Review Summary: Chapter 2 - Labyrinth of Soil
"A people lost,
A tribe without spirit tethered to a land that no longer remembers"
Archetypal of many black metal fans is a distinct and peculiar quality, of which I can certainly count myself amongst: there is a fascinating predilection towards a sense of visceral authenticity, over that of the execution of the music itself. That is to say, self identifying black metal fans will strongly prefer an artist and their work if they perceive a sense of emotional sincerity and distinctive character, over that of tight, technical, well produced music. (Doubly so if the latter artist in question appears to be a dilettante, i.e "In it for the money and scene") This amounts to such peculiarities as a fondness for stripped down, ostensibly "poorly" produced sound, a youthful and urgent quality, (As if the band hardly knows what in the *** they're even doing in the studio, and are guided solely by their passion to create) and of course a perceived emotional honesty and conviction. The 90's captures this perfectly, with the impetus of the Norwegian scene sparking an extensive wave of passionate, emotionally intense, rebellious teenagers, pushing beyond convention and grasping their own sense of authentic identity through music. (Many of whom were strongly guided by a sense of historical yearning and cultural eulogy.) An irony arises from this, naturally. In this authenticity seeking, self-affirming musical rebellion, the style itself became implicitly mapped out. In their attempt to be idiosyncratic they began to sound indistinguishable. The de facto black metal blueprint had been scouted out and repeated countless times; each attempt striving to be more pure than the last, or abandoning the model while retaining the ethos and cadence and going the progressive direction. (Emperor and Enslaved serving as the colloquial examples)
This 'blueprint' has, in recent years, been expounded on. What most have taken to calling 'post black metal' is, in essence, an extrapolation from the original black metal impetus; which is to say it 'comes from' a very similar inspiration and spirit, and its fans will judge it largely by the same metric, (authenticity, emotional sincerity, personal conviction, and general idiosyncrasy) but it doesn't play by all the same rules - it is held to the same tacit standards without having to sound the same. Post black metal is an extension of the same spirit. I say all this, and I apologize for the length, precisely because this album is so exemplary. Many point to records such as this, as well as Altar of Plague's superb "White Tombs", as "post black metal" works. This record speaks to many of the qualities that listeners of the aforementioned black metal disposition will appreciate. The band very evidently is off to a fresh and inspired start, and their age shows in their sound, *in an endearing way*. This album exudes youthful enthusiasm and passion; the lyrics read like a young intuitive male writing in his journal. The production is warm and modest, understated even, and the music breathes. They made very effective use of their budget while also avoiding the criticisms that the more "digital" sound brings artists on this side of the metal world. Simply put, everything present feels organic.
The sound and authenticity of the album is such a consistent, comfortable fit for many of the aforementioned fans to cozy up to that, to be utterly frank, the actual track-to-track song writing doesn't need to be particularly strong. Building on that, the album flow itself weaves playfully between visceral, aggressive immediacy, and the loftier dreamy explorations of softer tracks and ambient sections. The atmosphere and even much of the narratives at play are fundamentally earthen. Forested borders surround dewy marshes under a grey sky, during an aimless, meditative wander down a seldom traveled dirt road. It's all entirely instinctive for me to infer the impressions and experience both conveyed and implied in this music, but also that likely inspired the music to begin with. (The album art stands testament to this.)
From the standpoint of subjective experience, this album casts me into a familiar world, and invites me to peer into the artist's mind. It's deeply enjoyable and cathartic, from it's softest to it's most vicious moments, and yet, from a more track-to-track 'critical' standpoint I think it's actually one of the bands weaker outputs. Not that there is, or should be any shame in that. This is their first full length record. They've since grown remarkably and have an incredibly consistent history. (To reiterate from past reviews, they are my favourite active group of musicians in the World.) This album appears to be the record that the aforementioned fans have cozied up to the most, and understandably so, and I'm certain many of the same folks found Epoch dull, and very likely were the ones that decried Dustwalker for being "too soft" and "not black metal enough". In my own conclusion, this album feels consistently comfortable and enjoyable, and is more immediately impressive than some of their other work, (which require growth with and familiarity to the individual tracks to fully appreciate) but ultimately doesn't peak as powerfully as much of their other work; subsequent listens do not reward with as much depth as would soon be seen, but as a first full length effort the album mystifies and stirs, rarely faltering, and never disappointing.
Recommended Tracks:
Colossal Voids
The Warren
Lashed By Storm
The Untended Altar (Vinyl Exclusive)
