- Apr 5, 2003
- 2,668
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Vreid - Pitch Black Brigade
Candlelight Records - CDL203/1498A - March 27th, 2006
By Brandon Strader
This review isn't going to be too positive, so if you absolutely love Vreid and would like to kick me in the groin, please hit the back button before you are provoked and my manhood becomes badly bruised. After the death of the highly beloved Windir, "those leftover dudes" came together and formed Vreid, a departure from the Windir sound and an overall mediocre black metal band with their first release, Kraft. After Pitch Black Brigade pick-slides its way into existence, it enters a small section that gives the impression that the song may whip into symphonic black metal (which is almost always good). After that it falls down on the more stereotypical minor-chord riffing and the more raw guitar tones of... you guessed it, mediocre black metal. At least Vreid is staying true to their young roots.
Unlike Windir's Likferd, which was a brilliant foray into epic black metal, Pitch Black Brigade is merely a straightfoward journey, song after song, that flows generally subdued. The growl performances are spot on, and the production has everything leveled correctly; the guitars are wide in the mix, and the snare and crashes are in their proper places. Even the toms have a good mix in the music, but that doesn't quite save the actual songwriting and presentation from being overly generic and as moth-eaten as that one really old black T-shirt you purchased when you first discovered metal (and threw all your mutli-color T-shirts in the trash along with your pink scarfs and Blink182 records). They also seem to be using a lot of hardcore tremolo sections like The Breakdown On Crack. However, Vreid does manage to impress for a few moments during this 42-minute clobberfest. Most of the solos sound dull and uninspired, yet they occasionally rip out a decent lick for a few seconds during a solo. A lot of the time it's like listening to a punk rock band trying to shred though. A lot of flailing around and posing in front of the mirror that ultimately leads nowhere. "Hengebjørki" probably has the most entertaining arrangement, which is mostly electronics and light orchestration somewhat similar to "Helvete" from their first album. The track then leads into more Vreid-style black rocking. Still, try to savor the beginning of this track, as it is quite good. The band tries to whip up some more experimental stuff in the last strained breath of the album by putting in some square waves and different arrangements, but by the time you get to that point, you'd probably be extremely bored. Could anyone actually make it that far without popping in something better to cleanse their mind of the experience?
6.66/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Official Vreid Website
Official Candlelight Records Website
Candlelight Records - CDL203/1498A - March 27th, 2006
By Brandon Strader
This review isn't going to be too positive, so if you absolutely love Vreid and would like to kick me in the groin, please hit the back button before you are provoked and my manhood becomes badly bruised. After the death of the highly beloved Windir, "those leftover dudes" came together and formed Vreid, a departure from the Windir sound and an overall mediocre black metal band with their first release, Kraft. After Pitch Black Brigade pick-slides its way into existence, it enters a small section that gives the impression that the song may whip into symphonic black metal (which is almost always good). After that it falls down on the more stereotypical minor-chord riffing and the more raw guitar tones of... you guessed it, mediocre black metal. At least Vreid is staying true to their young roots.
Unlike Windir's Likferd, which was a brilliant foray into epic black metal, Pitch Black Brigade is merely a straightfoward journey, song after song, that flows generally subdued. The growl performances are spot on, and the production has everything leveled correctly; the guitars are wide in the mix, and the snare and crashes are in their proper places. Even the toms have a good mix in the music, but that doesn't quite save the actual songwriting and presentation from being overly generic and as moth-eaten as that one really old black T-shirt you purchased when you first discovered metal (and threw all your mutli-color T-shirts in the trash along with your pink scarfs and Blink182 records). They also seem to be using a lot of hardcore tremolo sections like The Breakdown On Crack. However, Vreid does manage to impress for a few moments during this 42-minute clobberfest. Most of the solos sound dull and uninspired, yet they occasionally rip out a decent lick for a few seconds during a solo. A lot of the time it's like listening to a punk rock band trying to shred though. A lot of flailing around and posing in front of the mirror that ultimately leads nowhere. "Hengebjørki" probably has the most entertaining arrangement, which is mostly electronics and light orchestration somewhat similar to "Helvete" from their first album. The track then leads into more Vreid-style black rocking. Still, try to savor the beginning of this track, as it is quite good. The band tries to whip up some more experimental stuff in the last strained breath of the album by putting in some square waves and different arrangements, but by the time you get to that point, you'd probably be extremely bored. Could anyone actually make it that far without popping in something better to cleanse their mind of the experience?
6.66/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Official Vreid Website
Official Candlelight Records Website
