Black Spells of the Damned

This is an interesting slab of extremely old-fashioned dark metal, equal parts black, death, thrash, and that odd area that Mercyful Fate fits into. But please note: there is NOTHING akin to Mercyful Fate to be heard on this album! I mentioned them because Front Beast's style cannot be pigeonholed as one style, yet is not scattershot with wildly divergent styles. It sound like itself throughout.

Before even discussing what the music sounds like, I'll mention that the album itself sounds almost as terrible as 80s/early 90s era demos. It is muffled and devoid of sharpness; the instruments' tones are subdued and sepulchral, but not apparently on purpose. This is not to say that they are inaudible, but they don't have any ripping fierceness to them. Various hums and electric buzzes can be heard, lending an air of demo quality, rather than the raw hellbent flavour that the more filthy black metal bands achieve. But these are not really prominent, I merely mention it in case the reader insists on having primo production quality...HAH! don't look here! I get the idea of amateurism, rather than purposeful "nekro" recording intent; though it shares some qualities with authentic nekro recordings, it has a raw element that is perhaps unique to Front Beast, though not noticeable enough to be novel.

All aspects of the album are overshadowed by the vocals. These are quite a bit too high in the mix, and are harsh and annoying...another pointer toward the demo-like quality of this. The vocals are not what could be considered "falsetto", but are clearly attempted by a man to scream outside of his normal range. What emerges are wretched yelpings and yowlings. Even if these vocals were at a more compatible level in the recording, they'd still be annoying, but not as much. What I can compare these to most closely is the vocals in the Hellhammer "Triumph of Death" song, meaning the higher-pitched shrieks. I must hand it to the vocalist Evil Avenger (it's a 1 man project) for not attempting to mimic more common styles of vocals, but he hits notes on here that are so harsh and recorded so loud that from time to time a very peculiar and obviously unintentional overloaded sound emerges from the speakers(this also happens during a few guitar solos, adding an element of rawness that is excessive).

How is the music? Pretty cool, actually. Despite the recording flaws and the vocals, you can hear the music, riffs, melodies, and rhythms easily. BUT....and I promise this will be the last gripe about "Black Spells of the Damned"....the songs tend to go on and on and on, without heed to any tasteful arrangement. I don't think this is a purposeful attempt to create a droning, hypnotic effect; the songs are not written in that style. It just sounds like the Evil Avenger really liked the riff, and didn't know when to stop! This does not mar the whole album, but is hard to take in a few of the songs. Front Beast has quite a few good rifs, nothing at all complex or technical, with the added bonus of some interesting bridges/tempo changes. There are a few guitar solos, one of which, perhaps in "Devil's Flame I don't remember at this time, reminded me very much of Chuck Schuldiner's early work, back before he went off on the technical tangent. Reminded me of that because it is just plain eerie and cool, to go along with most of the riffs. While you can hear elements of the above-mentioned genres, this remains mostly as very dark heavy metal, but twisted into the Front Beast sound. One thing that adds to that sound is the very slightly out-of-tune guitar, achieving a macabre anti-harmony that suits the dark world of Front Beast. One can actually even hear bass on this (as usual, not essential), and the drums are perhaps the least audible aspect, being quite muffled and merely used to keep the pace for the most part.

As sinister-sounding as this stuff is, it is also a joyous celebration of the past! It could have easily been released in 1984...but would have no doubt been reviled by the music "journalists" in the same way as Hellhammer and Mayhem were. I'd have liked to have given a higher score, but the sound, repetetiveness of some parts, and especially the vocals made it plunge to this level. I shall certainly look into subsequent releases, it's only a matter of time until this guy gets everything down to an evil science. Very highly recommended for anyone who wants to have a unique and abrasively raw musical experience that is reminiscent of the early days of extreme and true metal.

This is the first full-length album from Front Beast, a German band playing black/heavy metal.

The guitar tone on this album is amazing. It's filthy, gritty, off-kilter, and just plain METAL. The vocals are also crazy -- harsh, rasping cries of desperation. Underneath it all, the audible bass lines and halting drumming add even more character to the album's production.

That's one thing I like about Front Beast's music: you can't mistake it for anything else on Earth. This band's sense of timing and melody is really distinctive, and lends the songwriting a creative edge. There are clearly plenty of black metal influences here, from the ritual repetitiousness of Beherit to the spare austerity of early Burzum, but there's also a lot of traditional/horror metal influence, as well. If bands like Mercyful Fate, Sabbat (JPN), and Root mean something to you, "Unbound Evil" and "Devils Flame" ought to get your head banging. The bizarre main melody and solos from "Past Midnight They Arrive" should appeal, as well. That one is among the best songs I've heard in some time! The mournful, epic title track is right up there, too, with some moving guitar work and vocals.

Black Spells of the Damned is a killer mix of heavy and black metal sound, one that ought to appeal to all who value occult music. After following this band through something like fifteen demos and 7" splits, I had very high expectations for this record, and it still blew me away! This is probably the best example of Front Beast's art released so far. Highly recommended!

Standout Tracks: "Candlelights", "Past Midnight They Arrive", "Black Spells of the Damned"
Review by vorfeed: http://www.vorfeed.net