Came across these Swiss bastards while drinking some hot cocoa and sifting through Arse Magma's molten lava love nest. I immediately purchased ...Of Forest and Fire on the blind, as anything having to do with Tolkien can not be that bad aye? Well, to no surprise, I stood upon an oaken ladened hillside with wraiths representing the fury of the Gods pounding my ear drums with the thunder of a thousand orcs. Now that I have Krigloch's attention, let me just say that this band is absolutely grand. Somber in scope, melodic in approach, while still possessing all the fist pumping ingredients to make it worthy of Sauron's disc drawer. These Swiss blokes stand next to Hithlum as one of the most under rated acts of the hobbit hating Helvetic scene.
http://www.myspace.com/blackjadeswiss
Quick Sample of The Fire of Amon Anwar
Quick sample of The Dark Legacy of Menegroth
Review by Lunar Hypnosis to lend credence to my recommendation.
Every now and then you come across an album that immediately grabs your attention for whatever reason. It could be because it's really heavy, or maybe because it is catchy. Maybe even because of the vocals, right? Black Jade's "...Of Forest And Fire..." struck me as very interesting.
I was expecting some raw, very crude and primitive black metal, and what I got instead is an incredible variety of styles, all at least touching the black metal side of things at the very least. Sometimes it sounds progressive, some other times it sounds very romantic, other times it verges in the raw side of things, and other times it just sounds like blackened rock (yes, rock, not metal..).
Apparently, although there are several "guest" members, this is a solo project by Nargararth. Recorded between 2004 and 2005 it borrows a style most recognizable in some of the Gorgoroth and Judas Iscariot albums, although the music is always much more melodic and it doesn't seem to follow the evil side the other 2 bands mentioned subscribe to.
This CD (at least the first 9 songs) covers themes of "The Simarillion" by J.R.R. Tolkien. I don't honestly know if you can call this Tolkien Black Metal, and to me at least, this doesn't matter. It's the music that counts and this band is very successful on this release.
The entire CD is like I said before a very nice item, and this includes the digipak. This is a shiny black package with a beautiful insert that contains some very nice drawings on every page with lyrics, and it also has a real nice painting on the inside of the case itself that seems to represent the opposing sides of good and evil. A Fruity tree on the right side, a dead tree on the left.
finally, this is a "special extended edition" that contains an extra 5 songs, all of which are more on the melodic and morose side rather than the black metal played before. Even the title track sounds very serene and melodic played live.
This is a real nice CD. Don't expect the grim reaper here, but instead you will find that maybe even the evil has a "human" side to things.
http://www.myspace.com/blackjadeswiss
Quick Sample of The Fire of Amon Anwar
Quick sample of The Dark Legacy of Menegroth
Review by Lunar Hypnosis to lend credence to my recommendation.
Every now and then you come across an album that immediately grabs your attention for whatever reason. It could be because it's really heavy, or maybe because it is catchy. Maybe even because of the vocals, right? Black Jade's "...Of Forest And Fire..." struck me as very interesting.
I was expecting some raw, very crude and primitive black metal, and what I got instead is an incredible variety of styles, all at least touching the black metal side of things at the very least. Sometimes it sounds progressive, some other times it sounds very romantic, other times it verges in the raw side of things, and other times it just sounds like blackened rock (yes, rock, not metal..).
Apparently, although there are several "guest" members, this is a solo project by Nargararth. Recorded between 2004 and 2005 it borrows a style most recognizable in some of the Gorgoroth and Judas Iscariot albums, although the music is always much more melodic and it doesn't seem to follow the evil side the other 2 bands mentioned subscribe to.
This CD (at least the first 9 songs) covers themes of "The Simarillion" by J.R.R. Tolkien. I don't honestly know if you can call this Tolkien Black Metal, and to me at least, this doesn't matter. It's the music that counts and this band is very successful on this release.
The entire CD is like I said before a very nice item, and this includes the digipak. This is a shiny black package with a beautiful insert that contains some very nice drawings on every page with lyrics, and it also has a real nice painting on the inside of the case itself that seems to represent the opposing sides of good and evil. A Fruity tree on the right side, a dead tree on the left.
finally, this is a "special extended edition" that contains an extra 5 songs, all of which are more on the melodic and morose side rather than the black metal played before. Even the title track sounds very serene and melodic played live.
This is a real nice CD. Don't expect the grim reaper here, but instead you will find that maybe even the evil has a "human" side to things.
