Quest for Blood

This album certainly did surprise me. Reading the other review made my hyped, and it did not let me down. Though on recommendation of a friend of mine, I likely would have found them on my own eventually.

They are pure black metal in the loosest sense of the label. The members hail from reputed bands that have made a path though the thick forest with black metal and hav now come together to make this band.

First, the guitar. The guitar work is what you would expect from black metal: tremolo and thrashy riffs. It is solid work which very well works with the other instruments typically found in metal: guitar, bass, and drums, as well as the vocals. They are, as usual, distorted, and used to create an interesting atmosphere of peculiarity, which is what they were aiming for.

On to the drumming: it is very good, though nothing extraordinary. There are blastbeats when needed, good fills, and a speed that matches the guitar and flute. It is exactly what black metal aspires for, and also for their experimental music. It is solid in every respect, as was described earlier.

The vocals are a different matter from the norm; nor are they bad. They are great harsh vocals typical of the genre, but not typical of Japan. From personal experience, BM vocals from Japan are horrible attempts at being good, and rarely are they. This succeeds without doubt. The odd aspect of the music would be the clean vocals. Generally, these chants and vocals are found in traditional Japanese music, often accompanied by a Koto or taiko set. And since most traditional music also has a bamboo flute or shakuhachi, it fits with the next instrument.

That instrument is the flute. Whether it's bamboo or not makes no difference, however. As one would describe shredding for guitar, the flute is on a constant shred-spree. It almost never stops, which may be a turn-off for some, but for me it was very pleasant. Because of that, there is a lack of traditional music, though they do slow it fdown for a common song or two. The notes are constantly fluctuating, going up and down octaves like the octaves were more than 12 semitones. It's always pleasant and the music goes along with it perfectly.

So, overall, this is a unique album worth hearing. Give it a try and you should not be disappointed. A great atmosphere.