be fat and lazy in a society that doesn't take responsibility for their own actions, it's also acceptable to worship vegetarian vampire filth and coked out has beens. *** it all. Morkekusnt capture the defiant pride, the passionate rage and earthen spirituality that I became so attracted to when hearing bands like Isvind, Drudkh, Burzum, and Ulver for the first time. The heart and soul and pure blooded nature of these bands is something I wasn't expecting to find in my generation of black metal but Morkekunst have "it". It's only a shame they didn't stick around longer to release a full album. If you have a similar mindset towards the degradation of culture and society, not too mention true metal, then raise your sword and slay the posers. Hail to thee..........
