Countess
The Shining Swords Of Hate
[Barbarian Wrath]


I know this is a controversial CD, because many people criticized COUNTESS for changing radically its style... But I have to admit it : even if I prefer the first CDs of this band, I can't criticize this one as it's a very courageaous recording, and not a "trendy crappy album" as many said. Of course, gone are the days when these musicians were playing "Hell's Rock'n'roll" and BURZUM/DARKTHRONE-like songs, but they didn't turn into a commercial band, far from it... This is a very uncommercial CD, a pure underground release with "old-fashioned" & poor production, turned into the coldest atmospheres of Black Metal. The band decided to release on this album some of the coldest form of Black Metal it is possible to imagine. And even if I prefer the first recordings (bis repetita..) I must say the result is very interesting and deep, which is not usual with bands that try a "big" change within their style... Do you really know any band with enough balls to release a CD with such slow riffs, such haunting "melodies" with a pure underground sound (one could say it had been recorded very, very deep in the woods...) ? This is an uncompromising release as it differs totally from the previous CDs, these CDs that created the band's fame (they were respected with their last 3 albums, which were basically in the same vein) but it isn't at all a "easy listening" CD or an album released to follow any trend... Because if COUNTESS had really wanted to follow the trend, they would have probably recorded some pagan black metal songs in 3 days, taken photographs in a snowy forest and sent NS-oriented flyers to distros and tape traders. Or they would have used "happy" keyboards and nice melodies... But here, the music remains raw, dark and above all it respects the spirit of Black Metal. That's it. Now, you can still criticize them for changing their musical orientation but not for releasing a "non black metal CD" !

8 / 10


© 2003 lord pesten