Charnal Valley – The Dark Archives
Paragon Records – PRG-27018 – August 16th, 2005
By Jason Jordan
Hand-drawn cover, a color scheme limited to black, white and gray, and a preface about how
little time it took to record the album means that
The Dark Archives is nothing more than primitive black metal. On the flipside, the name
Charnel Valley probably doesn’t ring any bells, though this fine twosome is made up of none other than Worm (
Worm Gear zine) and Czar (
Metal Maniacs).
The Dark Archives is a thirty-minute journey through a trail already blazed by the likes of
Burzum,
Darkthrone, and their contemporaries. Along the same lines, the creative spirit that inhabited the first few waves of BM has seemingly made its way onto these counterparts’ album. Naturally, the six songs contained within don’t vary from one another in any significant way, though I have slight qualms with some of
Charnel Valley’s ramblings. First, as any conjecture will tell you, the production values have been tossed into the wind in favor of a more primal sound. So, know that before you go diving into
The Dark Archives thinking that it’s as slickly processed as anything with even decent production. Second, the instrumentation doesn’t coincide with the tempo at all times, and the China cymbal (I’m guessing) is quite overused on the recording. But, considering that the duo admits that, “Our music has heart and atmosphere…and fuck-ups…and it always will,” their mistakes are forgivable for the less anal-retentive ones out there. Lastly, judging from the informative liner notes,
Charnel Valley did all that is humanly possible “to uphold the true spirit of analog,” which is dandy if the material is strong enough to stand on its own two legs. Thankfully, it is.
The funniest thing about black metal, perchance, is that it’s frequently hit or miss, with no room in between for screw-ups.
Charnel Valley, if I’m being pressed to shove them into either of the above categories, are a hit. However, the rawness of this recording means that it caters to a very narrow, niche audience, but rest assured that favorable qualities are buried beneath the antagonistic music. By the way, please don’t tell any black metallers that I used a form of the word “funny” and “black metal” in the same sentence. I don’t want to get my head chopped off.
8/10
Official Paragon Records Website
