Caïna "Setter of Unseen Snares"

    Massive dark clouds of unknown chaos cover the sky and the music of English black metal/punk band Caïna can be heard slowly rising in the distance. A storm is coming, better prepare for the destruction.
    This new release is one of many in the band’s complete discography, and the band’s founding member and primary musical creator, Andrew Curtis-Bringer, has been making music under the name Caïna for about ten years. With, “Setter of the Unseen Snares,” Andrew brings in some help by having three guest vocalists perform on a couple tracks. Also, this album cleverly combines a variety of extreme styles of music. At first you might think this is going to be a straight forward black metal/punk album, but as the album progresses the music becomes more unpredictable. I think Andrew does a great job demonstrating how to add variety to extreme music, and it shows how creative he is as a musician.
    The album begins with an introduction sound clip that sets up the second track, “I am the Flail of the Lord.” Song number two is definitely one of the most aggressive sounding songs on this album. The guitars brutally tear away into black metal riff while the rhythm section gives off a strong hardcore punk vibe. For the song’s vocals, the singer uses a black metal style that is less traditional Norwegian black metal like, but more black metal fused with a hardcore punk edge. Throughout the whole the song I felt the production was quite solid and the recording did the song justice. Too many black metal/punk bands in my opinion try to sound raw and end up sounding like a pack of robots passing gas.
    The third song on this album is the title track and maintains that harsh black metal/punk sound. Although the vocals tend to present the lyrics in a black metal style, I am able to make out what the singer is saying and the vocal presentation really compliments the music. Track four, “Vowbound,” marks in my opinion the part of the album where the music begins to sound more diverse. Andrew really incorporates more punk elements into the music and the instruments create some dark heavy grooving rhythms. “Applicant/Supplicant,” is another song where the music takes on so many different forms. There is a solid d-beat rhythm that sounds similar to music created by Neurosis or Amebix. Still, there is a hint of black metal that adds a vicious side to the song.
    The final song on the album, “Orphan,” really caught me off guard. This track begins with a solemn introduction and turns into slow atmospheric composition. Then the song takes on a post-rock form with a black metal vocal delivery. The musical contrast is brilliantly executed and for a song that I was not really expecting, I would say it is the best song on the entire album.
    If you are a person who enjoys black metal, crust punk, d-beat punk, atmospheric post-rock, or all these styles combined, you should check out this album. Caïna’s, “Setter of Unseen Snares,” is an extreme and powerful sounding release that will challenge your musical expectations from beginning to end.