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░ ██ ██ Artist: ╓mheten ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: SjΣlv █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2015 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2015-06-28 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Black Metal ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Unexploded Records ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ I expect depressive black metal to take me on a █
█ journey. To blast and bludgeon me into a █
█ trance-like state of intense melancholy. The █
█ feeling of the wave of guitars and repetitive █
█ rhythm washing over me is utterly compelling as a █
█ feeling. ItÆs what Burzum did best on Dunkelheit █
█ and what bands like Make A Changeà Kill Yourself █
█ and Abyssic Hate excel at to varying degrees. █
█ ╓mhetenÆs debut album is explosive and, at times, █
█ mesmerising. From the opening screams of Det som █
█ slΣcker mig we are in a mid-paced unending █
█ soul-crushing hell. The leads on second track █
█ SjΣlv are upliftingly morose and the prominent █
█ bass is more than welcome. █
█ The diversion into strings on StΣng av mig is █
█ effective and otherworldly, and largely brief █
█ before the pummelling continues. This is one of █
█ the faster song on the album and the string █
█ interludes could have been better served █
█ elsewhere, but itÆs a minor flaw in an otherwise █
█ fine song. Where the album starts to loose focus █
█ is when it interjects a dose of groove into █
█ proceedings half way through and it ends up █
█ resembling a poor mans Khold. With grunts and █
█ tremolo picking taking prominence it loses all █
█ sense of the ominous foreboding that had worked so █
█ well in its favour. What also doesnÆt help is the █
█ irritating keyboard two thirds of the way through █
█ final track Evig semester frσn mig sjΣlv, without █
█ this it would have been a pummelling fast paced █
█ end to the album. █
█ With every track duration being six minutes and █
█ six seconds (on the digital version streaming █
█ online) I get the feeling the song writing may be █
█ servicing the track length when it should really █
█ be the opposite. The gurgling, coughing, retching █
█ noises and spoken word samples seem like padding. █
█ However, these minor complaints aside, ╓mheten has █
█ crafted an incredibly crushing album and one that █
█ I would listen to (most of) againà and thatÆs sort █
█ of the point isnÆt it? █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Det Som SlΣcker Mig 6:06 ░
░ 2. SjΣlv 6:06 ░
░ 3. StΣng av Mig 6:06 ░
░ 4. Apati, ─r du Min ─lskling? 6:06 ░
░ 5. SjΣlvmedicineringens Experter 6:06 ░
░ 6. Evig Semester Frσn Mig SjΣlv 6:06 ░
░ 36:36 ░
░ ▒ ▒
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