DARKWOR – Foederati CD
Self Released
When American black metal bands/artists are at their best is when they are not trying to full on copy the past greats from Europe. DARKWOR is one of those bands and although it’s impossible not to be influenced in your sound by someone else from black metal’s waves atleast they’re trying very hard. This is not your typical post black metal which is kinda getting old of late nor is it black floyd or some other black progressive seventies hard rock hybrid. If I were to give a reference point it would be that DARKWOR lean more towards black metal’s late nineties period when bands were starting to break free from the confines of the genre’s orthodoxy. What this CD represents, atleast to me, is a band trying to break away from the modern day orthodoxy within black metal which is in my not so humble opinion the marriage of indie rock and black metal. Yeah I still hate that crap.
Don’t let the atmospheric intro “Dawn of Adrianople” seduce you into thinking this is more of what you’re used to hearing. Once the title cut hits you then you’ll be like “Wow that’s interesting”. Instead of the typical DARK BORGIR you get corpse painted graduates from classical music appreciation class. What’s even better is that you can hear the bass and the drummer knows alot more than a blast beat. “Renaissance Apocalypse” is grinding death circling within a blackened industrial centrifuge. “III” opens with a battle horn (?) and from there it pillages to the point of a doom blast then goes straight blackened thrash. This guy’s vocals (Skullbliterator) vary from the satanic frog to angst ridden punk rocker to this is the last thing I’m going to do in my life so I’ll scream till I vomit blood. Their guitarist (Agnar) is fuckin great as well since he mixes alot of death metal leads along with no holds bar thrash rhythms.
There’s a somber sounding ambient cut which for this release is needed but after three minutes of that we go into territory which has been tread before badly by many USBM bands. “Curse of Atreus” is probably the closest that DARKWOR comes to being symphonic on here but they rape it with a sonic dirge of doom and then commence to grind it to pieces. The background keyboards are much more like scenery then a boring soundscape. The final cut “Desecrating the Remains” is when all reality and extreme metal genres are thrown out the fuckin door. Years ago I once read the term “kitchen sink black metal” used to describe a release. This song is it; better yet this whole release is it.
www.myspace.com/darkwormetal
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