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Krieg > Blue Miasma > Reviews
Krieg - Blue Miasma

Melodic yet mentally still fucked - 87%

Sigillum_Dei_Ameth, March 18th, 2008

For the longest time I was very skeptical about "Blue Miasma". How does one come down off the rage-fuelded adrenlerine rush of such releases as "The Black House" and "Patrick Bateman EP" ? Would it have the same impact? Would one feel the drug-induced paranoia of Imperial and his dominions at work? Would it be able to hold the same die-hard Krieg fans as well as converting a few new damned souls?

It seems Imperial at this point in his illustrious career has hit a bit of a turning point. A person so dedicated to his craft and dedication to something he loves so much has caused him so much personal pain, struggle, and mentally massacred him to the point of pure nothingness, where would you go, and who would you talk to for comfort. Over the years Imperial's mental health has been on a rapid decline forcing him to be extremely reclusive and unable to leave his house without experiencing physical sickness, while at the same time leaving him for his mind to ravage and cripple him.

Wow. Depression as a form of influence and inspiration? Some of the most legendary artists have benefited from this even though their works were nowhere near as highly regarded as others, still gave the fan/viewer/listener and look into their psyche an have helped them understand more that behind the mania, this IS humanity. Or at least in Krieg's case, a sense of clarity admist the calamity.

"Blue Miasma" starts off with a droning, and downright depressing instrumental opening called "The Great Beat Trembeled In Fear" which sets the tone as far as ushering in the listener to the depravity of Imperial's brain...a reminder of this when a spoken part ("How can you that? I'm NOT innocent") in a distressing and irritable tone. "Who Shall Stand Against Me", "Lingering Doubt", "Hallucinations In Deep Corruption", "Every Wound Burned" are classic Krieg through and through. Could easily be on "The Black House" as bonus tracks or leftovers. "The Blue Mist", "The Sick Winds Stire The Cold Dawn" are very slow in a very Post-Punk style. Melancholic and depressing. Effective."Under An Uncaring Moon' is Krieg at their melodic best. Possibly the most standout track on the entire album. If you don't want to have a drink to mellow out or take whatever psychiatric medication you're under at this point, something is wrong with you. "The Master's Voice" is an anthem to sick fucks who get off from S&M bondage type stuff. The female's spoken vocals actually enhances the overall sense of horror when she begs to be tortured. "The Forest Beneath the Sea" is flat-out weird......Wale mating calls? WTF? Unless Imperial has cult of followers(???) considering him to be a leviathan of the deep then leave that type of shit to Cthulhu bro. This song doesn't make any sense to me what-so-ever.

Outside of the one of two songs that don't really catch you off guard, it's a sold album that shows how melodic Krieg can be. Production wise it's still as satisfying as previous releases from these USBM kommandos.

May the great beast rise again.

Unfortunately... - 69%

Daimo, November 2nd, 2006

A 'miasma' is a (coloured or not) cloud, or fog, that would spread disease and death. So judging by the title of this album, we would be treated with a storm of musical hate and violence (quite suitable for Krieg) but...

Bluntly put, Krieg's eagerly awaited swansong is a disappointment.
Why? Blue Miasma has good songs, follows the musical path of the Black House, has a (too?) long playing time, has an almost perfect production (even the bassguitar is audible), has an 'atmosphere', ... What's missing then?
Simple: Krieg.

With 'The Great Beast trembled within Nightmare' Blue Miasma does have a perfect intro, filled with a slow, ever so threatening stream of sound, this should've been the gate to more of this 'goodness'. And for a while this is the case. Numbers like 'Who shall stand against me' (think 'Sickening Voices without Speech'), with it's simple yet oh so efféctive drums, and that powerful, heavy guitarsound, and 'The Blue Mist', with an enormous, slow (but therefor no less destructive) riff, are plain kíllers, that on their own would justify the purchase of this album, but unfortunately, it goes downhill from this point. And the last Krieg-album should be more than 'a couple of good songs'. 'Under an Uncaring Moon' for instance, has another slow riff, but once again, something is 'missing'... What? You guessed it: Krieg.

Lord Imperial (and guests) uses his voice in a lot of ways, guitar and bass work together so good, the drums bear and coördinate the rest of the music, and that's what the problem is here. The drums that acted like horrible storms in the background (best shown on the Patrick Bateman EP) are more structurated, the guitars that used to have the effect of falling rocks on the listener, are blunted here, and 'just produce riffs', ... This isn't a bad album by far, but once again, it isn't Krieg.

There are still songs left like 'Every Wound Burned' that give one hope (but then again, there are also songs like 'The Master's Voice' which could have been brilliant, but poorly executed by the over-the-top voice), but ultimately, when 'The Forest Beneath the Sea' draws to a close, and the guitars fade out for the last time... One's hunger isn't completely stilled. Was this the end? Is this Krieg's Swansong? Yes, and actually, that alone makes this album worth buying.

And Now The End - 98%

unksol, March 29th, 2006

So, the "swansong" from this really cult (and NOT "kvlt"!) US black legend Krieg has finally seen light (haha)! Featuring the devil pig himself - lord Imperial - and his friends horde, "Blue Miasma" is undoubtedly an album to be remembered. Not only because it's the closing chapter of Krieg's book of morbid hallucinations and necro harsh noise, but also because even less raw and grinding than the fundamental Krieg releases (" Rise...", "The Church", "Sono Lo Scherno" etc.) , this "melodic" album has the typical a-human deathlike-psycho athmosphere we have always trembled in while enjoying Imperial's works. Yes, it is neither "Destruction Ritual" nor "The Black House", but it is Krieg. And the ones who KNOW exactly WHAT Krieg stands about, shall not find some boring melody, but real storming malady. The Master's Voice is heard here and nothing more or less.
Great opening track, followed by another headcrusher - "Who Shall Stand Against Me". "The Sick Winds Stir The Cold Down" (previously heard on demo version) is performed here more mightfully and morbidly. "And Now The End" is typical US death metal (in Deicide vein, which is only good to mention), while the next track - "Lingering Doubt" - is probably the best track in this album, along with "Every Wound Burned". "The Master's Voice" is heard from the mouth of a non-compromising, self-destructive, sado-masochistic whore, and damn hell - it sounds completely INSANE!
The final track - "The Forest Beneath The Sea" - is the definitive musical (or maybe antimusical?) hallucinogen... - it's PERFECT darkness and coldness, expressed through riffs and cries. Makes you think about the end of Krieg not as a fail or cowardly escape, but as a glorious dive into the very depths of the world beneath. As a funeral of a divine beast, not some shitty band which tries to sink into oblivion in the most trivial "kvlt" way. Well, that's why this album is by Krieg, and compilates the best and darkest parts of Imperial's puzzle - all that drowned in some specific melodism, feasible only for the great USBM bands.
Great album indeed, no more to be said. 2% less only in order not to be pathetic (hahaha!).
Rest in glory, Krieg!

Great album, but this isnt Krieg anymore. RIP - 75%

HereticBlood, March 1st, 2006

The much heralded final installment of the USBM legend Krieg. I wouldn't go so far as to say this is a bad album, in fact it is a very good black metal release. But, this is not Krieg. This lacks the nihilistic insanity that made such blackened noise classics such as Rise of the Imperial Hordes, The Black House, Destruction Ritual and the Patrick Bateman Ep. What's the problem here? I think Lord Imperial fucked up big time by assemling such an all star cast for this last outing. The music is technichally "better", but gone is the cataclysmic whirlwind of oppressive noise and demonic strangulations for vocals. Like I said, this is good album, in fact a great one, but by and large, it lacks what made Krieg so special. Actually, the vocals are fairly average Krieg(and I mean that in a positive way), but, discernable riffs? Drums that seem to have a direction, instead of the the cyclonic torture off of say, Patrick Bateman. I hear a lot of influence from Nachtmystium on this release, which isnt surprising, but its disapointing. A few songs almost manage to recapture the blistering fury of old, such as Every Wound Burned and Who Shall Stand Against Me, and The Master's Voice is absolutely superb and fucked up, possibly the one thing saving this as a Krieg release. A woman talking about wanting to be raped, beaten and cut against black metal. Very, very nicely done. Another thing missing is the samples, which I thought really set nice visuals for listening to a Krieg album. I would give this album a 75 score, because as I mentioned before, it is excellent Black Metal, it just not as "Krieg-ish" as I would of hoped for.