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I always like splits, especially if you are looking to sample before you buy (and you’re against illegal downloading by any means). I actually only purchased it for the Aryan Art song seeing as they look interesting, but I hadn’t herd too much about them so I figure this was better than risking money on a full length. I have never herd of Amalek but they also manage to put out something halfway decent.

Amalek

The minute I herd the drum sticks in the intro I knew what to expect from this side, raw black metal, no experimentation or anything I usually look for to keep my interest. Horna would be proud of these guys; the vocals and the guitar blend remind me a lot of there half of the famous Horna/Behexen split. The production is amazingly clean so you can hear the blended guitar tone, which after a while becomes induces a slight trance. Bass is non-existent by any means and the drumming doesn’t do anything really memorable but you can still get a little enjoyment from this half. Final score: 85%

Aryan Art

This half is a whole different spin on things. The production on here sounds more low-fi and the song is much heavier than the previous side. I also felt a colder darker atmosphere as I listened to this. The depressive riffs and distorted vocals really work well here. Drumming is pretty varied for what I was expecting. Eventually in the song there is a break and then a more tranquil passage with a clean chant that is almost spoken word. The outro resumes the pace of the beginning part of the song only everything is kicked up and sounds much more violent. Final Score: 93%

As a whole the split itself is very interesting because you get to hear two bands with very different styles and atmospheres. Normally this doesn’t work but these styles are very different in what style they play, one being more raw and primitive and the other being much more atmospheric and depressive, so I guess it somehow fits. My advice is to get this if you have an interest in either band quick because it’s bound to go out of print soon.