966

Could this be Hellveto's first 'retro' release? It wouldn't be an entirely bizarre statement given the body of '966', which seems heavily influenced by 'Zmierzch', and, greater and more curiously, 'Medieval Scream', though it certainly has idiosyncracies of its own. It certainly seems like a step backward for the band stylistically, if not in quality of output. This album definitely sounds like the work of a man rediscovering his musical roots, and as such, is an essential item for those who enjoy the earliest works of Hellveto in its conventional style.

This is an album highly driven by contrast; passages of extremely unaggressive and meandering clean guitar-laced pagan metal clash with more violent and black metal moments seemingly taken from some of the more aggressive passages of albums like 'Prelude To Dying' (though without that release's penchant for utter hopelessness in mood). I'm not sure if I would describe this music as 'conflicted', as it's extremely musically coherent throughout, but the root element of conflict is certainly one of the main features which drives it forward. With an intentionally degraded production job similar to what one might hear on an early release such as 'Zemsta', this is a complex and rather inaccessible release from an already intimidating artist. The layouts of these tracks are deep and varied, with very dramatic song structures passing through steep hills and deep valleys of emotion and aggression, resulting in a difficult and not entirely smooth listening experience. Hellveto's flair of artistry and style manages to link even some of the most incongruous passages together, though, and the album never fails to be fully realized in its ideas and aesthetic.

Apart from these intensely nostalgic moments, the rest of the music can be seen as a relatively clean continuation of 'Galeon', which in turn was a continuation of 'Prelude To Dying' and its diminished folk presence in favor of a more pronounced neoclassical bent. The substantial elements taken from 'Medieval Scream' tend to balance the sound out a bit more, making this a very rounded, even a bit hodge-podgey release from Hellveto. Guitars are again pushed into the background with vocals and drums in favor of an intense orchestral attack ala 'Stos', but the electric instruments take over again in the surprisingly frequent blasting and tremolo sections. On '966', the metallic and orchestral instruments seem even more at odds than usual, with sets of clean guitars or violins occasionally operating at entirely different tempos from the electric instruments under them and generally operating in a rather different melodic spectrum, a far cry from the relatively simple harmonizing melodies of the band's earliest works. The primarily churning midpaced rhythms with heavy and complex orchestral backing certainly make this one of Hellveto's most intense listening experiences since the mind-bending 'Visions From The Past' EP.

'966' is certainly a challenging release even by Hellveto standards; the extreme variation of the music itself in addition to the degraded production makes this a release that those already acquainted with more of the band's work would want to check out, rather than those just getting into the band. Regardless, it is another strong entry in Hellveto's catalog, though it's not in my top echelon of releases by the artist. Fans of the band will certainly want to pick it up, though those new to the artist would be advised to investigate on of L.O.N.'s more accessible works first before tackling this one.