Ragnarok - Blackdoor Miracle
Regain Records - RNA1402 - 2004
By Philip Whitehouse
Recently, I've noticed that it's getting equally as hard to write an interesting review of a black metal album as it is a death metal release, because the former genre is rapidly catching up to the latter's legacy as a bloated, overpopulated scene. Only a few exceptional bands stand on the heads of a thousand drowning copycat clone-merchants, content to ape the sound of their superiors rather than branching out and finding their own niche. So listening to Ragnarok's latest threw me into a quandary. What if, rather than diversifying, a band simply improved on the best elements of some of their peers' works and superceded them? Because frankly, after hearing Blackdoor Miracle, I reckon Marduk and Dark Funeral should be getting nervous.
This is a Tommy Tagtren produced slice of hyperblasting black metal, with 'Abyss Studios' stamped all over its clear, digital, even sound like 'Blackpool' through a stick of rock. Taake vocalist Hoest delivers the high-pitched, snarled vocals, Jontho provides the blast-happy drum furnace, while the alternate razor-wire upper-register tremolo pickings and slower-paced evil thrash riffs are doled out by Rym, with Jerv providing (largely inaudible) bass throughout. There are no keyboards, no acoustic passages, generally no nonsense whatsoever, but variation and diversity in the material exists within the songwriting skills of the members.
Tracks such as 'Recreation Of The Angels' manage to convey a sense of the epic by dint of their cleverly layered harmonised guitar lines and inventive drum patterns, while highlight track 'Murder' works far more from a thrash metal grounding at times, sounding like Carnal Forge jamming with Emperor, sans keyboards and melancholy. Occasionally a groove that could have wandered in from a latter-day Satyricon album rears it's head, while occasionally, as on the title track, a truly hell-for-leather dash of drums and riffs recalls Hellhammer.
Generally, this album is a skilled and well-performed amalgamation of the more notable features of some of the third wave of black metal's more proficient acts, and as a result is an immensely enjoyable listen that most black metal fans should be able to appreciate. On the other hand, some individual touches to the songwriting may not go amiss in the future.
7/10
Ragnarok Official Website
Regain Records
Regain Records - RNA1402 - 2004
By Philip Whitehouse
Recently, I've noticed that it's getting equally as hard to write an interesting review of a black metal album as it is a death metal release, because the former genre is rapidly catching up to the latter's legacy as a bloated, overpopulated scene. Only a few exceptional bands stand on the heads of a thousand drowning copycat clone-merchants, content to ape the sound of their superiors rather than branching out and finding their own niche. So listening to Ragnarok's latest threw me into a quandary. What if, rather than diversifying, a band simply improved on the best elements of some of their peers' works and superceded them? Because frankly, after hearing Blackdoor Miracle, I reckon Marduk and Dark Funeral should be getting nervous.
This is a Tommy Tagtren produced slice of hyperblasting black metal, with 'Abyss Studios' stamped all over its clear, digital, even sound like 'Blackpool' through a stick of rock. Taake vocalist Hoest delivers the high-pitched, snarled vocals, Jontho provides the blast-happy drum furnace, while the alternate razor-wire upper-register tremolo pickings and slower-paced evil thrash riffs are doled out by Rym, with Jerv providing (largely inaudible) bass throughout. There are no keyboards, no acoustic passages, generally no nonsense whatsoever, but variation and diversity in the material exists within the songwriting skills of the members.
Tracks such as 'Recreation Of The Angels' manage to convey a sense of the epic by dint of their cleverly layered harmonised guitar lines and inventive drum patterns, while highlight track 'Murder' works far more from a thrash metal grounding at times, sounding like Carnal Forge jamming with Emperor, sans keyboards and melancholy. Occasionally a groove that could have wandered in from a latter-day Satyricon album rears it's head, while occasionally, as on the title track, a truly hell-for-leather dash of drums and riffs recalls Hellhammer.
Generally, this album is a skilled and well-performed amalgamation of the more notable features of some of the third wave of black metal's more proficient acts, and as a result is an immensely enjoyable listen that most black metal fans should be able to appreciate. On the other hand, some individual touches to the songwriting may not go amiss in the future.
7/10
Ragnarok Official Website
Regain Records
