This is a beautiful package,
brought to us courtesy of Bindrune Recordings.
If you are not familiar with this label, hop on the interwebs as soon as
you finish this review and educate yourself.
This is a vinyl only release, so that's one beautiful thing. The 12” vinyl itself is gorgeous, half black
and half white. That's two beautiful
things. And people will call me crazy,
but I happen to think that black metal itself is beautiful, especially the
variety played by Falls
of Rauros. And Panopticon is pretty good stuff too. I dig everything about this release.
I don't know which is the “A”
side and which is the “B”, and it probably doesn't matter in the case of a
split anyway. I started out with the Falls of Rauros side. We are treated to two tracks, as these guys
work more with the epic kind of song length.
The first song, “Unavailing” is very good. The lyrics hint at loss and desolation and
the music matches those sentiments perfectly.
There is a somewhat raging first section of the song and then a
beautiful, slower, more acoustically tinged second part. The thing that I really love about these
longer tracks is that they develop some repetition in the riff and there is a
feeling of almost drone or trance-like quality to the music. It just makes me feel like I can slip away
for a while, just wander outside of myself and truly lock in to the feelings
and emotions of the song. Second track
“The Purity of Isolation” is shorter and starts out with acoustics so that the
listener can more or less continue the vibe from the previous track. Again, the repetition of the riffs and
rhythms allows the listener to close their eyes and drift off. And again, I don't know quite what it is, but
it is music that really allows your soul to connect with what the musicians are
bringing you. All of it, performance,
rhythm, progressions, combine to take you to a place that is almost sacred.
Panopticon bring us a slightly
different flavor of black metal. This is
more to the point, less meandering, a little more brutal and menacing in
feel. They provide 4 tracks on their
side, so the songs are shorter and more direct.
This is the black metal that feels like there is horde of rampaging
Vikings bearing down on your village and there isn't a lot you can do about
it. Their first track, “Through the
Mountains I Wander this Evening”, most definitely has the rampaging Viking feel
to it. Track 2, “Can You Loan Me A
Raven”, has a cool name and a very sinister vibe. Slower in tempo and a very ominous, repeating
riff, you probably shouldn't listen to this when you are alone in the house and
its dark outside. Or maybe you should,
and that's the whole point.
The third song, “Gods of Flame”,
is the shortest one on offer from Panopticon, but it feels like it could really
stretch out and go places. It has an
epic feel to it. Mostly it's just a very
crushing black metal tune that would be right at home on an album released in Norway 20 years
ago. Very classic stuff. And then the side wraps up with “One Cold
Night”, a very appropriately named track.
You can feel the iciness creeping up around you, and almost expect to
confront some Frost Giants. Then the
song blasts off into hyper speed and you could maybe imagine that you're
fighting said Giants with Thor by your side.
I think you get the picture.
You can probably find this
digitally, like on the Bandcamp site for Bindrune, but do yourself the favor of
trying to find a copy of this one on vinyl if its still available. As I said, a beautiful package in every way,
one that you will be happy to own and will listen to over and over again if you
are a fan of the black metal.
- ODIN
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