Nihilistic Dawn

4 tracks by each band with Funeral Howl delivering the usual lo-fi rehearsal of screaming and guitar fizz in the foggy distance and Heimdall’s Horn presented in a manner that is clearer, if not particularly carefully mixed. There isn’t much else to say about the sound – it isn’t great, so it’s onto the music now.

Funeral Howl open with a great mournful song “Winter’s Calling.” This track is exemplary of their approach to composition – flowing and monotone. What made this band great was their excellent riffs and the utter despair their melodies expressed. It doesn’t really deviate from that formula and if you’re into that sort of thing, here are 4 mournful tracks for your listening pleasure.

The Heimdall’s Horn side of the split is more varied, both in production and composition. After a dodgy “wind” intro the music kicks in with voluminous guitars and loud drum kicks spiking threateningly through the zero decibel ceiling. The music is a pleasant surprise because it is so non-standard. It’s definitely Black Metal, but their influences are far from the surface. There is a morose, distant atmosphere about this stuff that is created by the often sparse, strummed guitars and the swaying rhythms the songs are arranged to. Track 7 “Eye (end)” is a dark, overdriven drum/synth piece which creates a feeling of being in a dungeon of audial punishment. Very odd, but well-done. “End of the Nine Worlds” is definitely the highlight – it being a thunderous, angular and ugly composition. The band wraps up with a cover of Absurd’s “Werwolf” which given the style on the rest of the disk is a great conclusion.

Originally published in Procession of Black Doom Zine Issue 1, 2008