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Craft, Svartsyn, and Arckanum…

Craft - Fuck the UniverseI recently received a package from Sweden's Carnal Records, and I'm fucking psyched that they sent a copy of Craft's latest, "Fuck the Universe", because I had first heard these Swedes years back with "Total Soul Rape", which I enjoyed, but since I wasn't floored I hadn't really followed the band since then. Well, that was a massive mistake on my part, because this is an absolutely incredible record on every level, and it wipes the floor with 95% of the black metal that I've heard in the last several years. The riffs are fucking badass across the board—whether they're in the vein of old school black metal with that hardcore/punk kind of vibe or the colder, eerier dissonance associated with mid- to late-90's black metal on into the present. There's definitely some mangled shit going on with some of the guitar work, and those twisted chord phrasings and discordant textures definitely add a lot to the overall atmosphere of the record. It's basically true-to-the-roots, no frills black metal, but it thankfully lacks the usual dose of redundancy that comes along with that approach, so they basically go straight for the throat while achieving an absolutely flawless sense of chilling feeling. You just can't fucking lose. This disc seriously nails pretty much everything that I look for in a black metal album. I love it.

I've actually read a couple of reviews of this record that complain about the production, and I can state without question that those reviewers should be benched for life, because this thing sounds fuckin' great... especially considering the nature of this particular band and the black metal genre as a whole. Is it raw? Yeah, somewhat. But if you think this is a bad sounding black metal record? You're fucking deaf. This is a damn near perfect album and I find no faults with the sound quality whatsoever. Listen for yourselves and you'll see what I mean:

Craft "Thorns in the Planet's Side"
Craft "The Suffering of Others"

I think this was being billed as Craft's third and final release, but thankfully that's not the case. They recently lost their drummer but have decided to continue on. I've gotta grab their past releases as soon as I get the chance, without a doubt. Southern Lord released this one on CD in the US, so it should be easy to grab most anywhere. I can't recommend this one enough. Great, great work. Money well spent, so make the buy:

The End Records
Full Moon Productions
@ Relapse Records

Svartsyn - BloodlineMore Swedish black metal comes in the form of Svartsyn's "Bloodline", from Sound Riot Records. Released for the first time on CD in late-2005, "Bloodline" was actually recorded in 1997/1998 and released as a double-LP five or six years ago. So, even though it's coming out on CD a couple of years after their fourth full-length, it's actually their second album—with the two tracks from the "Tormentor" 7" (1998) tacked on as a bonus. This one sticks fairly closely to the standards of the genre in terms of relying largely on moderate speed and harsh chord progressions with only minor dashes of dissonant melody in the guitar work. On rare occasion there are a couple of relatively insignificant keyboard flourishes, but that's not something that stands out or gets in the way at all. Dating back eight or nine years, the recording suffers in a couple of minor areas from a sharp guitar tone that has a mildly unnatural bite to it, but thankfully this is something that only springs up as somewhat of a hitch in the listening experience a handful of times throughout the album, which is otherwise a very competently delivered slab of tried and true black metal. Though, amusingly, Svartsyn is perhaps the only black metal band in existence to have included a MySpace URL in their CD booklet!?

Svartsyn "Terrordemon"
Svartsyn "From Haunted Depths"

As usual, if this is something that meets your tastes, pick it up:

@ The End Records

Arckanum - The 11-Year Anniversary AlbumYet again from Sweden, and also on Carnal Records, the oddly put together collection "The 11-Year Anniversary Album" was my first exposure to Arckanum, so sadly the disc begins with the two tracks from the band's absolutely terrible 1992 demo, which is perhaps understandably bad considering this was the first material ever recorded by the band, but holy shit... they should've arranged this CD in reverse chronological order, because the first demo's practically unlistenable, and things do pick up from there. Basically this CD compiles 11 assorted rarities for a total of a little over 50 minutes of material spanning Arckanum's rather extensive discography throughout more than a decade of existence. The next three songs come from 1994's "Trulen" demo and are also really raw (plus the vocals are mixed too loud), but I can listen to it, and the band's songwriting had advanced greatly at that point to match the form of frantic black metal that was becoming the standard at the time. Beyond that there are a number of assorted tracks from the mid-90's on through 2003 that were either unreleased or taken from various 7"s or promo cassettes—but three of these tracks aren't even listed anywhere on the packaging, which makes no sense and annoys the hell out of people like me who are neurotic about details, ha, ha! I don't really like collection CD's because I'm a big time completist, so if I dig a band I want to own all of their records anyway, but aside from the lack of details surrounding those three "bonus tracks", this is a decent glance at Arckanum's back catalog that does provide liner notes and such. And, of course, there are loads of pictures of the core band member wearing some silly demon mask and a hooded cloak or something. Ahhh, black metal... But at least the quality of the songs increases chronologically, so there are some solid tunes to be had.

Arckanum "Kolin Væruld"
Arckanum "Kosmos Wardhin Dræpas Om Sin"

Full Moon Productions looks to be the US source for Carnal Records' releases, so pick it up if it's your thing:

@ Full Moon Productions

Arckanum/Svartsyn - splitLast but not least is a split CD between the prior two bands, Arckanum and Svartsyn, also released by Carnal Records. This disc sees slightly newer material from each band (Arckanum recorded in 2003 while Svartsyn's tracks date back to 2001), and for the most part I actually like these songs a little better than those on "Bloodline" or "The 11-Year Anniversary Album". The recordings are still rugged but sound a little more effective and balanced for each act, while Arckanum offers more consistent songwriting and Svartsyn's speeds harness a greater deal of ferocity and power. You can also hear the basslines in the songs from each of the artists, and that's always a plus—especially when it comes to a genre like black metal that often tends to bury the bass in the distance. This is good stuff. Nothing fancy, just a fairly streamlined attack of classic styled black metal with just the right amount of atmosphere and variety to catch your ear. Both of these bands seem to have hit their strides in more recent times:

Arckanum "Hæxhamar"
Svartsyn "Furnace in Purgatory"

Once more, if you enjoy the tunes, buy the disc for yourself:

@ Full Moon Productions

Comments

  1. i read a review on digitalmetal about the craft album saying how its so long, boring and uncreative. i think it even said “only for the most grimmest and most patient black metal fan.” well, i guess we’re among the grimmest since i think this band and record are fucking awesome.

    2.13.2006 | By heh

  2. Anyone who would write such a thing about that Craft record should not be reviewing black metal in my opinion.  I cannot fathom an actual fan of black metal making such statements, it just doesn’t make sense.

    2.13.2006 | By Andrew Aversionline

  3. Arckanum is a one-man project, just thought it would be fun to know for those who don’t. ^^

    And yes the band rules.

    I really dig the split w/ Svartsyn, Arckanum just persistantly hammer the riffs into your mind. Me like!

    2.13.2006 | By swede

  4. Speaking of black metal, Have you heard Deathspell Omega’s “Kenose”? Seriously some of the best shit I’ve heard. Take Radar Swarm metalcore and combine it with marduk(in the vocals and some of the riffs) style black metal. Check it out, I’m sure you’ll dig it.

    One other band that I have never heard you mention on this blog or in any review, is Leviathan(U.S.). “Tentacles of Whorror” is one of my favorite black metal albums. Awesome stuff. A great production, cool looking cover and nothing too cheesy in content.

    2.15.2006 | By Zach

  5. Yeah, the Deathspell Omega is good shit, but honestly I’ve not liked much of what I’ve heard from any of Leviathan’s releases.  And funnily enough I fucking hate the cover art for “Tentacles of Whorror”, which I also think is an awful album title (as is “Howl Mockery at the Cross”).  But then again, it’s not like black metal is known for great titles, ha, ha.

    I think I heard some stuff off “The Tenth Sublevel of Suicide” that I liked a little, but I’m not sure.  After the first 5 - 6 various tracks I sampled from the band didn’t do anything for me I kind of gave up.

    2.16.2006 | By Andrew Aversionline

  6. the Craft tracks sound a bit more rock influenced than their last album. kinda reminds me of Khold.
    have you heard “Krek”, the latest Khold?
    i like it! nice dry production, very prominent basslines & some of the lamest drum fills i’ve heard since their last record.

    2.17.2006 | By Fredrik

  7. I can’t really understand the adulation for the new Craft. It’s okay, but it doesn’t compare at all (IMO) to Terror Propaganda, which was beautiful. This new one sounds tired and uninspired to me…

    2.17.2006 | By Anonymous

  8. I only have one Khold CD (not the new one), but I do quite like it.  I’ve been meaning to grab the others but haven’t done so just yet.

    2.17.2006 | By Andrew Aversionline

  9. Harmonics (featured in every sample): tottaly untrue (untroo).

    How do you figure following a “grim” black metal riff with “Doo-DOO-DEE!”!  ADHD is pandemic if musical trends are an indicator.

    2.20.2006 | By Third of The Storms

  10. I picked up Craft today based on the strength of the mp3’s you posted. The haters probably feel BM has to be poorly produced to keep it cult but i love the sound.  Its got a death metal beefiness to it that really helps the midtempo pounding.  The band obviously put alot of work into the songwriting and recording, seriously this is a great disc.  Thanks for turning me on to it.

    2.25.2006 | By kountchokula

  11. I just checked out a bunch of reviews referenced above and i am blown away at how Crafts disc seems to be universally reviled.  Its like there’s a vendetta against the band or something.  Whatever , I think the disc kills.

    2.25.2006 | By kountchokula

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