Review Summary: icy-stabby makes me happy
Mare Cognitum: one of the best black metal bands ever made. Straight from their original incursion they sent listeners to black metal Heaven, as an unstoppable metal typhoon. In this release, they often use their lack of excellent production to their advantage. In conjunction with gorgeous guitar melodies, the drums are constant white noise. The album’s sound is ultimately a melodic, hypnotic blur, and jarringly loud.
The melody work and guitar rhythms carry the album, and thankfully they are memorable. It’s much more difficult to signal out unique drum patterns when it sounds like headphone death. Those attuned to such sounds will find an entire library of them in this release. However, even true metalheads may wish for an escape from the clanging drums. It’s an old school type black metal release. This type of chaos will either intrigue or be off putting for some.
Compared to their later releases, this album is much rougher. In their album Phobos Monolith, they used their melodic white noise for epic proportions. The Sea Which Has Become Known’s soundscape is much less full in comparison. The ordinarily successful elements are here, but under incredibly muddy production. Shredding is used often, but produced poorly it loses its impact. Another inescapable distraction is the overall lack of dynamics. In later releases, Mare Cognitum would understand the importance of cutting out, implementing spacey ambience, and then getting back to shredding. There is no break here, only a barrage of white noise, not allowing shredded melodies to grow into the fullness of their energy. You very much get what you get in a repetitive way.
The first draft phase of the band’s music is here in its retro glory. It’s not for the faint of heart: this cathartic, heavy experience is a mind number. It’s not archaic either, it shows a band bringing very consistent black metal to the table. It was an excellent place to start, bringing straightforward metal to the ears of the many. The many would cherish this gift and come to worship the band in due time. They would praise the icicle stabbing vox, and declare the band a cold Winter treat. It is still so, and yet just as effective in Summer. The stuffiness of this sound is somehow perfect for an absurdly hot day. Come get some.
