In Blackest Ruin

It's clear that no band's releases are all of equal value. Not completely. In the case of ARMAGEDDA, their CDs, LPs, etc. have all been exquisitely sinister and filled with total detestation, as can be experienced on their 2004 10" MLP "In Blackest Ruin," which was first released as a cassette at the beginning of their black metal career. This vinyl album offered people like me, unwilling to buy tapes, the chance to own the exclusive songs entailed therein as original. Still, "In Blackest Ruin" is in my personal opinion ARMAGEDDA's weakest release, or, to put it in better words, one that is not quite up to the standards of the other ones.

The sound of "In Blackest Ruin" is very raw, basic and was not modified in a commercial studio. 'Primitive' is the word ARMAGEDDA use inside the gatefold cover to describe how they view the sound quality. This fact is by no means a negative factor, and it has obviously not influenced my opinion in a negative way either.

So what makes this MLP fall slightly below ARMAGEDDA's usual standards? Well, firstly, it's the vocals in some songs for example. In one of them, Graav's performance reminds me of the countless average vocalists, with their high-pitched grunts, devoid of any raspiness. Sure, there are albums where such vocals work to perfection, as they sometimes have that 'trollish' side to them. But this is not the issue here and does not suit ARMAGEDDA's music at all. Another lack that can hardly be overlooked, compared to the rest of their efforts, lies in the guitarwork. A. and Graav have always been able to conjure up riffs that left me (and still do) gasping for breath, yet on "In Blackest Ruin," this does not occur in all the songs. Now, I am aware that the original tape was meant as more of a rehearsal than as a demo, and this 10" has therefore a 'collector value' for me. Despite this, some tracks do manage to be as good as I would wish, and the gatefold cover is nothing less than pure art!

Have I put some of you off? A. and Graav were surely not trying to obtain additional fans by saying "attention idiots" inside the sleeve, so I might have fulfilled their intentions. Discouraging listeners is however not my purpose here. "In Blackest Ruin" is a very good collection of songs if one takes it for what it is, i.e a demo or maybe even less. It might not be seen spinning on my record-player as often as ARMAGEDDA's other releases, but it does enable me to understand the path that the band had chosen to walk since the outset of their musical journey. And what a journey it turned out to be!