Darkthrone managed to conjure something far more stimulating to the imagination when they were inspired by horror and science-fiction movie soundtracks to create vast journeys of cosmic Death Metal. Windham Hell’s first album also follows from the deeper recesses of popular culture and cinema, fucking with the senses and expectations of the Metal listener through this Lynchian maze of psychological horror and ominous mortality. The first thing that’s evident about the musicians at work here, particularly the late Eric Freisen on guitars, is the uncustomary level of formal training demonstrated in these pieces, which bear close stylistic resemblance to the famous concertos of Antonio Vivaldi. The riffs that make up the bulk of actual Metal songs on this erratic album are nothing spectacular or unconventional but formed with the lead guitar in mind, acting much like the movie samples and vomitory vocals do to provide a kind of ambient feeling of suspended horror and panic that the leads then magnify through their virtuoso performances, building on the looming fear with sporadic outbursts of mental excitation. The rest of the album is a feast for those who would enjoy the subversion of popular culture through a post-modernist cutting and pasting of morbidly curious voices bridged with Classical flourishes, although may lose the attention of others. There is enough tastefully executed technique on show to keep this as engaging as possible, and a far superior album to the following ‘Window of Souls’.
Filed under: Death Metal Music Reviews — Tags: Baroque, Classical, David Lynch, Death Metal, Horror — ObscuraHessian @ January 24, 2010 23:25 — Comments (11)
The synopsis of this band is entirely on the ball, but the suggestion that their second release is somehow surpassed by the debut is a complete mistake.
The production here is representative of what’s going on, but amateurish in the lack of “umph” it provides. The command over the electric drums is also merely adequate, and there’s little sense of epic composition to found, save for the acoustic breakdown near the end of Exsiccation.
Plenty of moments posture as such – e.g. Friesen’s how-to demo on imitating Malmsteen with “I Remember Drooling,” and Windham’s noodling to cap off “Wrapped in Plastique” – but they’re catchy at best and thin in reality.
“The Rain,” “Corporal Compendia” and the dark – yet tasteful pantomimist – command demonstrated throughout “Crepusculum” have convinced me that WH reached its peak with this album. The touch-ups in production and execution are well worth noting as well.
It’s a good review, but lets not go nuts with the context, as the album itself is merely good in the context of this band’s catalog, or at least what they were capable of early on.
*It’s also worth noting that Friesen recorded an additional instrumental track for the second release, but the guy behind Moribund felt it sounded too uplifting so he left it off the final press. It’d be great if that effort ever sees the light day.
Comment by GermCell — February 8, 2010 @ 06:54
The context is fair enough unless you think I’m comparing this to Darkthrone! It’s the pastiche of Metal, movie samples and neoclassicism that makes me regard ‘South Facing Epitaph’ as their most important work; I barely think of this as a Death or whatever Metal album.
Eric Friesen’s playing didn’t give the impression that he was a musician who really belonged in the Metal underground (that side of things seemed to rest entirely on Windham, with his vocal and drumming style) and so all he could really do was embellish the atmospheres that reflect the thematic and cinematic source material throughout the album.
On that note, it’s what leads me to regard ‘Window of Souls’ as being quite hollow due to the fairly more straightforward ‘Metal-ness’. It sounds like a Malmsteen trying to write Speed or Death Metal riffs to go along with his leads, making for a very awkward listen. I thought ‘Reflective Depths Imbibe’ had a little more going for it, but lacked cohension in much the same manner.
Comment by ObscuraHessian — February 9, 2010 @ 02:42
Leland Windham never recorded percussion – in fact I believe he was responsible for virtually every riff the band ever recorded, which isn’t all that important anyway (one of many oddities for this band). And his demos of several tracks that later appeared on the second and third releases are linked below; note the professional slump due to Friesen’s absence, which can’t just be chalked up to poor production:
http://www.mediafire.com/?z32jzrzzzj4
I think Leland had a firm grasp of the dark otherness WH was meant to be, while Friesen had the talent to make it happen and then some. In my mind this dynamic came to fruition on the second album, and aside from “Excarnation” along with a few inconsequential moments later in the album I’m not sure how their second release ever sounds straightforwardly metal (samey or derivative) in any way.
In fact I would say the second release retains just as much of an outsider identity as the first, except it’s executed much cleaner and with less reliance on Lynch baggage/sampling. Even in a vacuum I’d say the music is generally much, much more compelling than anything this group released before or after.
All their releases are of high quality, but “Window of Souls” is the pinnacle, only without that CBS/Malmsteen crutch of the first. The end result stands up just fine on its own.
Portions of the interview below elucidate what I’m talking about:
http://www.maelstrom.nu/ezine/interview_iss2_47.php
Comment by GermCell — February 10, 2010 @ 11:33
Hilarious! Can’t stop chuckling to that bit about arpeggio sweeps and the first time you find your dick.
Comment by Devamitra — February 10, 2010 @ 12:33
You mean the solos Friesen was asked to do, and the ones he’s later chastised – that is if you actually read the interview.
Windham Hell was a great band, but to mistake their great music for what has been said here is a definite mistake.
As was said before: it’s not hard to play what was done once you get it, and so the placement is all that matters anyway. That’s sort of the point here.
Comment by GermCell — February 10, 2010 @ 12:55
You’re right about Windham’s contributions. What I don’t like is how the riffs that defined the most Metal songs on ‘South Facing Epitaph’ (God Swallow and Paste Human) make up the bulk of the material that spans ‘Window of Souls’ in highly similar, if extended arrangements. It re-affirms (as does the demo) the idea that there’s not a whole lot of creativity in the department of crafting Metal riffs/songs per se, but just in giving that ‘suspended horror’ dimension to the lead work, which can begin to feel clinically one-dimensional. There are some real moments of genius and beauty on this album, like ‘Ionic Abyss’ and ‘Darkness Deluge’, but for the experience of it, I return to ‘South Facing Epitaph’ which maybe a little weird because I’m not usually suspectible to pop-culture!
Comment by ObscuraHessian — February 10, 2010 @ 12:56
I’ve never gone overly analytical on Windham Hell as the music has done nothing to invite it, but often with fusionesque music like this (and Benighted Leams, and Darkspace, etc) where arrangements are random and the songs are pretty much interchangeable the album you heard first will stick with you. Thus I have stated in my old “Window of Souls” review many things ObscuraHessian has attributed to “South Facing Epitaph”, while for now I’ll stay out of the argument for the better album because it’s been a while since I listened to any of them in entirety: http://www.anus.com/metal/about/larm/0100/0199.html
Comment by Devamitra — February 10, 2010 @ 13:11
I think we’re on a different page here, because I’ve always felt their second effort was a departure from pop culture (the Lynch material”) which was waning when it came out anyway, and the most important tracks were apparently written before that ABC material hit the front page.
But to be more clear – the degree to which the duo honed their sound and strayed from a reliance on a tabloid phenom like Twin Picks with the debut WHILE maintaining that dark sound of a compelling base rhythm – sturdy enough on its on – only to be shattered by leads unheard of beyond cock-rock strikes me as the foundation of an album that’s quintessential to a criminally underlooked band.
Each release is great, but this is by far the greatest imo. There just aren’t any drawbacks I can find.
Comment by GermCell — February 10, 2010 @ 13:19
Yes, it was implied that ‘Window…’ was a departure from much of the ‘Twin Peaks’ influence. This is what tied the eclectic weirdness of the first album together into a layered experience, where the second album’s more of a stream-of-consciousness journey, only held back by the criticisms I mention above.
A great and unfortunately obscure band, at least that much is agreed!
Comment by ObscuraHessian — February 10, 2010 @ 16:47
Definitely. I’m also not sure why I wrote such a hostile comment in post #5. Hope that didn’t spoil the discussion – probably the second or third that has ever taken place on Windham Hell! But Friesen’s comments about naming the solos are pretty hilarious imo, and I think that’s where I was coming from in that case.
I’d also like to add that the use of vocals as something of a sample-type instrument (akin to the bass in parts of Miasma’s “Changes”?) was also a significant development, especially when the technique vied with the rhythm guitar across the tonefloor.
Finally, a housemate of mine was actually in correspondence with Eric Friesen just days before his death. I keep forgetting to ask, but when I do I’ll pass on any relevant information that came about from those emails.
Much too little is known/appreciated about this band, and word has it that Leland has given up music for a life of mountaineering and carpentry, which is basically what he was up to while the band was kicking around. Oh well.
Comment by GermCell — February 11, 2010 @ 17:02
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