_ _______ _ ...:... _ _______ _
___ / .:::::::::::. \ ___
| / .. (:::::::::::::) .. \ |
| . .:::::.`:::::::::::'.:::::. . |
| .::.. `:::.::':::`::.:::' ..::. |
_ _______ | .::' ::::':::::`:::: `::. | _______ _
\\ | | :: `' ::':`:: `' :: | | //
\ | | `:. .::' . `::. .:' | | /
. | | .::::::..::::' ... `::::..::::::. | | .
| | `:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::' | |
.... | | `:' `::::: :: :: :::::' `:' | | ....
| ' | : `. ': :: :: :: :: :` .' : | ` |
|.....: . .......: :: :: :: :: : ...... . : ....|
. ...................: : :: :: :: :: : : ................. .
_____________:_____________ _____________:_____________
_ ___\` __ /_\` _______/_\` __ _/_\` /___ _
// __ / (/ ___/ (/ _ (/ /_______/\
_ _ /_________ ___________ ______/\ _ ______________/\__/_ _
\\\\\_________\__/\_________\__/\_____/\_____/\____________/f3!///
- -\-\-----------\__/----------\__/-------\_____/---------------/-/- -
- -------------------: : :. ..:: :: . :------------------ -
: : :......: :: :` ': :: : .....: : :
___ _ | | : ` ' : | | _ ___
_\---------- : | -------- : B E R C : -------- | : ----------/_
/_\ . : . ..:.. ..:.. . : . /_\
/// . . : : . . \\\
/: :\
/:: Artist :: Eternum ::\
:: Album :: Summoning the Wolven Spirit ::
:: Year :: 2013 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Black Metal Source :: CDDA . ::
:: Label :: Dark Adversary R.date :: 02.09.2014 ::
_::__ Cat.nr. :: DA050 Size :: 86,6 MB __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: Encoder :: LAME 3.98.4 -V0 :\
..: Bitrate :: avg. 238kbps : .
. Quality :: 44,1kHz/Joint-Stereo .
. .
Website ::
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: 01. Under the Banner of Barbarism 08:03 ::
:: 02. The Weeping Stars of Obscurity 05:25 ::
:: 03. To Distant Golden Halls 02:35 ::
:: 04. This Empire Where the Sun Never Sets... 08:38 ::
:: 05. Wolven Spirit 09:01 ::
:: 06. A Silent Wandering Moon 03:34 ::
:: 07. Blood of the Free 08:32 ::
:: 08. Written Upon Nether Winds... 05:05 ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 50:53 min ..
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: ::
:: It should go without saying by now that the Australian ::
:: underground black metal scene is currently one of the best ::
:: in the world, but just in case you're not up to speed: the ::
:: Australian underground black metal scene is currently one ::
:: of the best in the world. It wouldn't be too surprising if ::
:: you were unaware of this, though. The bands that are the ::
:: core of the scene are pretty obscure, and releases are very ::
:: limited. It's a shame really, as there's a lot of superb ::
:: black metal being made there that is more than the equal of ::
:: what any other country or scene can boast. ::
:: ::
:: At the heart of this movement is Azgorh, the main-man of ::
:: Drowning The Light and vocalist for Eternum, as well as ::
:: running Dark Adversary Productions. The label has released ::
:: many of the best Australian black metal records of recent ::
:: years, as well as releases by iconic bands such as Satanic ::
:: Warmaster and Mutiilation. Eternum though is mainly the ::
:: project of his former colleague in Drowning The Light, ::
:: Nightwolf, who writes and records all the music. It's worth ::
:: noting this, as at no point does the music feel as if only ::
:: one person has written it; it's full of little flourishes ::
:: and features that flesh out the songs fully, giving them ::
:: character and keeping them interesting. ::
:: ::
:: Eternum's previous album, Veil Of Ancient Darkness, was ::
:: superb, showcasing atmospheric black metal. Whilst that's ::
:: normally a phrase associated with music trying to invoke ::
:: the spirit of nature, Eternum conjure up images of war, ::
:: musically bringing to mind early Graveland, late-80s ::
:: Bathory, and Burzum by turns, whilst always possessing a ::
:: strong sense of character and individuality. This is not ::
:: war in a bombastic, overblown sense, but more gritty and ::
:: grim, where a man is only as strong as his sword-arm. ::
:: Second album, Summoning The Wolven Spirit, carries on in ::
:: that style, with 50 minutes of black metal that belongs to ::
:: an earlier age. That is not to say it sounds dated, far ::
:: from it, but rather than it brings to mind an older, ::
:: medieval time, belonging to a land filled with barbarians, ::
:: old gods, honour and war. The slow, atmospheric ::
:: introduction to first track Under The Banner Of Barbarism ::
:: is the soundtrack to a battlefield of old, with haunting ::
:: wolf howls in the background before the pace picks up and ::
:: Azgorh's vocals enter. They are sung as a deeper growl than ::
:: on some of his other works, and it suits the music ::
:: perfectly, as do the lyrics, dealing with themes of war, ::
:: honour, and death. ::
:: ::
:: The music itself across the whole album is best described ::
:: as heroic, with great guitar leads and just the right ::
:: amount of melody, with tasteful keyboards complimenting it ::
:: and enhancing the atmosphere. There is also an aura of ::
:: melancholy throughout the music though, as if subtly ::
:: reflecting that all wars come with a cost, and that not all ::
:: heroes will return home, yet there is still a sense of ::
:: defiance about it despite this. It's mostly played at a ::
:: mid-pace tempo, though there are some notable up-tempo ::
:: moments - the opening of This Empire Where The Sun Never ::
:: Sets is furious - and the songs are all long enough to have ::
:: time to develop and grow. .Acoustic interlude tracks help ::
:: keep things fresh, preventing the black metal tracks from ::
:: becoming too overwhelming whilst adding to the atmosphere ::
:: and feel of the album. The production helps, too. It has an ::
:: open, relatively clean sound for black metal, just the ::
:: right sides of listenable and kvlt without sounding overly ::
:: produced or too raw. Picking a stand-out track seems ::
:: pointless; each song is strong, yet they work best together ::
:: as an album, and to listen to them outside of that context ::
:: would be robbing them of some of their considerable power. ::
:: ::
:: Overall, the album is another in a strong line of releases ::
:: for Dark Adversary, and another superb example of the ::
:: Australian underground black metal scene, even if there is ::
:: something distinctly European about its sound. It's no ::
:: clone of past glories though, but an album that recalls an ::
:: older age in multiple senses, and is well worth tracking ::
:: down. ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
\: :. \\ ___________ . ___________ // .: :/
__\____ :: ____ ___\ _ / BERC : 2014 \ _ /___ ____ :: ____/__
\\\f3! :: \\\ __ _/_________i_________\ /___/ /// :: cRO///
\ :: :\-\___________\_ ___ / _ _/___________/-/: :: /
:: | . . _ _ _/ __/ . \_ _ _ . . | ::
: :::::::: | | \\\\\/ _______\____|\ \///// | | :::::::: :
:: | | -\-\/____/-------------\____\/-/- | | ::
:: | | \ :|: / | | ::
: : | . ` ::: ' . | : :
. . | : ::: : | . .
| :::....:::....::: |
: ::::::::::::::::: :
. :::''``:::''``::: .
: ::: :
. ::: .
.:.
: