Since the first coming of Blackened Death Metal at the end of the 90's, it became more and more massive and aggressive, with musical works exploding of pure aggressiveness in our faces. But sometimes, it seems to expand limits in an uncommon way, as we hear on
“The Divine Light of a New Sun”, the second album from Australian duo
NORSE. The main differential from these guys is the experimental approach of the style. They are aggressive as the other bands from the genre, but they are up to explore a deeper and atmospheric side in some moments. It’s not an easy album to understand, and to be honest, it is a trial. But the harder they are to be assimilated, the better the album is.
About the production of
“The Divine Light of a New Sun”: well, we don’t have any information about it, but it’s the weak point of the album. The sound quality is rawer and harsh beyond the right point, pushing the final result on the production into a region where Black Metal bands with a SWOBM insight use to sound. Of course that it’s not a total loss, but it could be far better, because their musical work deserves it. As I wrote above,
“The Divine Light of a New Sun” is not an easy album to comprehend. It has many different qualities, and the experimental insight used by
ADR and
Forge can be strange for many at the first sight. But when you get used to
“Supreme Vertical Ascent” and its bitter work on guitars, the abrasive aggressiveness on the drums and bass guitar on
“Drowned by Hope”, the introspective and bittersweet Progressive parts of
“Telum Vitae”, the insane Jazz/Progressive essence of the brutal
“The Divine Light of a New Sun”, the melancholic feeling that fills
“Synapses Spun as Silk” (very good guitars and vocals), and the experimental and aggressive Jazz technical insight of
“Arriving in Peace, Pregnant with War”, and you’ll be hooked to their work. So let yourself be hooked!
Adjusting the sound quality on the next time, and I’m sure that we are facing a new
VED BUENS ENDE (if you don’t know, go for it)!
Originality: 9
Songwriting: 10
Memorability: 8
Production: 6
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