The Fever of War

I came into the Fever of War only knowing the stellar debut album Beyond the Mortal Gate, and was a little taken aback from this early EP. This doesn't take a radically different approach from Mortal Gate, I was just surprised as to how bombastic it was. The guitar here is probably actually more technically involved (as far as that happens in the more atmospheric strains of black metal), than the album. The playing is still somewhat loose in the most delicious way possible, but you still got to hand it to Mike - the dude is a fucking powerhouse. Not only can you find him behind the kit in seemingly more USBM bands than not, but he's out here making one-man black metal that put most full-member bands to shame.

The biggest surprise with "The Fever of War" was just how bombastic it feels. Mike's rickety blasts propel the songs forward and things can at times get a lot faster than on the full length. In my review of the full length I mentioned that at times it felt like a more atmospheric version of Vanum (who Mike also plays drums in, because of course he does). This just straight up feels a lot like Vanum. The heavy percussion and march-like pace in "Wolf Eyes" reminds of Hate Forest. In fact, I feel like Vilkacis has a lot in common with the Ukranian scene in the way he mixes melody and autumnal atmosphere in a way that's much rawer than what you'd expect from a USBM band. Perhaps the song that impressed me the most is "Sentinel at the Gate", which isn't even a black metal song. Mike creates wonderful wintry ambient textures with his guitar. He does such a good job with this, that if you aren't paying enough attention, you'd be likely to mistake it for keyboards. This approach reminds me a lot of Branikald.

I really don't know how Mike does so damn much, but I think it's safe to say he's proved himself not just as a drummer, but as an all-around quality black metal musician. Fever of War is just as good as Beyond the Mortal Gate, just for different reasons. Now that I think of it, the themes evident in both titles might explain the differences in sound. Fever indeed feels more war-like with its marching feel and more aggressive riffs, while Mortal Gate feels a lot more spiritually inclined. A lot of the best one-man black metal bands started from people who cut their teeth as drummers, so in a way I'm not surprised that Mike's doing so well here.