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p r e s e n t s
Drowning_The_Light-The_Land_Of_The_Dead_Sun-CDEP-FLAC-2011-CATARACT
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ARTIST : Drowning The Light STOREDATE : 02-01-2011
ALBUM : The Land Of The Dead Sun RIPDATE : 02-09-2015
YEAR : 2011 RUNTIME : 17:44 min
GENRE : Black Metal LANGUAGE : English
LABEL : Hammer of Hate Records GRABBER : EAC Secure
SOURCE : CD EP ENCODER : FLAC 1.2.1
QUALITY : 792 kbps Avg 44.1kHz 2 channels SIZE : 105.7MB
URL : http://tinyurl.com/kxdcrc2 TRACKS : 4 Files
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01 Yearning Under The Winter Moon 3:23
02 Our Lands Stained In Blood 5:37
03 The Strigoi Rises... 3:40
04 North & South Unite 5:04
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17:44 min
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│ For a recording called "The Land of the Dead Sun", this EP sounds │
│ remarkably happy for the most part and, in its later tracks, │
│ positively celebratory. Well I won't quibble over the contrast │
│ between actual title and the music: it may well be that in DtL man │
│ Azgorh's world, white becomes black and black is white, good becomes │
│ evil and evil is good, and in realms where life has become extinct │
│ and all has become darkness, those beings that have had to hide from │
│ light for aeons innumerable, it's time to celebrate eternal │
│ darkness. │
│ │
│ As with some other DtL works I've heard, the vocals are far back in │
│ the mix and drenched in reverb, and trying to figure out the lyrics │
│ is a feat best left to those living on a different plane of │
│ existence whose knowledge of the esoteric and the forbidden is far │
│ beyond human comprehension. Best to treat the shrieking wraith │
│ voices as a necessary element that adds malevolent fury to the │
│ music. The general style of music is abrasive all-out attack: │
│ there's hardly pause for breath save for short breaks between tracks │
│ and while the music might slow down, that's only to highlight the │
│ short lead guitar melody breaks. The rhythm section is a robust │
│ grinding beast ably supporting the guitars and vocals, and boasts │
│ some of the most pop-friendly rifferama I've ever heard from a black │
│ metal act on the wrong side of commercialism. │
│ │
│ "Yearning under the Winter Moon" sets the tone for this mini-album: │
│ there's a strong sense of urgency in the melody and accompanying │
│ rhythm, reinforced by a swarm of screechy, shouty voices. The music │
│ is raw punk-ish guitar scrabble and aggressive percussion bash. "Our │
│ Lands Stained in Blood" is a bit more relaxed in parts and │
│ infectious dance grooves are present here and there. The tension │
│ increases with "The Strigoi Rises ...", a punchy track that combines │
│ a complex mix of rhythms, guitar work that follows the rhythms │
│ closely and shrieking vocals at a hurried pace. "North & South │
│ Unite" has a joyful mood, as if the Undead that rose in the last │
│ track are rejoicing at having inherited an eternally dark and │
│ lifeless Earth from its former unworthy rulers. The pace is more │
│ relaxed and the singing less screechy in parts. │
│ │
│ In all songs, the most outstanding elements are the rhythms and the │
│ very busy drumming but the guitar work is not far behind in │
│ delivering an infectiously likeable recording. This is the one │
│ Drowning The Light recording that I'd recommend to people who have │
│ never heard the band's work before or who want to introduce their │
│ friends to it. The music has tremendous controlled energy and all │
│ songs are distinguished by very catchy melodies, riffs and rhythms. │
│ For all its attractive pop tendencies, the EP is still a dark work │
│ with moments of fear and foreboding. There's room for even more │
│ darkness and ambiguity in the EP which would probably make it better │
│ still but most listeners will be happy with the EP as it is. │
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CATARACT: CLOUDING YOUR VISION