Ultra

Sometimes, I just don't understand people. Take Sturm, for example. These guys are from Belarus, a Slavic country, yet they believe very strongly in Nazism. Why someone believes in something that will kill them if given the chance, I don't have a clue. I guess it has to do with the idea of being "tr00" or something. Oh well, to each their own, I guess. But all the Aryan shit aside, these guys manage to produce some above average raw, old school black metal in the vein of Darkthrone and Burzum.

The first thing noticed in this album is the raw production, creating a mood of war and darkness, which fits the band's image perfectly. The best way to describe it is Darkthrone's A Blaze in the Northern Sky, but with the vocals more forward in the mix. Too far forward sometimes, but it still works pretty well. This is mainly because the vocalist does a good job with them. They stay pretty even throughout, no "oaghhh" or whatever at the end like some black metal vocalists do. Also, it has a forward sense of progression to the songs for the most part, at least the black metal parts. for the most part, nothing seems to stagnate, even though there are only a few riffs in each song. Very few bands can pull this off, but Sturm does it well.

For the most part, the songs are all fast paced numbers about war, strenght and all the normal things NS black metal bands yammer on about. The drumming won't make any top ten all time lists, but it does follow the music well, without sounding forced. Also the bass, when heard, is played competently, fitting in well with the overall song.

Now for the bad parts, and there are some. The first is there is an intro and outro for almost every track. It was a nice idea, but ultimately fails. Not only do they consist of some simple keyboard parts, but they break up the flow of the album as well. It gets very annoying after a while. Also, the track "The Emperor is Returning by the Will of Fate" tries to slow down the album, with bad results. This track tries to be a epic track, but doesn't live up to it. It bogs down with it's mid-tempo pace, and runs out of steam long before the song is over.

The bonus tracks here are from the demo "Aryan Storm", and are ultimately a waste of time. They consist of simplistic songs, with only a few riffs each. They also do not carry the sense of progression found on the "Ultra" tracks. Also, the drums have a muffled sound, like they are on the other side of the wall from the recording equipment. You can hear them though. At least these songs didn't have the intro/outro for every track.

Overall, while this album is far from a classic, it is worth finding if you enjoy this style of music. But there are only 500 cassette and 500 cd copies, so good luck finding one.