Wind of the Black Mountains
Sing Thou Unholy Servants
[Moribund]
This is, without a doubt, the best Black Metal CD to ever come out of America. It’s not perfect, but it certainly IS highly original and good. There is a lot to cover while reviewing this CD, and it is my duty to give you guys, as my readers, the clearest picture possible (I’m also gonna try to be more objective and less enthusiastic than the other people who reviewed this CD… just for the sake of getting the facts down…), so without further ado, let’s break it down…
Guitars – The guitars on this album are quite evil sounding and the riffs are usually pretty good, and although highly technical riffs are never played and the solos are laughable the guitars are still pretty impressive of the time. By far the most impressive aspect of the guitars on this disc is during the acoustic parts though, where they have an exceptionally clear and deep sound and create a very dark and beautiful atmosphere, very nice… Very good 9/10
Vox – The vocals, while good, are literally COVERED in voice-changing effects and distortion, and although I usually hate it when Black Metal artists do odd things to their vocals, it is actually a nice addition on this CD as the lead vox are done rather nicely and sound somewhat unique… even though the reverb is cranked up as far as it can go and the distortion is set at 200%. By far the biggest annoyance on his otherwise excellent CD is the female vocals, which absolutely suck… the ‘singers’ voice is annoying and is completely out of tune and sync with the music… remember what I said about bands using their girlfriends in the recording instead of hiring REAL singers, well this is a PERFECT example… Lead vox… Good – 8/10 - Female vox… Horrible– 0/10
Drums – The drum playing on this disc is definitely nothing to write home about, so to speak, as the beats are pretty basic and sound like they take little skill to play or compose, at the very least. The production, on the other hand, is very good… I’ve never heard a better sounding snare-drum in my life! The drum playing here is just a little bit worse than the drums on an average Black Metal CD usually are, while the production of the drums is quite a bit better than most other Black Metal discs I’ve heard in a long while (and I’ve heard plenty…)… Just-Slightly-Above-Average – 6.9/10
Synth/Atmosphere – This is another area where this album really stands head-and-shoulders above the rest of the Black Metal crowd… Synths are rarely used but through clever use of samples (sounds of wind, rain, the sea/seagulls, and an abundance of other cool sounds) this CD has managed to create a very, very cool and tactile atmosphere. Most bands sound like complete shit when they use stuff like that, but this disc is unique…It’s what this CD is all about, and it’s finest distinction… Perfect – 10/10
Bass – This is one of the (extremely) rare CDs where the Bass guitar is more prominent than the average electric guitar (think Transilvanian Hunger…). It was certainly done in good taste, as it makes the atmospheric parts seem MUCH darker somehow and compliments the drums well… Excellent – 9.5/10
Production – Extremely good production, everything is clear and deep (and ‘evil’), with just one major catch… the (electric) guitars are very quiet, though I think that it was done like that on purpose as the music isn’t really guitar based. Just about everything else (especially the drums) was produced excellently. My compliments to the CD’s producer… Great – 9/10
Packaging – Hmmm… The front and back covers are very nice looking with some nice pictures and a great layout, but as soon as you open the CD you will quickly realize the fact that Tchort is a die-hard narcissist… pictures of him are everywhere, various photos of him trying to look cool are scattered all over the booklet of the CD and even on the disc itself! Wait, it gets worse… on one of the inner flaps of the booklet there’s a picture of him fucking his girlfriend over a drum-set, I think that it’s impossible to get any more ridiculous than that… Sub-Par – 5/10
Well I think that I’ve just covered everything that there is to say about this CD. If you think that the music on this disc will correspond with your personal taste, then by all means, buy this disc as soon as possible…
Pros: Clever use of samples, fitting riffs, good original-sounding vox, great bass, nice production
Cons: Simple drumming, horrible female vocals, pointless pictures of Tchort scattered all over the place
Style of music: Highly original and thought provoking Black Metal… the focus of the production is usually on the vocals and the bass and with some nice samples and some beautiful acoustic/ambient tracks thrown into the mix as well. Musically I think that the greater part of this disc could be considered (just for the sake of comparison) as a mix between the earlier Emperor stuff and the newer Immortal stuff, with a VERY large bit of originality thrown into the mix as well.
Will likely appeal to: I think just about everyone (who can also tolerate the female vocals, that is)
Overall: Excellent – 9.5/10
© 2000 sauron anarazel
Guitars – The guitars on this album are quite evil sounding and the riffs are usually pretty good, and although highly technical riffs are never played and the solos are laughable the guitars are still pretty impressive of the time. By far the most impressive aspect of the guitars on this disc is during the acoustic parts though, where they have an exceptionally clear and deep sound and create a very dark and beautiful atmosphere, very nice… Very good 9/10
Vox – The vocals, while good, are literally COVERED in voice-changing effects and distortion, and although I usually hate it when Black Metal artists do odd things to their vocals, it is actually a nice addition on this CD as the lead vox are done rather nicely and sound somewhat unique… even though the reverb is cranked up as far as it can go and the distortion is set at 200%. By far the biggest annoyance on his otherwise excellent CD is the female vocals, which absolutely suck… the ‘singers’ voice is annoying and is completely out of tune and sync with the music… remember what I said about bands using their girlfriends in the recording instead of hiring REAL singers, well this is a PERFECT example… Lead vox… Good – 8/10 - Female vox… Horrible– 0/10
Drums – The drum playing on this disc is definitely nothing to write home about, so to speak, as the beats are pretty basic and sound like they take little skill to play or compose, at the very least. The production, on the other hand, is very good… I’ve never heard a better sounding snare-drum in my life! The drum playing here is just a little bit worse than the drums on an average Black Metal CD usually are, while the production of the drums is quite a bit better than most other Black Metal discs I’ve heard in a long while (and I’ve heard plenty…)… Just-Slightly-Above-Average – 6.9/10
Synth/Atmosphere – This is another area where this album really stands head-and-shoulders above the rest of the Black Metal crowd… Synths are rarely used but through clever use of samples (sounds of wind, rain, the sea/seagulls, and an abundance of other cool sounds) this CD has managed to create a very, very cool and tactile atmosphere. Most bands sound like complete shit when they use stuff like that, but this disc is unique…It’s what this CD is all about, and it’s finest distinction… Perfect – 10/10
Bass – This is one of the (extremely) rare CDs where the Bass guitar is more prominent than the average electric guitar (think Transilvanian Hunger…). It was certainly done in good taste, as it makes the atmospheric parts seem MUCH darker somehow and compliments the drums well… Excellent – 9.5/10
Production – Extremely good production, everything is clear and deep (and ‘evil’), with just one major catch… the (electric) guitars are very quiet, though I think that it was done like that on purpose as the music isn’t really guitar based. Just about everything else (especially the drums) was produced excellently. My compliments to the CD’s producer… Great – 9/10
Packaging – Hmmm… The front and back covers are very nice looking with some nice pictures and a great layout, but as soon as you open the CD you will quickly realize the fact that Tchort is a die-hard narcissist… pictures of him are everywhere, various photos of him trying to look cool are scattered all over the booklet of the CD and even on the disc itself! Wait, it gets worse… on one of the inner flaps of the booklet there’s a picture of him fucking his girlfriend over a drum-set, I think that it’s impossible to get any more ridiculous than that… Sub-Par – 5/10
Well I think that I’ve just covered everything that there is to say about this CD. If you think that the music on this disc will correspond with your personal taste, then by all means, buy this disc as soon as possible…
Pros: Clever use of samples, fitting riffs, good original-sounding vox, great bass, nice production
Cons: Simple drumming, horrible female vocals, pointless pictures of Tchort scattered all over the place
Style of music: Highly original and thought provoking Black Metal… the focus of the production is usually on the vocals and the bass and with some nice samples and some beautiful acoustic/ambient tracks thrown into the mix as well. Musically I think that the greater part of this disc could be considered (just for the sake of comparison) as a mix between the earlier Emperor stuff and the newer Immortal stuff, with a VERY large bit of originality thrown into the mix as well.
Will likely appeal to: I think just about everyone (who can also tolerate the female vocals, that is)
Overall: Excellent – 9.5/10
© 2000 sauron anarazel