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/:: Artist :: Slegest ::\
:: Album :: L°yndom ::
:: Year :: 2013 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Metal Source :: CDDA . ::
:: Label :: Dark Essence R.date :: 25.10.2013 ::
_::__ Cat.nr. :: KAR074 Size :: 64,0 MB __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: Encoder :: LAME 3.98.4 -V0 :\
..: Bitrate :: avg. 255kbps : .
. Quality :: 44,1kHz/Joint-Stereo .
. .
Website :: http://www.slegest.no/
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: 01. Ho Som Haustar Aleine 04:36 ::
:: 02. Rooted in Knowledge 03:58 ::
:: 03. I Slike Stunder 05:00 ::
:: 04. L°gna Sin Fiende 03:50 ::
:: 05. The Path of No Return 04:51 ::
:: 06. Faceless Queen 04:52 ::
:: 07. Dirt Life Death 03:36 ::
:: 08. Past Burden Strenght 04:16 ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 34:59 min ..
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: ::
:: I typically associate the Norwegian style of black metal ::
:: with either the raw aggression of say Gorgoroth, Carpathian ::
:: Forest or Taake or the more classic atmospheric beauty of ::
:: Burzum or Ulver. One of my favorite movie depictions of ::
:: this very dedicated brand of black metal is that goose-bump ::
:: moment in Until the Light Takes Us when Fenriz is sitting ::
:: on the train and Ulver's "Not Saved" starts playingà ::
:: atmosphere as thick as mist you can't help re-playing that ::
:: moment over and over. So when did this very somber brand of ::
:: metal, so dedicated to opposition, start to follow the ::
:: crowd and take on such a dirty, ear-friendly, catchy ::
:: groove? ::
:: ::
:: Intrigued by rumblings of an EP release during 2012 and the ::
:: 'early Black Sabbath inspired, groovy black metal' label ::
:: that Dark Essence or Karisma Records pinned to Slegest. AND ::
:: making the discovery that that Slegest is (or at least ::
:: until very recently was) the solo project of ex-Vreid ::
:: guitarist Ese (yup he was indeed the man behind the black ::
:: 'n roll riffing on Vreid's Kraft, Pitch Black Brigade, I ::
:: Krig and Milorg albums). I attacked L°yndom (or Secret) ::
:: with gusto and maybe even just a bit of hopeful delight ::
:: that this would be the Welcome Farewell that Vreid ::
:: promised. ::
:: ::
:: L°yndom is made up of eight tracks which I find a little ::
:: ironic being that the overall sound of the album reminds me ::
:: of something left over from the late 70's early 80's, ::
:: bringing to mind the tail end of the eight-track tape era. ::
:: "Ho Som Haustar Aleine," "Rooted In Knowledge" and "I Slike ::
:: Stunder" kick off sounding like they'd fit in reasonably ::
:: well on a Sabbath tribute album. The tracks are mid-paced ::
:: in the same vein as Khold's "Blod Og Blek" and have the ::
:: same devil-may-care, rocking repetition of some of Sarke's ::
:: offerings. What throws things largely off kilter with this ::
:: Sabbath/Tony Iommi-homage is that barring an abundance of ::
:: fat, chugging, nicely buzzing repetitive riffs, Ese's ::
:: guitar solos lack color and prominence. The pace picks up ::
:: around the mid point and tracks "L°gna Sin Fiende," ::
:: "Faceless Queen," "Dirt Life Death" and "Past Burden ::
:: Strength" taunt and tease you not to bang your head. ::
:: ::
:: For the most part, L°yndom is a fun listen, it's the kind ::
:: of album I'd throw on at full volume while taking to the ::
:: open road. That said, I have some gripes, first things ::
:: first, while Ese has some neat and simply structured guitar ::
:: solos scattered across the album ("I Slike Stunder", "L°gna ::
:: Sin Fiende" and "The Path Of No Return" being my ::
:: favorites), these mournful interludes are so pulled back in ::
:: the mix that unless you're sitting holding your breath ::
:: waiting for them, blink and you'll miss them. This brings ::
:: me to my second gripe: because these moments (that should ::
:: stand out and orientate you) are so fleeting and easily ::
:: missed combined with the repetative riffing, the eight ::
:: songs eventually start to sound so alike that it's ::
:: difficult to separate the current track from the one that ::
:: precedes it û each quite literally merge and meld into one ::
:: another, making them largely unmemorable. ::
:: ::
:: The production on the album is probably best described as a ::
:: mixed bag. The drums and guitar riffs are nicely placed and ::
:: have just the right amount of fuzz to remain true to ::
:: Sabbath's sound. The guitar solos spend most of their short ::
:: lives haunting like melancholic ghosts in the background ::
:: and Ese's gruff croaks are too far back and are rarely (if ::
:: ever) given the focus they so sorely deserve. Apart from ::
:: playing all the instruments on L°yndom (outside of a guest ::
:: solo by former band mate, Sture), Ese recorded and mixed ::
:: most of the album at his Systrond Studio, with the ::
:: remainder taking shape at Conclave and Earshot Studio with ::
:: Bj°rnar Nilsen (Helheim and Taake) at the helm. Finally the ::
:: album was mastered by Herbrand Larsen (Enslaved, Gorgoroth ::
:: and Taake). And seeing how many sets of hands this album ::
:: passed through, and the combined experience across all ::
:: L°yndom's handlers û how did it go wrong? ::
:: ::
:: As is the nature of life, all things change and evolve. Why ::
:: should Norway's black metal be exempt. And further, why ::
:: would you want it to be? I had high hopes for L°yndom, but ::
:: it seems it's following on in Vreid's footsteps, less ::
:: welcome and more farewell. If you're a fan of ::
:: predictability, this ones for you! ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
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