The Crimson Sacrament

There’s this odd sense of being in between accessibility and obscurity that has come to personify recent black metal offerings by younger acts. It’s not so much a matter of the music itself being done halfway, but more that the underlying attitude that gave the early scene its rawness is only half explored. Some of this could be attributed to the heavy influence of Dimmu Borgir on how the mainstream views the genre, which has sort of trickled down into most of the bands that would otherwise be considered the next generation of defenders of the true side of the scene. But whether or not one wishes to bash the living daylights out of “Enthrone Darkness Triumphant” for essentially merging melodic death and power metal elements to the sound, the radical shift that has since come about is undeniable to those familiar with Darkthrone, older Saytricon, Gorgoroth and the other adherents to the Norwegian 2nd wave.

This is essentially where Stormnatt falls into play going by their latest offering “The Crimson Sacrament”. It has one foot in the rawness of the old guard, particularly when looking at those guttural and somewhat raspy wolf barks acting as the vocals, which heavily compare to Nocturno Culto. There also seems to be a slight attempt at emulating, albeit in a less obvious manner, the droning repetition of the early 90s forefathers of this style. On the other hand, the extremely melodic and consonant thematic material heard in the guitars is a bit on the catchy side, even when compared with the droning familiarity of “Transylvanian Hunger” or “Pure Holocaust”. The production is crisp and clear, bringing the bass and drums into equal prominence in the mix while avoiding the distant character typical of the guitars in this style’s arrangement. It definitely goes for the polished and gallant character of Dimmu’s later works, but retains some of the frosty elements that characterized the original release of “Stormblåst”.

In spite of some suggesting that this is tantamount to having it both ways, this is pulled off pretty well and can be listened to without feeling too much like a compromise between edgy darkness and lighter fluff. Actually, the lone pitfall that this tends to walk itself into is being a bit too consistent stylistically and getting a bit repetitive. In several of these songs, particularly “The Crimson Sacrament”, “Soul Murder Suicide” and “Upon The Shores Of Solitude Pt. III”, there is a heavy melodic death tinged riff set that is almost interchangeable between each song that almost turns into a slightly Dimmu tinged homage to Dark Tranquillity. “Blood Will Tell” actually starts off sounding like something that Amon Amarth might have put together during their “Versus The World” era, although the vocals avoid the guttural berserker ravings of Johan Hegg for something a bit lighter, more garbled, and less animated. Apart from the Gregorian Chants heard at the beginning of “Apparitional Echoes From The Void”, the entire album has this constant desire to crossover into the more accessible Gothenburg in its sound, but just misses actually becoming of that overall aesthetic.

This is an enjoyable album, but clearly not of the same caliber as what one would hear out of Immortal or Enslaved, particularly during the early 90s. It’s not going to win over the old guard who were waiting with baited breath for the recent Beherit comeback or are caught up in the hype over the new Burzum album. It’s a bit mainstream friendly and more song oriented than compositional, but it is something that can sit well with those occasional black metal fans who view the genre as a rougher version of their preferred Dark Tranquillity or Dimmu Borgir cuisine. But those who are looking for grim and frostbitten landscapes with hoarse snow demon vocals are encouraged to wait for Immortal’s “All Shall Fall” to hit the streets.

Originally submitted to (www.metal-observer.com) on July 11, 2009.

I really love Stormnatt’s debut album "Resurrection ov the kult" from 2005, so when I heard they were finally doing a follow-up I instantly started to look forward to hearing it. And here it finally is; "The crimson sacrament". The danger with a highly anticipated follow-up is that you might’ve gotten too high hopes for it, expecting too much of it. ‘Cause you can’t really expect to love each and every release of a particular band equally. But I didn’t heed my own warnings, and was still eager to get my hands on this piece of Austrian blasphemy.

The first thing that strikes me is the artwork, which is dark and ominous like with most black metal artwork. But this time it’s just too dark. Black writing upon a dark grey/black background makes it pretty much impossible to read the full track titles. And when I open the booklet to check out the lyrics it’s pretty much the same ordeal; albeit a bit more decipherable due to the red writings (but still a pain in the ass to read). Maybe it’s not the most important thing in the world, but it’s annoying-as-hell.

"The crimson sacrament" certainly differs a lot from its predecessor. First off all the atmosphere; it just doesn’t have the same stark aura, reeking of blasphemy. It just doesn’t feel as ‘evil’ as "Resurrection ov the kult". Musically I find it leaning a bit towards the Swedish scene back in the nineties, still with a hint of the Norwegian style. A lot of melodies sweep through with tons of slick guitar leads and riffing. And going by only this I’d say it’s simply very melodic, but the vocals add such a harsh attitude to it all with a raw gasping voice. Tempo-wise the drumming keeps things fresh with the many tempo changes. The base of it all is something like fast mid-tempo. It certainly goes fast, but not blazingly (if you catch my drift). If I were to compare this to any particular band I’d go for Blodsrit, with a hint of Mörk Gryning.

The sound is good with a certain chilling touch to it, the musicianship is great and they certainly have matured a lot during these years of silence. But while I find it easy to get drawn into the excellent melodies I find it almost just as easy to tune out. It’s certainly all good, but lacking the really major hooks to keep you nailed. Still a great album, though.

Originally written for http://www.mylastchapter.net

Well, this is my first review on the Archives, but hopefully not my last. I thought I'd add one for the latest Stormnatt album, as there seemed to be a dearth of them.

The Crimson Sacrament is the bands 3rd full length, I believe, and a worthy effort at that. Musically, there are definite hints of Melodeath; twin guitar lines, strong melodies (that get somewhat repetitive after a while), a more 'gritty" distortion then typical fuzzed-out black metal production, triggered drums, etc.

Vocally, we have a typical gurgler- somewhat reminiscent of Themgoroth from older Dark Funeral. The vocals are somewhat annoying, in that the singer never quite sings in time, and the fact they are so generic starts grating a bit; there are no real changes in pitch or intensity- indeed, it feels as if the trve disgust and rage are lacking to a degree. The lyrics tend to follow the music, and sound a bit stalted.

The album is something that would satisfy fans of Dissection, Immortal, Graveworm. No tracks stand out especially; in fact, I wondered if I had a song on repeat when first listening. The closing number is vocally a bit more interesting then the rest, with a more screechy tone reached- something that could have been employed a bit more throughout the album.

Overall, it is a strong album in terms of melody. The central themes of each song are often repeated, in the vein of earlier BM, and are usually very catchy, if a bit 'samey' at times. Production is good; everything is clear and seperated, especially the twin guitars. The drums are always audible, though the triggered sound of the kick is annoying- flat out. Nothing spectacular in terms of musician ship, but well crafted nonetheless. I think if Stormnatt added a symphonic element, the atmosphere would become a lot more gloomy and satisfying- a statement made true by the intro to Track One.

Good album; not great- but pleasing if one is in the mood for "mellower" black metal.