Pick of the month:
MIDNIGHT IDOLS - "Nightrulers"
There's just something about Scandinavian black metal that sets it apart from the rest of the genre. While most mainstream bands of the genre (CRADLE OF FILTH, even fellow Norwegians DIMMU BORGIR) just bore the shit out of me, a lot of their more underground contemporaries continue to make exciting music. Whether it's the old stuff like BATHORY or later releases from the likes of MAYHEM, DARK FUNERAL and IMMORTAL, the Scandinavian sound is just so relentlessly…..well, metal! I just can't help digging the hell out of it, or in some cases (even with some of the lesser releases) at least be intrigued by it. This third album by 1349 is definitely one of the better releases. But then all you ‘true' black metal fans already know that of course. The fact that Frost from SATYRICON is behind the drum kit doesn't hurt either.
Anyway, no surprises here. This is exactly the kind of sound you'd expect from a Scandinavian black metal band; ultra-fast rhythms with downright insane double-bass beats, shrieking vocals, those weird almost melodic riffs and (for the careful listener) amazing song structures. The main reason you should at least check this record out is the epic title track which closes it. Not only because it clocks in at exactly 13:49 (how cool is that!), but also because this is one of the best tracks in this genre I've ever heard since BATHORY's "In Conspiracy With Satan" and DARK FUNERAL's "Open The Gates".
I hope some of you ‘real' BM folks won't have a problem with the production, which doesn't sound like it's recorded in a basement on an old tape recorder (a sure sign of ‘selling out' according to some purists). Not to mention the fact that the press info mentions a (shock!!) promo-video and (horror!!) an extensive media campaign! Anyway, I'm not a purist in any way. I just know what I like and as far as I can tell this is Scandinavian black metal the way it should be made. Or at least the way (uh-huh uh-huh) I like it.
OFFICIAL SITE: myspace.com/1349official
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