Whispers of Insanity

I noticed, as of writing this, that the Metal Archives has ten known Iranian black metal bands (contrast that: Iran = 65 million people, 10 results for black metal genre on MA / Finland = 5 million people 664 bands for bm genre on MA) one can't help but wonder. With a fact like that, and the obvious reasonings for it (faith heads poison everything), I certainly must say I'm impressed with facets of this release, and support the project as a lesser found element. In being so I did like how this release utilizes two recognizable covers to showcase direct influences, though that also affords them the built in response. And so, on with the music.

The intro bluntly steps in with a menacing crack of thunder, giving path to a melancholic piano melody that sits above some soft rainfall in the mix. While being an evocative piano line, I would have cut it nearer two minutes than to unnecessarily drag it out, as it seems to diminish maximum melodic impact (length - 03:22). Anyhow, straight away when the black metal greets you, we shall find ourselves given a nicely produced, and performed cover of Burzum's Once Emperor. I find here is where we see the most influential inspirator to these two musicians, and where I find myself most opposite to the intent on this release. Certain aesthetics of the texture seem to convey this rather clearly; dynamics of percussion, the repetition, the guitar tone, inferences from mix.

From here I would like to state that minimalism and abstraction in contemporary art is often held in falsely inflated protuberance away from the standard, away from the personified, away from a rendered clarity. I would also add to that, sadly to often, away from skill and dedication, as by reductionist ideation. From this spans two sides to the spectrum, "similia similibus curantur" (though homeopathy is distasteful it is contrasting), and arguments in fervent prolixity seem only charged laps. But, honestly this album is hinged on a recycling of a simplified form, and the musical ideas are repeated ad nauseam. It really seems to have whittled down a contrasting of two chords in dramatic phrasing, which they do well enough, but in the end above mediocre this could never be.

A Torn Fate, with a larghetto tempo, does offer some decent doom emblazoned black metal, but again I'll repeat that a slightly more condensed song structure would have really helped this. Theres real highlights here in the solo which runs through some scales over a thickly minimal synthesizer sound. As well as the middle section, which builds into the solo, where a piano is matched to percussion in minimalist direction, but is also embellished with some odd voices and just comes off as pleasant. Could have been a much greater track, but certainly decent stuff.

Transilvanian Hunger comes off as nicely done, albeit as much less aggressive in presentation than the original. The solos in True Silent Dying really give weight to a slow but strong melodic build up, though overall the song is just a bit too repetitious and underdeveloped. Dawn of the Dark Rain is rather a ridiculously unnecessarily long track. Its literally > seven minutes (last minute is just soft rain) and is two simple clean guitar patterns that, like too much of this album, echo with the null entity of back ground music. Taking the record as a whole, Burzum kiddies might like this, as its really more for the select audience, which should tell you, "this is not for everyone."