II: A ceremony of mid and slow black metal – 95%
Byrgan, December 28th, 2008
Barathrum’s second full length is a murky deliverance, a catchy ensemble and an output that creates an atmosphere likened to dying wide-eyed and fully aware. The band braces themselves with thickly tuned guitars, just-as-loud-dirt-stained distorted bass and vocals, and drums that are there to make sure that the band produces music instead of saying screw it all together and performing virgin sacrifices or steaming up piping hot cauldrons with some kind of tart witches’ brew.
“Eerie” is black metal with primarily a mid and slower pace. Where some faster bm bands use tremolo riffs, meshed chords and possibly some melody, Barathrum distance themselves from all three, creating impossibly deep notes typically centered with a one-strum-at-a-time focus; though two bassists and a guitarist are accredited here and it sounds like some songs might just have two bass lines going and no guitar in ear range. The way the songs are set up can create an overall brooding mood and lingering aura, something that grabs hold of your attention and doesn’t let go till the last note is struck. At times, a repeated structure is initiated to create song writing that is ritualistic in form. The band has the ability to transfix your contemplation when need be, either with music that drifts its momentum, or just by repeating a certain structure with coming-and-going subtleties, such as layered guitar and bass tracks during some areas, or at other particular portions they might indulge you with a deluge of mind-altering backing vocal tracks if that wasn’t enough. Then right when your brain gets synced with its dark-aura, they’ll bring about an abundance of areas that give a captivating bob from that head of yours from an inclination to heaviness. In either mode the song writing is simplistic in nature, and in doing so, Barathrum are able to blend back and forth between the two factions naturally without a noticeable switch.
The production here is savage: piled high with effects, especially distortion, which is added on each driving instrument, save the drums. This can create an overall grimy effect, especially with the vocals hissing and growling their filth along side. There are some clean vocals that shed the murk in some areas, but instead sound like they’re lifted from oppressive evil and dropped into the embracing tentacles of desperation. The snare drum isn’t anywhere hidden, having a good amount of reverb on it. It projects a good amount of “umph” when hit and gives the tempo a certain amount of following-along power. The toms get the same treatment and prove a force when struck with the heavy hitting power of the drummer. Some of the effects can range anywhere from wind to bells placed during the band playing, as if it’s coming from around the next corner, instead of being hidden in between the slithering crevices of the actual instruments playing. There’s a pretty neat effect on the title track “Eerie,” which uses a kind of ’70’s synthesizer siren during a few areas as the guitars pluck away at these building catchy lines underneath; since it’s so high in nature and unguessable in scope, it comes off as a kind of climatic culmination to something potentially ominous that’s about to come.
Barathrum’s sophomore full length, placed right after “Hailstorm,” is even more developed. The band decided to concentrate more so on hooking riffs, honed their particular use of layered guitar tracks, separated the production a little further, and essentially gravitated towards being a tad more musically oriented instead of producing amass of abstract sounds to contend with. There is a seemingly endless stream of catchy moments that still manage to simultaneously create a hampering evil tone in just over an hour’s time frame. And what makes this release so great is the capability of pulling off both sides effectively; as their last release demonstrates, it isn’t always an easy task to accomplish, even when playing their instruments simplistically. “Eerie” is black metal that is justifiably unique in the genre and genuinely dark. This isn’t a one-go-listening concept, but a release that can beckon repeat come-backs as well.
rafazardly 