Miasma / Gräuen Pestanz
Into the Fire Of Isolation ()
Wydane przez Black Plague Records/Metalhit.comRok wydania Kraj Canada / USANapisał Wouter7
Black metal split albums aren’t quite as common as in the death metal or grindcore scene, so California’s Black Plague Records is somewhat breaking new ground with this release. “Into the Fire Of Isolation” features Canadian one-man band Miasma, who appear to be heavily influenced by the likes of Dark Funeral, (early) Gorgoroth and Striborg. The influence of Australia’s Striborg is especially apparent as Miasma uses similar repetitive riffing, creepy melodies, wailing vocals and minimal keyboards. The production is on the thin side, which render the guitars to nothing more but a buzz. The bass is completely inaudible and the drums are nowhere to be heard. ‘Into the Fire’, ‘Reaching For Choronzon’ and ‘Formless Reflection’ all are decent cuts for the genre, but do not offer up any mentionworthy novelties. Striborg fans will love this material. The other half of the split is taken by Florida’s Gräuen Pestanz. This unit is something completely different from Miasma as Gräuen Pestanz operates within the dark ambient, semi-industrial subgenre. The three tracks that this band contributes ‘Inceptum Quod Visum’, ‘Ritus Excessum’ and ‘Shadow’d Being’ are lengthy soundscapes filled with sporadic vocals, layers of processed sounds, industrial bits and spooky dark ambient. Only ‘Shadow’d Being’ is the black metal track of the three cuts that the band donates to this split. Stylewise this is similar to Miasma, only does Gräuen Pestanz sound more controlled and natural whenever they go into black metal mode. Overall “Into the Fire Of Isolation” offers hardly anything new to the genre, but both bands are strong within the confines of their niches.
www.blackplaguerecords.com
