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/:: Artist :: Pagan Hellfire ::\
:: Album :: On the Path to Triumph ::
:: Year :: 2024 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Black Metal Source :: CD . ::
:: Label :: Hammer of Damnation R.date :: 2024-10-12 ::
_::__ Cat.nr. :: HOD278 S.date :: 2024-09-20 __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: Encoder :: LAME 3.100 -V0 :\
..: Bitrate :: avg. 279kbps :..
. Quality :: 44.1 kHz/Joint Stereo .
. Size :: 106.28MB .
. .
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
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+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
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/:: ::\
:: 1. Only Death's Call 10:24 ::
:: 2. Of Wind and Storm 5:56 ::
:: 3. The Fire of a New Dawn 5:44 ::
:: 4. Highest Peaks of the North 6:40 ::
:: 5. What Has Always Been 8:19 ::
:: 6. Monuments of Victories Forgotten 7:43 ::
:: 7. An Oath Drawn in Blood 5:57 ::
:: ::
:: ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 50:43 ..
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/:: ::\
:: ::
:: When I think Nova Scotia, I think more seafood than black ::
:: metal. In fact, Pagan Hellfire is the only Nova Scotian black ::
:: metal group I can name off the top of my head, which is a sharp ::
:: contrast to the dozens of Quebecois ones I know. Pagan Hellfire ::
:: does right by their province, churning out a towering slab of ::
:: ripping yet atmospheric black metal. A groggy atmosphere hangs ::
:: over the album like a fog over a pine forest. This is some ::
:: fairly raw stuff, but it suits their slow-burning sound. While ::
:: this may not be the best black metal band you'll here out of ::
:: Canada, it certainly is the best one I've heard out of Nova ::
:: Scotia. ::
:: ::
:: Despite what their name may have you think, Pagan Hellfire are ::
:: not a very immediate band. There are no scorched earth moments ::
:: or thrashy outbreaks. They largely are an all blasts and trem ::
:: band, with the occasional brief breather. Being so one-note is ::
:: a big gamble, but Pagan Hellfire are able to conjure up the ::
:: looming woodsy atmosphere for On the Path to Triumph to not ::
:: devolve into a snoozefest (at least it does for a black metal ::
:: dork like me). If anything this reminds me of something like ::
:: Walknut. The mist-covered forest atmosphere, the long stretches ::
:: of looming tremolo and the intricate cymbal patterns are all ::
:: there. There are also some busier melodic sections and these ::
:: bring Sargeist to mind. If you somehow haven't gathered, On the ::
:: Path to Triumph is a very samey album. They don't really sound ::
:: that similar, but the way melodies slowly unfold over an album ::
:: comprised almost exclusively of double bass drumming (usually ::
:: blasts) and trem riffs, yet still manages to not overstay its ::
:: welcome immediately brings to mind Forteresse. The melodic side ::
:: of their sound is so crucial to this not becoming one big ::
:: uninteresting blur of tremolo-laden distortion. ::
:: ::
:: I almost feel like I like On the Path to Triumph a little more ::
:: than I ought to. Pagan Hellfire are so impossibly single-minded ::
:: that a 50 minute album should drag like hell. However, they get ::
:: the atmosphere right and they really understand how to craft ::
:: subtle but effective melodies. The drummer's cymbal patterns ::
:: also do a lot to add a little spice to an album that so ::
:: staunchly opposes variety. I find it all but impossible to ::
:: distinguish one song from the next, and Path to Triumph really ::
:: is meant to be experienced as one massive piece. ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
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