Friday 25 May 2007

Book Of Black Earth - "The Feast" [2006] [20 Buck Spin]



"After seeing these guys live in 2006 I immediately jumped on this album. These guys are new, but, hands down, some of the best black metal I've ever heard. Not only that, but they're extremely unique as well. It's definitely not the same old black metal you always hear. I can't wait to hear more albums.

For this album, the production is surprisingly great. Everything seems mixed very well, and I can hear everything on a comfortable level. The first track of this album, "May Your God Deny You," is one of the strongest tracks. It jumps right in with a killer riff behind TJ's very well-executed vocals, and doesn't stop. In the next track, Occult Machinery, we hear more of Joe's awesome drumming, with some emphasis this time on the killer double-kick action. In my opinion, the riffs in this song aren't quite as catchy as the first, but they still suit the song perfectly. Let Us Worship The Dead features the first atmospheric intro of the album. It's very creepy, and Book Of Black Earth's real black style comes through when the unaccompanied vocal intro kicks in after a few seconds. They're so rough and black that it truly makes me want to go slaughter some Christians. The only downside to this song is it's shorter-than-usual length. I think this song could be even better if they continued it into a huge epic masterpiece.

Serve The Adversary is a slower song, but still evokes a strong sense of power and emotion with crunchy riffs, and more funeral doom droning vocals than what can be heard on the previous songs. Next, however, Agents Of Destruction comes back right in with the faster style riffs as a nice refresher. Although this song is less catchy than the others, in my opinion, it's still nice to have in there as a transition out of the feeling Serve The Adversary brought on. After this breather, one of the highlights of the album comes in. In Hatred And Misery begins with some of the most epic riffage yet on the album, cluing in to the awesome song that's coming. It's the longest song on the album, and filled with tempo changes and all the elements that make Book Of Black Earth amazing. The most notable parts of this song are Joe's drumming, Jeff's bass work, and the overall atmosphere and feeling of it. The Dawn Of Industry concludes this amazing album, and begins with an epic riff similar to that of In Hatred And Misery. The vocals in this song, I think, are the best on the album. They're mixed so they're not overpowering, but sound great with the rest of the music. Also, Hank's keyboard work stands out in this track possibly a bit more than the others, and sounds great. About a minute and a half into this one, also, we're greeted with about a 30-second drum breakdown that is both impressive technically, and incredibly brutal." Metal Archives Review




TRACKLIST:
1.May Your God Deny You05:02
2.Occult Machinery03:29
3.Let Us Worship the Dead01:41
4.Serve the Adversary05:00
5.Agents of Destruction04:14
6.In Hatred and Misery06:32
7.The Dawn of Industry03:56
Total playing time29:54

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