Alright, I'm going to try again!
Nice Hijack by the way.
I don't think i'm really qualified to explain black metal really. Theres a rather dry description of Black metal on wikipedia, describing it's general sound, aesthetics, ideology etc:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_metal
But I think it misses a few things.
Aeternus's first two albums were black metal, although they had influences from other genres, such as growls and guitar tone from death metal, and folk influences in their riffs and folky accoustic interludes. So while not having the typical screamed vocals and trebly guitars, i would still class those albums as black metal due to the aesthetics of the music, the atmosphere and the production of the music. The music has a feeling of epicness and preparing for battle. My first post had a better explanation, but i must've hit some weird key or something, because I lost the entire post!
I was reading a review on their ...And So The Night Became album on the metal archives, that had a nice little description of black metal within:
Can ‘perfection’ be truly achieved in music? Is it within the finger-tips of those musicians who possess extraordinarily imaginative frames of mind and the ability to convey their ideas while mastering a basis of ‘ideals’ set for their respective music genre? Or does ‘perfection’ remain exclusively within the eye of the beholder, as an all-too subjective notion that fails to find a definitive grounding? It is an on-going debate that cannot reach a universally conclusive ‘answer’. I know for a fact though, that when it comes to black metal music, most serious fans of the genre can generally agree that atmosphere and spirit serve as its biggest ‘ideals’. Atmosphere can be defined as the music’s dominant and distinctive mood (the music’s outward aura), while spirit can be defined as the inspiration and vision behind the music (the music’s inner self). Combined together, these ‘ideals’ can give black metal incredible expressive edge, probably in a way more-so than any other metal genre. This all makes sense, considering that black metal is meant to be emotionally and mentally stimulating music. The best black metal takes these ‘ideals’ into grand levels through sublime construction of objective musical qualities (in other words, solid songwriting where every layer of sound and subtlety is made relevant to the song as a whole), successfully engrossing an attentive listener into the abstract realm that the music intends to generate. Only at that situation, *can* black metal be considered ‘perfect’ by its own standards, because its goal of expression is made consummate. A couple of the most worthy black metal albums fitting of this situation are critically-acclaimed works such as “Hvis Lyset Tar Oss” and “Dol Guldur”. “…And so the Night Became”, is also deserving of an elite position in black metal shared by those two excellent works… if not the very top of all metal in general (like I like to think it is).
Musically, this black metal album maintains influences from three other genres. The first and most apparent is the folk influence which manifests itself through very memorable Graveland-inspired melodies. The melodic intro to “As I March” is stunningly beautiful and qualifies itself as instantly timeless upon every listen; the same goes for the wonderfully-done acoustic intros to “Warrior of the Crescent Moon” and “When the Crow’s Shadow Falls”. The second influence here is interestingly enough, a death metal one. The powerful growls of frontman/guitarist Ares, the thick heavy-for-black-metal guitar tone, and several brutal blasting sections (mostly found in the spectacular title track) all clearly show that influence. The last (slight) influence comes from doom metal, as heard most prominently in the rumbling passages of certain tracks. With these influences at work, this black metal recording is given a sense of eccentricity, and with a Bathory-type epic feel that recalls times of long ago, is made memorizing.
The songwriting is beyond superb, as each track here has a focalized ‘flowing’ quality to them (provided by steadily pronounced drum rhythms which create a ‘throbbing’ feel ). The tracks are generally mid-paced, taking their time to culminate and allowing the listener to easily grasp an understanding of each track’s impressive depth. Due to this, not a single moment on the album feels out-of-place or hurried. Guitar riffs/melodies are executed well and embody a wide array of emotions, which can vary with every subtlety or layer of sound introduced (for example, hear the way the composition of “Warrior of the Crescent Moon” eventually unfurls itself onto a most dramatic zenith with a keyboard arrangement backing the plodding guitars). The aforementioned growls of Ares are strongly enunciated and understandable; he sounds appropriately like a general at war commanding his troops into battle. All of these songwriting components/elements all make for an unforgettable journey for the listener’s mind---- which is in accordance with black metal’s aims as explained above.
Thematically, most black metal bands are at constant conflict with Christianity and its value system. Destroyer 666 would just be one example of many such bands. There is also a band that breaks out of that mold--- Summoning, whose glorious epic sound suggests that they have already won that war (as I’ve seen discussed by some). So, where would Aeternus fall with this album, on thematic terms? I would actually place view their music at three places--- before the war, during the war, and after the war. Before the war---because of the prideful militaristic feel of certain tracks/song sections that seem to scream out to the listener “We’re preparing for battle and bloodshed!” (track 1, “There’s No Wine Like the Crimson’s Blood”, representing the most prominent example of this, at least to me). During the war--- because like most black metal, the atmosphere bleeds with the imminence and state of combat (as heard in the most intense sections of tracks). And last but not least, after the war--- because the last two tracks suggest a sense of victory (the title track’s lyrics can be interpreted as such, and the closing track, being a peaceful non-metal folk instrumental, is just as indicative of that victorious mood).As I’ve seen mentioned before, I can’t believe the ‘Norwegian Hype Machine’ appeared to have missed this band, considering how awe-inspiring and enriching their black metal material is (spanning an ep and two albums). This album, in particular, has everything I could want in a metal album… fine-tuned into ‘perfection’ (in black metal terms, at least) through drawn-out compositions that can entrap listeners with epic transcendental bliss, reminiscent of the most highly-revered black metal works (you know what they are). The name for this album I find to be quite felicitous--- it implies wholeness, resolution, ‘perfection’ (there’s that word again)… qualities befitting the music and the infinite expressive power held within.
And I pretty much aggree with all that was said there. And what bugs me about bands like Aeternus and Behemoth, that used to be excellent black metal, is that they turned into mediocre Death Metal. Now death metal can be amazing, I quite like some death metal. Lykathea Aflame for example released one of my favorite metal albums ever, Elvenfris. Or Gojira's Mars To Sirius for moshing wildly about the bedroom to enviromentalist themed death metal. But in changing to death metal, both Behemoth and Aeternus lost something. In my opinion anyways,
Hmm.. this post isn't as good as my old one. I prolly make no sense. Meh I'm posting anyways. =P
Edit: Maybe I'm missing something with their newer death metal stuff.
