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░ ██ ██ Artist: Oskoreien ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Oskoreien █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2013 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2015-11-13 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Black Metal ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Pest Productions ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Reissue ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ This self-titled debut album by Oskoreien is an █
█ intriguing addition to the world of █
█ nature-oriented Cascadian black metal, all the █
█ more so because Oskoreien is a solo project of a █
█ young musician, Jim Valena, who was 21 years of █
█ age when he recorded this. Although the overall █
█ sound is blunted and reduces the full force of the █
█ music, the style is an aggressive and raw-sounding █
█ battering-ram of churning distorted rhythm guitar, █
█ thudding percussion and vicious BM vocals; I only █
█ wish the whole thing had been recorded with a █
█ clearer production because I suspect it would have █
█ been a lot sharper and more 3-D in shape. But as █
█ it is, it's heroic stuff to listen to and even █
█ quite epic in parts, and there is plenty of █
█ atmosphere to thrill to. █
█ Opener "Illusions Perish" does just that, sweeping █
█ away any idealistic notions that the materialist █
█ life we currently enjoy and all the pretensions █
█ and delusions about our place in the world that go █
█ with it are temporary and will disapper, leaving █
█ us void of substance and purpose. The mood is dark █
█ and melancholy yet sure of itself. There is █
█ something desperate and tragic in a Romantic way █
█ here: the song feels very like one from a prophet █
█ come from the wild forests crying out a message of █
█ apocalypse to humanity, only to be jeered and █
█ insulted, and then persecuted, imprisoned and █
█ executed for daring to question our way of life █
█ and our unthinking race into self-destruction. █
█ "Entropic Collapse" is an astoundingly meaty track █
█ with a slow, pounding beat and a massive raw █
█ sound. A chorus of male singers is the unexpected █
█ stand-out element of this track which also █
█ features some death-metal drumbeats in parts and a █
█ searing lead guitar solo. As the track progresses, █
█ it becomes very post-rock melodic and rather █
█ repetitive. █
█ It does get better though ... "River of Eternity" █
█ is an introspective dark forest folk-guitar █
█ instrumental with near-flamenco touches. The theme █
█ is interesting: it might be based on German writer █
█ Hermann Hesse's novel "Siddhartha", about a man █
█ who seeks enlightenment and becomes an ascetic, █
█ only to decide enlightenment is to be found by █
█ plunging into a world of hedonistic materialism █
█ and immediate sensual gratification; tiring of █
█ this empty life, he rediscovers his purpose and █
█ turns back to a spiritual path, only a different █
█ one from what he started out with originally. █
█ "Transcendence" follows with a gentle meditative █
█ intro that turns abruptly into all-out epic █
█ post-rock / BM melodic juggernaut battery with █
█ thunderous rolling drums, occasional acoustic mood █
█ guitar and more savage reverb-touched vocals █
█ backed by a heroic-singing choir. Outro track █
█ "Ashen Remains" is an all-acoustic funereal dirge █
█ played on piano with strong reverb; the melancholy █
█ atmosphere here is strongly reminiscent of old █
█ Godspeed You Black Emperor and its offshot The █
█ Silver Mt Zion Orchestra. █
█ The album isn't greatly different from much other █
█ Cascadian black metal I've heard; Wolves in the █
█ Throne Room are an obvious point of comparison and █
█ they have used some music that veers close to a █
█ desert-Western sound. Other Cascadian BM bands █
█ like Fauna and Echtra use more ambient and even █
█ some synthesiser-based effects and it wouldn't █
█ hurt Oskereien to use some synthesiser sounds or █
█ even some orchestral touches like the odd cello or █
█ harp. █
█ With this album, with all its flaws, Jim Valena █
█ has emphatically called attention to his project █
█ as a potential major player in Cascadian black █
█ metal and beyond. He will need an original angle █
█ though on his themes of the coming environmental █
█ apocalypse and humanity's need to overcome its █
█ materialism if the music is to stay fresh and █
█ vigorous. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Illusions Perish 11:07 ░
░ 2. Entropic Collapse 9:33 ░
░ 3. River of Eternity 5:45 ░
░ 4. Transcendence 13:15 ░
░ 5. Ashen Remains 6:01 ░
░ 45:41 ░
░ ▒ ▒
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