Metal Reviews

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Amen to that.

However, I must disagree with the acoustic bits giving a 'warm, fuzzy feel' -- at least in the way I perceive things. The end of Death Of Baldr And The Coming War strikes me as more despondent than anything, and actually brings me close to tears. I'm not sure what it is about it...

The album is a bit weak in some areas, after listening to it further; the succeeding songs aren't as strong as the aforementioned one. And as a whole, it does require a certain mood to fully appreciate (and patience!).

But yeah, I'm glad you reviewed this. Panopticon released a self-titled one before this, which is well over an hour long. Maybe you should give it a shot as well.

I can dig that. To me it does sound warm, but then it's kind of an uneasy warmness... to continue the post-apocalyptic stuff, its a bit like finding some canned goods. Kinda like, things are temporarily good for now.

That might've been the intention, come to think of it...

See, this is what metal needs more of: moods that make you ruminate.

Hah, right on. We need more ruminatory black metal, whatever the Satanic elite might say.

That's exactly how I felt when I first heard it. The song is just so overwhelming to that point and then it just breaks into music which is so uplifting out of context but it just breaks you down following the rest of the track.

I liked Collapse much more so than the s/t.

As for the review, you're reading of the soundclips is really interesting I'd never thought about them as disconnected from reality. Simplistically, I was just looking at them as the forecast of the apocalypse and not giving Austin any credit for rebuking those loons.

So "On the Subject of Morality" should be out soon. Difficulty in releasing means it might be done in parts as splits with Skagos and When Bitter Spring Sleeps, who I haven't heard of before.

Well he's definitely a leftist (maybe of the Chomskyite variety?- on that split from the NP thread there is a tune called "the ghosts of Haymarket Square") and so I can't imagine he'd sample Dobbs and Beck in any kind of approving way, or indeed just for the apocalyptic ambiance. He'd want to make a point about them. The impression I got when the black metal comes in on the first track is basically him going "STFU", but that's purely my own reading.

By the way, I've never heard When Bitter Spring Sleeps, but Skagos is really great. I think you'd really dig them. Even if you hate their music, you have to give them credit for the fact that their logo looks like this:

An anarchist possibly suited to Chomsky. I never realized how much Chomsky assumes from Marx but yeah about the soundclips. It was always a big kind of WTF for me and I just never had a coherent idea as to why include them. I was getting too much hung up on the NAFTA part possibly.

As for Skagos, I listened to Ast maybe twice and didn't get into it. I feel like I would like them given more listens.

Ah ok, when you said "who I hadn't heard before" I thought you were referring to Skagos as well.

Yeah, worth another couple of listens, I'd say. I've been playing it loads recently

I think the guy from Panopticon has stopped doing interviews, but it would be interesting to ask him. I mean, I listened again just now and though- I can see an argument that he's just putting these in purely for the "woooh scary atmosphere" factor. But from what I can tell the guy has a political agenda that would exclude that possibility.

I just think you're right. Theoretically, I'm all about meaning being in art which may be intentional or not so I like your reading of it. Get an interview. You know you want to.

Heh, on the myspace it says he doesn't want any more requests... maybe if he's got a new album coming out he'll reconsider.

That sucks. I'm just going to have to drive to Kentuckers to find out.