Solidarity

It's albums like this that are proof that the many desperate attempts at being unique/eclectic by many bands is fairly overrated and just not worth anything at all. I haven't heard a lot of Burzum but you don't need to to know that this sounds exactly the same (guitar tone in particular) but perhaps a bit more melodic; perfect for a delicate soul like me.

The thing I like about this record is that while this has all of those "look meaningful whilst in a rainy forest" sort of things- lots of melody and long, steadily unfolding songs- it's also energetic and has some great riffs. Whereas Filosofem-loving dudes like Drudkh sap all of the energy out of the blueprint and just go for pretty forest times, Pagan Hellfire has a raw and rough edge to it; there's still some large hostile mammals in these woods.

Man, the riffs. They're just really well executed and a pretty simple reason to love this album. There's the usual melodic tremelo riffs, and it's mixed in with a bunch of kinda punky riffs and just a heap of energy. The croaked vocals could be improved, the drums could have some less artificial samples (though the programming is of an excellent quality), but man, the riffs pretty much cover up any shortfalls here. The title track is probably the best, a real crowd pleaser of a main riff, this soaring melodic line, all combined with some brilliant wall-of-chords style punk/black metal stuff. It's fast and ferocious but it's also just really freakin' catchy; which I guess would be a good description of most of the songs on this one (Frozen Soil for more excellent catchiness).

The lyrical themes could be marshmallows and this would still be great, the instrumental work is of such an outstanding quality. It's endorphins injected straight into the eyeballs, hugely melodic but also with a bunch of tempo changes, numerous riffs and an aggressive tone that keeps this feeling satisfyingly heavy and head banging. The production's excellent, the vocals pretty cool in all of their croakiness. It's pretty accessible but also quite heavy and cold; a good starting point if you want to get into black metal, I'd wager. And recommended for the more experienced listeners, too. It's some quality black metal with a rather nice mix between melody and blasting death.