Смерть приходит с севера

This release would easily qualify as something meant to elevate the label's profile, what with the neat little 3-panel digipack, cool artwork and design and the common-thread of a concept strongly running through each contributing band's exclusive tracks. I'd say both the label and artists involved tried harder than usual (perhaps even too hard) to set themselves apart from the average type of split albums out there. All presented pieces at the least seriously attempt to intertwine and interrelate with one another and try (or make an appearance) to stand within a single spiritual canal, while still being musically engaging and absorbing, in order to erect that desired conceptual block. To larger extent they have succeeded.

LIHOLESIE provides the icing on the cake via the symbolic first and last (i.e. intro and outro) tracks. The project's main proprietor Sever started out on a rather shaky, MIDI-derived folk-ambient ground but slowly improved over the course of several records, shedding the most obviously plastic elements while honing his sound extraction as well as construction skills. LIHOLESIE's contributions here are probably as good of an example of his development as his latest full-length album at this time "Boundless Thirst for the Outside". The introductory "Barbarians - Hosts of the North" is a sturdy (surprise!) Conan the Barbarian type concoction of neo-classical, medieval and martial stylizations, minus the vocal choirs and overbearing "symphonisms" that often permeated the works of the likeminded (in case of this particular track) LORD WIND. The closer "Endless Expanse of Coldness and Ice", meanwhile, has a serious, and just as fitting, ambient bent. Trailing, droning synth pads are peppered with an assortment of lower key sound bites such as various chimes, percussive effects and melodic inserts, called upon to produce more intricate atmospheric effect. The track satisfactory works out what it was designed to do in the context of this disc, so no big complaints there.

The real feast begins with MOR and their lengthy suite "Kola Cross", broken into four separate movements and, hence, into four interflowing tracks on the disc. MOR's entire block can be simply described as epic, melodic metal without much further need for too precise a categorization. Peals of cascading dual guitar lines and melodies continuously soar and swoop like pirouetting dive-bombers. The cruise-control mechanism is directed by the mostly straightforward yet adequate drum-work, which semi-discretely upholds the rhythmic backbone without too much unnecessary interference. Vocals vary from slightly above mid-range screams to more emotive, spoken word injections. The melodies themselves are clear cut and well shaped. While definitely accessible and seemingly easy to get friendly with in the spark of the moment, their components manage to stay away from the overly saccharine condiments, and thus, for the most part avoiding too much emotional excess and slobbering. That walking the fine line also manifests itself in the fact that they steadily maintain a chilly demeanor (Nordic death and all that jazz) and are not always that easy to memorize, much less comfortably hum around. The entire suite does follow a pretty requisite structure, however, starting out within the slow to medium range and gradually building up to pretty full speed during the final movement. But there is only so much you can do or ask for, of course.

I must say that I was somewhat surprised by STIELAS STORHETT's donations to the project. "Taedium Vitae", in particular, taking over the proceedings as track number six, sounded very much like the continuation or variation on the theme started with "Kola Cross". We are talking not so distant cousins here, even with the clear but slightly raw, roughened and bereft of too much bottom weight production intact. While black metal influence is slightly visible via both the vocals and guitar sound, the compositional resemblance is more than apparent with its melodic accents and epic scope. These similarities do not appear accidental either. According to the scant liner notes, "Kola Cross" was written with active participation from STIELAS STORHETT's Damien T.G., which explains it. The desire to build that interrelated conceptual musical panel becomes very telling. Damien's second and last contribution "Sic Itur Ad Astra" harks back to his more familiar black metal territory, but with equally impressive results. It essentially puts a black metal spin on the five previous pieces, and with much finesse, I might add, retaining and interjecting that sweeping melodic thread like an Ariadne's clew amidst the blackened framework. By the time the track transforms into LIHOLESIE's closure, the circle is shut, and a listener has fully inhaled that menacing stench of the three Nordic death threats. Good luck with that.

Final verdict: Two horns up! One of the better split albums I came across recently.

(Originally published in Diabolical Conquest web-zine)