Blood of the Black Owl – Blood of the Black Owl
Bindrune Recordings – BR005 – January 2007
By Wayward_Son
Surprise, surprise. Here we have yet another band touting itself as “primal”, “destructive” and “unique”. These newer bands being praised as metal’s saviors are nothing more than a Flavor-of-the-Month. It is simply more fulfilling to turn to older milestones or stick with what certain legendary bands are releasing. This writer could continue with his sermon, but is there really any point, Faithful Reader?
So, here is where this writer tells you that, despite his preconceived notion that Blood of the Black Owl would be garbage, this album is truly “unique” and is the next logical step in metal? You would be half correct. Blood of the Black Owl does play a fairly fresh sounding mix of black metal, funeral doom and shamanistic ritual music. To simplify matters for the comparison Reader, imagine Skepticism upping the ante on the shamanistic feel to Stormcrowfleet and recruiting Varg Vikernes to play guitar, with Rob Darken behind the microphone.
Being a fan of funeral doom and black metal, this writer took to Blood of the Black Owl quite well. The songs never move beyond a mid-pace, with most of them staying true to the slow tempo of funeral doom. The opener, ‘Kills in Timber’ is an exception, using great black metal riffs throughout most of the nine minutes. Easily the most interesting song here, the rest of the album fails to keep the same standard. A lot of times throughout the seventy-plus minutes, this writer found himself losing interest. The album could have been cut down considerably and had a much more profound impact.
The one thing Blood of the Black Owl is doing that might one day make this writer a fan, is the inclusion of shamanistic passages. It does positively add another dimension to the music presented here. Unfortunately, it is similar to what Nile does with their Egyptian themes. Instead of including these shamanistic rituals into the metal passages, they are thrown to the end of the songs or in between the metal segments. If the band (which is actually one man) would learn to play to their strengths, which are decent black metal riffs (‘Hammer Comes Crashing Down’ and ‘Kills in Timber’
and the Heathen meditations (‘Uwwalo’, Blood of the Black Owl could carve out a special little niche for themselves.
As it stands, Blood of the Black Owl is a decent debut album that should appeal to funeral doom fanatics, as well as some black metal fans that do not suffer from attention deficit disorder. This writer hopes this band works out the kinks and soldiers on, because there is something unique to be heard here.
Official Blood of the Black Owl Website
Official Bindrune Recordings Website
Bindrune Recordings – BR005 – January 2007
By Wayward_Son
Surprise, surprise. Here we have yet another band touting itself as “primal”, “destructive” and “unique”. These newer bands being praised as metal’s saviors are nothing more than a Flavor-of-the-Month. It is simply more fulfilling to turn to older milestones or stick with what certain legendary bands are releasing. This writer could continue with his sermon, but is there really any point, Faithful Reader?
So, here is where this writer tells you that, despite his preconceived notion that Blood of the Black Owl would be garbage, this album is truly “unique” and is the next logical step in metal? You would be half correct. Blood of the Black Owl does play a fairly fresh sounding mix of black metal, funeral doom and shamanistic ritual music. To simplify matters for the comparison Reader, imagine Skepticism upping the ante on the shamanistic feel to Stormcrowfleet and recruiting Varg Vikernes to play guitar, with Rob Darken behind the microphone.
Being a fan of funeral doom and black metal, this writer took to Blood of the Black Owl quite well. The songs never move beyond a mid-pace, with most of them staying true to the slow tempo of funeral doom. The opener, ‘Kills in Timber’ is an exception, using great black metal riffs throughout most of the nine minutes. Easily the most interesting song here, the rest of the album fails to keep the same standard. A lot of times throughout the seventy-plus minutes, this writer found himself losing interest. The album could have been cut down considerably and had a much more profound impact.
The one thing Blood of the Black Owl is doing that might one day make this writer a fan, is the inclusion of shamanistic passages. It does positively add another dimension to the music presented here. Unfortunately, it is similar to what Nile does with their Egyptian themes. Instead of including these shamanistic rituals into the metal passages, they are thrown to the end of the songs or in between the metal segments. If the band (which is actually one man) would learn to play to their strengths, which are decent black metal riffs (‘Hammer Comes Crashing Down’ and ‘Kills in Timber’
and the Heathen meditations (‘Uwwalo’, Blood of the Black Owl could carve out a special little niche for themselves. As it stands, Blood of the Black Owl is a decent debut album that should appeal to funeral doom fanatics, as well as some black metal fans that do not suffer from attention deficit disorder. This writer hopes this band works out the kinks and soldiers on, because there is something unique to be heard here.
Official Blood of the Black Owl Website
Official Bindrune Recordings Website
