Arckanum
Kampen
[Necropolis]
2CD, 73:20, 11 tracks
Arckanum's third album, and by now you know the drill. Shamaatae has said during the "Kostogher" days that it would be a four album cycle so one more album in this style could be in the making. Anyway, after "Fran Marder" and "Kostogher" expectations were high, very very high. Musically, not much new is offered here in terms of general atmosphere, but this is still well written quality Black Metal with great riffs and a very distinct sound, something that is very rare these days. Some things have changed though. Shamaatae's snarled vocals sound not nearly as powerful as on the previous recordings, he has dumped that typical 'resounding through the woods' echo effect, and the guitar sound is a bit more open; it's not the old 'wall of sound'. Occasionally some old-school thrash riffs pop up (like in "Trulfylket, Raþz Ok Os" and "Sangin Kaos") and the folky melodies are a bit more prominent (like in "Nær Ok Fiær Sang Ok Sorg"), but generally they fit rather well in the whole work. The changes are not much, but overall it lacks a bit of the magic that transformed "Fran Marder" and "Kostogher" into something special. I can't really pinpoint it, "Kampen" is one of those albums that has all the necessary ingredients but doesn't have the final spark. So, still recommended but only if you already have "Fran Marder" and "Kostogher".
Why the hell this album was released as a double CD, I don't know. The promo was on a single 73:20 disc, and having to change discs really screws up the flow of the album. Also, the mastering engineer fucked up the track indices, the 11 songs have ended up in four tracks. Anyway, the packaging deserves some praise: a thick booklet with all the lyrics, photos of woods and Mr Shamaatae in his cloak and axe - clearly he has really put some work in this. For those unable to read the calligraphy font in which everything is written, here's the tracklist:
CD 1:
tr 1: Kamps Tekn
Frana
Tronan Yvir Þusand Landskaps Mark
Pa Gruvstiigher Vandrum
tr 2: Minir Natz Fughlir
Trulfylket, Raþz Ok Os
Þe Hæmpndlystnir Fran Dimban
CD 2:
tr 1: Nær Ok Fiær Sang Ok Sorg
Skipu Vidit Dunkel
Þær Vindanir Dvælies
tr 2: Sangin Kaos
© 2000 sybren
Arckanum's third album, and by now you know the drill. Shamaatae has said during the "Kostogher" days that it would be a four album cycle so one more album in this style could be in the making. Anyway, after "Fran Marder" and "Kostogher" expectations were high, very very high. Musically, not much new is offered here in terms of general atmosphere, but this is still well written quality Black Metal with great riffs and a very distinct sound, something that is very rare these days. Some things have changed though. Shamaatae's snarled vocals sound not nearly as powerful as on the previous recordings, he has dumped that typical 'resounding through the woods' echo effect, and the guitar sound is a bit more open; it's not the old 'wall of sound'. Occasionally some old-school thrash riffs pop up (like in "Trulfylket, Raþz Ok Os" and "Sangin Kaos") and the folky melodies are a bit more prominent (like in "Nær Ok Fiær Sang Ok Sorg"), but generally they fit rather well in the whole work. The changes are not much, but overall it lacks a bit of the magic that transformed "Fran Marder" and "Kostogher" into something special. I can't really pinpoint it, "Kampen" is one of those albums that has all the necessary ingredients but doesn't have the final spark. So, still recommended but only if you already have "Fran Marder" and "Kostogher".
Why the hell this album was released as a double CD, I don't know. The promo was on a single 73:20 disc, and having to change discs really screws up the flow of the album. Also, the mastering engineer fucked up the track indices, the 11 songs have ended up in four tracks. Anyway, the packaging deserves some praise: a thick booklet with all the lyrics, photos of woods and Mr Shamaatae in his cloak and axe - clearly he has really put some work in this. For those unable to read the calligraphy font in which everything is written, here's the tracklist:
CD 1:
tr 1: Kamps Tekn
Frana
Tronan Yvir Þusand Landskaps Mark
Pa Gruvstiigher Vandrum
tr 2: Minir Natz Fughlir
Trulfylket, Raþz Ok Os
Þe Hæmpndlystnir Fran Dimban
CD 2:
tr 1: Nær Ok Fiær Sang Ok Sorg
Skipu Vidit Dunkel
Þær Vindanir Dvælies
tr 2: Sangin Kaos
© 2000 sybren