Crawl Below "Around The Circle, Around The Snake"

    Once you start listening to the new Crawl Below album, “Around The Circle, Around The Snake,” I can almost guarantee that you will become paralyzed with a mixture of hallucinogenic fear and fascination. When I first started listening to the album I felt as though I was walking around a surrealistic horror themed art exhibit, minus the douchey looking art snobs wearing fedoras and drinking shots of wheatgrass. 

    Charlie Sad Eyes, the mastermind behind Crawl Below, has always proven to be a dynamic musician willing to explore different styles of music on each release. From black metal to doom metal to even acoustic punk, Crawl Below’s discography is full of variety. I do believe that this allows Charlie to construct very unique sounding releases. If you liked how the last Crawl Below album sounded, then do not expect the next one to be a carbon copy, because that is just not how Charlie approaches recording music. Even though this new Crawl Below album does take a step in a different direction compared to the previous two albums, I still believe the production and attention to detail is profoundly present, which is why the album hooks you right away. 

    “Around The Circle, Around The Snake,” is a truly atypical sounding album featuring such a plethora of haunting arrangements. The album begins with a ghastly sounding organ composition which reminded me of something from out of a 70's occult themed horror movie. During the first song, “I Sacramentum,” I definitely felt that Charlie was going for a more cinematic approach on this album, but I did not truly comprehend the magnitude of unorthodox sounding creativity until I finished the entire album. Also, I really liked how he incorporated a very Darkthrone-esque style guitar riff to begin the second track, “II Reveltio.” The second song seemed to contain even more gloomy atmospheric noises and doomy spectral vocals as if Charlie was trying to summon some evil force from beyond to come and do his diabolical bidding. 

    The third track on the album, “III Desperatio,” blends together dark synth wave with doom metal elements, as well as some industrial touches to establish an unconventional sounding landscape. Even though the album is not written where you hear a bludgeoning riff followed by another bludgeoning riff, the compositions capture your imagination by bringing together mesmerizing melodies with hypnotic distorted atmospheres. Again, Crawl Below has a history of not writing the same sounding album, but I cannot stress the importance of how Charlie is a true savant when it comes to production. Hell, even if you are not a fan of the album’s direction and unorthodox approach by coming off as a disturbing cinematic film score, the overall attention to detail when pertaining to the recording quality is extremely impressive. 

    Conceptually, musically and creatively, “Around The Circle, Around The Snake,” checks all the boxes if you are looking for a new album that does not sound like what everyone else is doing at the moment within the metal/rock community. Crawl Below continues to be one of Charlie’s most striking musical projects which is saying something since he is involved in a variety of solid bands (Low Moments being another favorite of mine). Now, do I see a thrash metal elitist who wears a Municipal Waste shirt and smells like a brewery taking a liking to this album? Probably not, but then again the spellbinding atmospheric arrangements and sinister yet comforting doom like touches are very persuasive, just like how that Count Dracula was with all the ladies. 

Check out the track, "II Revolatio" below: 

Crawl Below Bandcamp:

https://crawlbelow.bandcamp.com/album/around-the-circle-around-the-snake

Snow Wolf Records “This Wretched Earth” (Global Black Metal Compilation Album)

    The world shall soon face the sinister wrath of a colossal black metal storm conjured up by Snow Wolf Records. “This Wretched Earth,” is a compilation album that brings together 16 bands from 14 countries, thus creating one great black metal heathen army to unleash chaos upon the global metal community. 

    I really like what Snow Wolf Records has done as of recent, and the bands they have included on this compilation are extremely talented up and coming acts. Some of the tracks provided by the bands are exclusive tracks and are not available anywhere else. From top to bottom, the album features some raw ritualistic sounding black metal, yet features bands that are able to step outside the generic extreme metal trends and offer up unique sounding recordings. 

    Even though we come from different countries, the passion for extreme music is a truly unifying force and one that has allowed people to share some unbelievably creative recordings. The album’s first track, “Black Metal Invasion,” by the Canadian band Spectral Dance, was the perfect choice to start off the compilation. The song has that primitive old school raw black metal vibe and reminded me of early Bathory. You hear a band ready to take on the world without any remorse and they have an amazing amount of venomous energy. 

    Throughout the album you will hear a variety of approaches ranging from straightforward raw black metal to haunting atmospheric black. Take for example, “Akvan,” a band that really caught my attention by constructing a track that contained a profound atmosphere and featured some mesmerizing guitar work. When it comes to production I felt that for the most part the bands on this compilation did a tremendous job recording and getting the music to have that certain quality needed to keep listeners engaged. Some of the bands are of course a bit more skilled than others, but the passion is definitely there from a majority of the bands. Gestorven from Malaysia was one act which I felt hammered out a killer sounding riff and capture the pure dark essence of black metal. 

    Some of the names on this compilation sounded familiar and sure enough one of the bands I reviewed before for this blog. Starer, a band that I reviewed back in January of this year, is an extremely impressive band worth checking out. The band’s solemn atmospheric black metal style is truly breath taking at times and features some brilliant dynamic arrangements. Another band that I felt composed a really impressive sounding track was Odyrmos from Greece. The song mixed together ambient dungeon synth with soothing atmospheric touches that reminded me a lot of Lustre. 

    So many of the bands featured on this compilation offered up some epic, blistering and blasphemous sounding tracks, and in the end all of them are worth checking out. Huge respect for Snow Wolf Records for putting this compilation together, and for bring together the global extreme metal community. We may come from different places, but all across the planet there are fiendish extreme metal fans and artists who share the same passion for this music and no matter what is going on in the world, we are united as one global extreme metal community! 

Snow Wolf Records Bandcamp (Compilation comes out August 6th on Cassette, CD, and Digital Download. Pre-Order now available!) : 

https://snowwolfrecords.bandcamp.com/album/this-wretched-earth

Minas Anor "Helm’s Deep"

    The writings of J. R. R. Tolkien have been used as the inspiration for numerous recordings. Black metal bands and dungeon synth bands have literally taken the stories of Middle-Earth and created some epic albums. Minas Anor is a dungeon synth act from Ukraine that may not use words to narrate the world of Tolkien, but instead allows listeners to create their own mental imagery based off of the sounds from the band’s 2010 release, “Helm’s Deep.” 

    I have a very selective ear for dungeon synth music. There are bands who I think provide listeners with dynamic and fascinating landscapes of atmospheric brilliance. However, there are some dungeon synth bands that don’t put that much thought into their recordings and the music sounds like cheap video game music that offers no strong emotional appeal. So, where does Minas Anor’s, “Helms Deep,” fall in the world of dungeon synth? 

    Honestly, I am going say right away that this could be my favorite dungeon synth recording of all time. The compositions are cinematic and the music tells a compelling story without words. I find myself closing my eyes and following along to the sounds from the synths and the pounding of the drums. There are moments where you could imagine yourself standing upon the walls of Helm’s Deep as the rain begins to fall and the Uruk-hai army is approaching. 

    The opening piece, “Approaching,” perfectly sets up the album with a synth arrangement and the pounding of epic sounding war like drums. Compared to other dungeon synth projects I have heard, the recording of the instruments does not sound to cheaply done. Following the first piece is, “Storm,” where the sounds of rain create a soothing effect. Midway through the album, “Sunrise,” changes the music’s emotional tone for a short period of time until it reaches the last part, “Departure.” Throughout the entire release you find yourself locked-in as the synth dictates the direction of the album's overall sound. As I said before Minas Anor isn’t just another stereotypical dungeon synth ambient band, because there is just such attention to detail with each sound and how the music progresses until the final note fades away. 

    Minas Anor released, “Helm’s Deep,” in 2010 and I have not heard much about the band since its release. I really hope that this album is not the only recording we get from Minas Anor, but if it is I think the release definitely stands out within the world of dungeon synth and ambient music. For people who enjoy this type of music, I think you will be instantly hooked by Minas Anor’s music.



Listen to the full album below and if you can find a copy... buy it and support the artist!

Eldamar "The Force of the Ancient Land"

    Sometimes music can have such a powerful connection to where it unlocks the door to the listener’s inner imagination. There are very few albums that I have felt deeply awaken by, however, Eldamar’s, “The Force of the Ancient Land,” is a true atmospheric and ambient black metal gem.  

    Released earlier this year, Eldamar’s first full-length release is filled with captivating musical landscapes that contain massive sounding atmospheres and mesmerizing moments of ambience. Each song is composed with great attention to detail and the tracks flow as if guided by some spiritual force. I was quite surprised to find out that only one person was behind the creation of this music. The music is so majestic that you would think that multiple people were involved. 

    Overall, Eldamar presents an almost cinematic sounding release that I personally felt gave me the opportunity to create my own mental pictures to fit the music’s emotional tone. Listeners will notice that the music goes through constant tempo changes and that there are climatic moments of atmospheric grandeur. The opening song, “Spirit of the North,” is a long dynamic piece full of endless sounding wonder. There is a soothing keyboard board intro that is met by a distorted guitar riff and haunting black metal growl. Eventually the music turns towards this triumph chorus like section that coexists with the harsh growls. The balance of melodic moments and grim ambience creates a striking contrast, which only propels the music into more epic and powerful sounding atmospheres. The following track, “Winter Night,” really utilizes the keyboard’s ability to establish a solid backbone for the song. From there the black metal vocals and guitar parts seep into the music like snow falling through the trees of a forest. 

    Track number three, “Travel in Woods,” is very pleasant sounding and a brief departure from the longer songs that contain those distorted guitar riffs and echoes of growling agony. “From Life to Spirit,” once again returns to the powerful contrast of what was heard on the first two songs. I do notice the band has some similarities to groups such as Summoning and Lustre, especially in the keyboard arrangements and composition approach. Unlike Summoning though Eldamar does not use lyrics to narrate the album's themes and compared to Lustre I found Eldamar’s use of the female vocal parts to inject more triumphant emotion into the music. Still, I do hear the similarities between Eldamar and other atmospheric/ambient black metal bands, but there are without question distinct areas where this band is going in a slightly different direction. 

    The second half of the album maintains much of what the first half had to offer, but there are moments of noticeable difference in certain parts. “Valkyrjur Ancient One,” contains the sounds of wind blowing with a solemn ambient synth tone in the background. Right after track number six, “The Border of Eldamar,” commences with some vibrant sounding chords to usher in one of the album’s most enjoyable tracks. I found the cinematic vibe to be most strong on this song and the xylophone like synth and keyboard riffs are a main driving force. As the wordless female vocals soar over the guitars and keyboards, the black metal growl cries out as if wishing to drown out the more melodic sounds. At the end of the song, there is an epic build up of the contrasting elements that heightens the song’s overall tone. Track seven, “Galaðwen The Eldar,” is a very relaxing piece while the final song on the album, “New Beginning,” is yet another return to the same musical structures that were used before. I personally felt like, “The Border of Eldamar,” could have been the final song on the album since that track was extremely impactful, but, “New Beginning,” was still a decent final song. 

    Some listeners might consider Eldamar’s, “The Force of the Ancient Land,” to be repetitious, but I felt that when listening to each song there was always something that kept me engaged. For example, the changing of tempos and emotional tones along with contrasting sounds made listening to the album exciting until the very end. I do believe those who appreciate atmospheric and ambient black metal will instantly be hooked by Eldamar’s music. This is already an album I believe could be my album of the year since the release has so much replay value. Seriously, check it out now! 

Eldamar "Spirit of the North" : 

Eldamar Facebook Page: 

https://www.facebook.com/eldamarnorway/