Guardians Inhuman

Now, I don't know the story behind the choice of the name, but when your band is called 'The One', logic would dictate that its implication was of something special. Something peculiar. Unique. In listening through the debut Guardians Inhuman, I'm having difficult figuring out what exactly is so prodigious about these Greeks. The deeper, guttural approach to the vocals reeks of a black/death hybrid, but the band's obvious aesthetic here is of the Norwegian newsprint variety, corpse paint and devil horns serving to distract the onlooker from the atrocious logo the band has selected here. There are some strange, almost warm vibes cast about in some of the notation to the songs, but otherwise, Guardians Inhuman sounds as if it were mixed and recorded in a damn porcelain dumper.

Seriously, this might pass for an acceptable rehearsal or live mix to a board, but it's ultimately just aural crud. I found it interesting that the band used such inanely lower vocals, but the song structures here are an incongruous mass of ideas that don't quite fit together. The band will saunter along, exploring some vapid, slow riff, and then drop out to transition to another black metal guitar line that fares little better ("This Means War"). The writing is redolent of early 90s Norwegian stuff like Mayhem, Burzum and Darkthrone, but I'm not sure that there's a single standout guitar part on this entire album. "Guardians Inhuman" itself is disjointed noise, and the clamor spreads to the irritating "Thou Art None" or the warmer, fuller but inevitably dull "I Am the One"...which I'd have thought would be their anthem towards greatness.

Sad to say, the very best track on this album is the closer, too obviously titled "Ambiance", which is naught more than some subtle, probing synthesizers, xylophone like runs and distant alarms or sirens droning off. To be truthful, I found this incredibly immersive despite the nonsense I had to sit through to arrive at it. Perhaps The One should consider a full ambient career? I'd certainly rather listen to that then what they've manifest for this debut. Crude, almost sporadic black metal is not necessarily unwelcome to mine ears, but this unfortunately goes beyond that to the realm of the truly forgettable. Weak music, weak lyrics, and abysmal atmosphere until the gleaming exemption of its endgame.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

This isn't a very long album but it has a very distinctive and powerful sound and a majestic style. The guitars that open this recording are deep and steely, and have a slightly exotic, almost barbaric feel that suits the militaristic and demonic theme; I am betting that there may be Greek folk musical influences in the constant tremolo guitar-playing. The guitars also have a slight echo which magnifies their sound and gives the impression of a solid wall of riffing against which there may sometimes be a high-pitched lead guitar melody.

But the real stand-out in some ways is The One's one and only Evil Dark's vocal style which comes to fore on a number of songs like the title piece and "Thou Art None"; on "Guardian's Inhuman", Evil Dark comes over as a psychotic megalomaniac with evil laughs and echoing voices that suggest a serious case of multiple personality disorder. On all songs, the evil One speaks the lyrics rather than sing or scream them, and this technique makes him seem distant, coldly rational and all the more impersonal as a tyrant of a huge underground satanic empire commanding vast armies of demons might well be. His voice is deep with a slightly robotic sound at times and may be treated with special effects as on "Thou Art None" which adds slurpy effects to the voice. He obviously doesn't resemble anything humans would recognise at all. On "I Am The One" (yeah, he be Da Man all right!), Evil Dark adopts a sort of death metal growl which again is heavily treated so that he seems to be breathing fire and smoke every time he says something.

The rest of the album shouldn't be overlooked: the mid-paced drumming which is sometimes doomy and which is also free-flowing machine-gun thrumming when it suits, complements the guitar work well. The overall presentation is very polished and often quite subtle on songs like "Thou Art None" which has some background cymbal effects that can be missed, and the raw and sharp guitar sound shines through. You could say that in a way this raw minimalist BM album is very tasteful in that everything about it is lean and efficient and works to the same goal of presenting a might and relentless Being leading his forces against doomed humanity. All the songs have straightforward lyrics which is something of a miracle these days in much BM and two early tracks on the album, "This Means War" and "Undying", even get cut off abruptly once they have fulfilled their purpose. The outro track "Ambiance", is just that: a short repetitive little soundscape piece with cold winds blowing over defeated and dying humanity while a plaintive little keyboard melody hovers over the rotting bodies.

If even half the BM artists active today could take note of this recording and how it packs in a mighty crunchy punch in just 32 minutes, the BM scene would be much improved and a lot less bloated and mediocre than it currently is.

THE ONE might be better known to many by their previous name MACABRE OMEN, who established themselves with their split-release along with KRIEG, JUDAS ISCARIOT and ETERNAL MAJESTY. As far as the gap between these two names may be, it isn't thinned out by any means as far as their different musical approaches are concerned. What all six titles of their debut Guardians inhuman have in common though is a slow-paced, dark and deep sound. Definitely extraordinary are the vocals, which have little to do with actual singing but are rather an accentuated, rhythmic speech that seems to come from out the shadows to create an ominous, menacing atmosphere. All in all, the band seems to have been bent on creating a nebulous, dark atmosphere, with a certain streak of insanity in it. The rhythms are catchy and easy to pick up, whereas the melodies and solo are skillfully arranged and these ingredients add up to an immersive mixture. It seems this album has been concepted to rely heavily on instrumental parts and this goes a long way together with their distinguished vocal style to create a unique record which has been arranged well and which truly lives up to its name.