Kalk & aske

I'm absolutely in love with this demo, though I'll be damned if I could tell you why; usually my interesting in depressive black metal lingers more on the fast, Nyktalgia side of the equation- the slow, plodding stuff rarely does much for me, and Knokkelklang resides squarely in that category. There's a very indefinable quality about this release which puts it head and shoulders above just about any of the more popular bands in this style. It's not merely that it's genuine; I may be a bit generous, but I figure most people making depressive black metal are fairly genuine. It's the combination of the earnestness with the hideously bleak, somehow intriguingly paced and arranged music. It's simple, no doubt about it: very basic, strummed riffs repeat almost endlessly over the course of 'Ned I Den Torstende Jorden', the only 'real' track on the demo, but I can't help but feel there's something more.

Is it the bass guitar? It might be; its creaky tone and frequent diversions from the simple guitar lines suggest something subconscious, old, and decrepit, like the rest of Knokkelklang's music. I have a feeling this music isn't about the usual depressive black metal tropes of depression, suicide, and longing for lost love- the feeling I get from this is more like slowly watching the world burn to death. Knokkelklang's music is some of the most bleak, absolutely resigned music I've ever heard in the metal scene, and every element of it contributes to that quality. The vocals of (what I assume to be) the sole member are ragged and worn; they're not a strong, pained shriek, but an awful, feeble howl that somehow hits me right in the fucking gut when it comes to emotional resonance. The drifting, slowly wavering riffs seem to have more in common with Gallhammer than Nocturnal Depression in execution; pick seems to lazily arc across strings and the fact that an actual riff is coming out seems to be accidental.

On those riffs: they're something, all right, fitting neatly within the box of depressive black metal yet conveying something rather different entirely. They aren't sad melodies, per se; they're wounded, dying, exhausted, withered things slowly eked out over a bed of plodding, equally dehydrated drumming which mechanically pounds at the same couple beats with nothing in the way of fills or variation. There's something magnificently apocalyptic about this music; the pacing is awesome, and the slow introduction and subtraction of elements works perfectly, spellbinding the listener until you don't even realize that twenty fucking minutes have elapsed. Beyond that, though, is another curiosity: 'Livsverk', a rather quiet, droning track of dark ambient with guitar accompaniment. This conveys a more misanthropic mood, but is surprisingly well composed despite the minimalism of the elements. Small clanging, dragging, knifelike sound effects echo across a bed of sludgy, bleak chords with distant vocals wailing outside of the rest of the music. It's experimental but no less effective than the centerpiece of the release.

I can't recommend this demo highly enough; it's extremely challenging to articulate what makes this so special, but I have no doubt that it's there. I don't think any release I've heard has made me feel worse than this one. I think that alone means it's a must-buy.

(In addition, I have to give huge credit to the abstract yet very unsettling art and layout. I don't know what's going on and I'm not sure I want to.)

Some folks have lumped this in with the "depressive" black metal scene, which I have no comment on because I think that genre is a waste of time. A better comparison would be to Drudkh's "Forgotten Legends," with it's deliberate pacing and unwavering atmosphere. What you have here is a demo consisting of an ambient interlude and a single half-hour long epic. The rehearsal-space production and lack of variation may divide opinion on this, but this has been getting heavy rotation at my place.

Repetitive, mid-paced, and with only occasional vocals, some may find it tiring. But nothing in this song is supericial; every element is carefully measured and planned for maximum effect. There are no rehash riffs or unnecessary changes, just strong commitment to the concept of the song. When they charge into a more upbeat stomp about halfway in, it's the equivalent of a sea change. Knokkelklang is opting more for hypnotizing waves than for clever changes or wankery, and on Kalk & Aske it's an engrossing experience.

Sometimes I have the feeling the world has launched a conspiracy against me or any other person with an interest in underground music. Or maybe it is some sort of disease that has not infected me so far and thus also not ruined by perception of certain facets of the music. There seems to be epidemic perhaps even a pandemic when it comes to the issue of depressive black metal. I read this: "excellent stuff, it is beautiful in its own despondent way, damn amazin (sic!)", but I overlooked the download link on the site, from where these quotes have been taken from, to give the music a spin and from my own conclusions... I read on another site:Forget the weakness of the so-called "depressive" Black Metal of today, this is something different. Strong, powerful and slightly original. . The label, Fossbrenna Creations, woke memories on the fascinating demo by Min Kniv, so I thought it would be worth to get this release. Looking back at it: of course ... not.

Maybe I see no point in tormenting the listener with endless repetition of motives, with hardly any major variation for fucking eleven out of nineteen minutes! For Christ's sake, to what stages of minimalism do bands want to take this genre? One riff per hour? One chord per day? I presume new levels in this music can be achieved once robots have penetrated the market enough to make them available for young kids living in their parents basements. Once being programmed, the machines can play the riffs endlessly, while kids have enough time to figure out what to scream about. They can even invite their friends and perform a live session together. "Ritual depressive black metal" ... I have the vague feeling of seeing the tide waves of these releases already as a shadow on the horizon.

Back to the topic, once eleven minutes of boredom are over, the song, Ned i den torstende jorden, gets interesting... finally. Interesting, not outstanding or brilliant, just interesting. The tempo is increased massively, a whole lot more dynamic can be found in the music and the whole thing becomes, at least partially, listenable. Sadly the production kills it a bit and the muffled and noisy sound certainly kills something of the atmosphere. The riffs are still repeated excessively, the whole concept remains minimalist, but it has become endurable. It may be described as a mixture between Dark Endless and Elysian Blaze.

The nice intro and the boring outro would be a mixture between ambient and noise, while the third track Livsverk would be a combination of noise and black metal; with an emphasis on the former one. In fact, the metal part has been strapped down to a great deal and beyond some vague melody or riff structure nothing can be found here. Pretty boring due to the blandness of the concept.

On ambient and noise. Not every band is able to get it right and the pointless stuff offered on this demo is just another example why it is important to focus on CORE issues. In case I want to listen to good music influenced by the two aforementioned genres, then I turn to artists that are actually capable of creating it, like Cities Last Broadcast:The Cancelled Earth album is the result of almost a decade of sporadic field recordings [...]. And you fucking hear that some effort had been put into it. Why do black metal bands try to explore a field in which they are likely to fail; see Vinterriket. Why no collaborations with artists whose oeuvre is focused on the ambient/noise/industrial genres? The outcome would certainly be better. Maybe the elitist's black metal warriors would feel insecure and suspect that it would have consequences for their manliness.

A better production and a better focus of the core essences, less song-lengths and better ambient/noise concepts, would help this release a lot. Bed-room black metal hangs like a burden over this release and over the whole length of the demo Knokkelklang is never able to overcome this impression. The Norwegians stayed close to what is currently state of the art in the depressive black metal scene, but fails in creating something of equal quality. Instead, they fall back on the short-comings that are generally associated with this subgenre and the music never exceeds the level of being occasionally nice.

Fans of depressive black metal genre might want to give this release a try, but the majority of the bm fans should avoid it.

A final note: never trust comments on internet forums on depressive black metal...