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/:: Artist :: Blodhemn ::\
:: Album :: Holmengraa ::
:: Year :: 2012 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Black Metal Source :: CDDA . ::
:: Label :: Indie Recordings R.date :: 04.06.2012 ::
_::__ Cat.nr. :: INDIE077CD Size :: 84,2 MB __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: Encoder :: LAME 3.98.4 -V0 :\
..: Bitrate :: avg. 278kbps : .
. Quality :: 44,1kHz/Joint-Stereo .
. .
Website :: http://blodhemn.no/
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
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+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: 01. Galgebakken 01:17 ::
:: 02. Rettersted 04:28 ::
:: 03. Djevelen i Menneskeform 05:10 ::
:: 04. Thingvellir 06:02 ::
:: 05. Nekromani 03:44 ::
:: 06. Maanelyst 05:51 ::
:: 07. Telehiv 07:00 ::
:: 08. Black Horizons (Dissection cover) 08:21 ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 41:53 min ..
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+/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: ::
:: There's nothing quite like being battered around the head ::
:: by an album when you put it on for the first time, and ::
:: Norwegian black metal project Blodhemn's debut full-length ::
:: album "Holmengraa" delivers that exact sensation in a ::
:: full-on, blackened swipe to your senses. ::
:: ::
:: Essentially a one-man band - that man being Invivus - ::
:: Blodhemn's brand of black metal mayhem is the old-school ::
:: variety - i.e. very dark and very violent - although it ::
:: must be said that the audio quality of the recording is ::
:: pretty damn good for a debut black metal album. Of course, ::
:: there is the obligatory creepy intro - wouldn't be the same ::
:: without it, right? - but first track proper 'Rettersted' ::
:: kicks things off in tremendous style with about thirty ::
:: seconds of vicious thrash before a time change brings in a ::
:: chopping wave of riffage that instantly brings to mind the ::
:: huge guitar passages of classic Gehenna before reverting to ::
:: some brutal double-kick action. ::
:: ::
:: Album centrepiece 'Thingvellir' is an epic all on its own, ::
:: with Invivus' deliciously dark guitar work melding ::
:: perfectly into the relentless pounding and torture that his ::
:: drum kit is obviously receiving. Listening to it, it's ::
:: quite astonishing that this is the work of one man and this ::
:: track - let alone the whole album - is testament to the ::
:: man's vision and talent. ::
:: ::
:: The punkier feel of 'Nekromani' and 'Djevelen i ::
:: Menneskeform' inject a little rock and roll into things in ::
:: a similar way to latter-day Satyricon, which is never a bad ::
:: thing, whilst the brooding 'Telehiv' really harks back to ::
:: those early 90's days of the burgeoning black metal scene, ::
:: and had the production been a little less slick and more ::
:: raw then this song could easily have come straight from ::
:: 1993. ::
:: ::
:: Closing with a cover of Dissection's 'Black Horizons' - ::
:: probably the least interesting song here, which says a lot ::
:: about the quality of the original material - "Holmengraa" ::
:: is quite simply a stunning debut album that demands your ::
:: attention from the get-go and barely lets up until the end, ::
:: after which you may be pressing that play button ready for ::
:: another go. Excellent stuff. ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
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