Adipocere/Oaken Shield
www.adipocere.fr
www.nehemah.org
2004
There's something to be said for conservatism (not politics, dummies), and the black metal purists are the epitome of it. Due to this aversion to change and breaking new ground (not to say that all hardcore BM fans are into this fuckery), there are quite a few one-man bands with a drum machine, shitty recording equipment and a voice that wouldn't seem strange on 85 year old women who have smoked Marlboro filter-less their entire lives. NEHEMA, a big playa on this scene, offer more than most of their contemporaries. However, this latest release leaves me cold, and not in a good freezing-my-ass-off-in-the-woods-with-wolves sort of way.
The biggest problem I have with the album is this: it bores me. Not that it's a somnambulistic excursion on par with many of the one-riff bands in the scene; it has some nice riffs thrown around (and usually repeated many times, but not to the point of turn-this-shit-off), nice keys and the necessary looking-down-into-the-evergreens aesthetic that the BM underground prides itself on.
However... the great "ideas" on the disc are pretty much drowning in over-long tracks that don't necessarily establish a bleary-eyes trance, nor the cold shivers of fellow countrymen BLUT AUS NORD. In short: it's a bit of a bore to these ears. Maybe I'll appreciate it more during the winter (summer noons aren't exactly conducive to this sort of thing), but as of now I'll give it a
6.5/10
Black Winter Day
www.adipocere.fr
www.nehemah.org
2004
- Creeping Chaos
- The Great Old Ones
- The Elder Gods
- In The Mist Of Orion's Sword
- Conciousness In Evil
- Taken Away By The Torn Blackshroud
- Conscience Of Evil.
- Through The Dark Nebula
There's something to be said for conservatism (not politics, dummies), and the black metal purists are the epitome of it. Due to this aversion to change and breaking new ground (not to say that all hardcore BM fans are into this fuckery), there are quite a few one-man bands with a drum machine, shitty recording equipment and a voice that wouldn't seem strange on 85 year old women who have smoked Marlboro filter-less their entire lives. NEHEMA, a big playa on this scene, offer more than most of their contemporaries. However, this latest release leaves me cold, and not in a good freezing-my-ass-off-in-the-woods-with-wolves sort of way.
The biggest problem I have with the album is this: it bores me. Not that it's a somnambulistic excursion on par with many of the one-riff bands in the scene; it has some nice riffs thrown around (and usually repeated many times, but not to the point of turn-this-shit-off), nice keys and the necessary looking-down-into-the-evergreens aesthetic that the BM underground prides itself on.
However... the great "ideas" on the disc are pretty much drowning in over-long tracks that don't necessarily establish a bleary-eyes trance, nor the cold shivers of fellow countrymen BLUT AUS NORD. In short: it's a bit of a bore to these ears. Maybe I'll appreciate it more during the winter (summer noons aren't exactly conducive to this sort of thing), but as of now I'll give it a
6.5/10
Black Winter Day
