Abandon Hope

USBM is plagued more than perhaps any other subgenre of metal for having a reputation of being substandard. The musicians are so caught up in the notion of image and worship of old icons that the music becomes stale and of secondary importance. There are bands among the USBM set striving to change this however, and Stormbringer certainly is among this latter grouping.

Their brand of metal is heavily soaked in more classic metal ideas, obviously inspired not only by the standard black metal pantheon, but by the thrash gods as well. The hybrid created when the black and thrash elements combine amid Stormbringer’s vision of metal is an excellent and powerful synergy of complex melodies, dark yet triumphant, scattered among the sharp outlines of a unique and intelligent rhythm section. Melodic ideas flow between Swedish black metal and heavy metal concepts so intrinsic to the aural reputation of bands like Dissection, Sacramentum, and Dawn. Simple minor diades and triades form shifting spiraling stairs of foundation upon which more complex and creative melodies run, accenting powerful dark passages of aggressively bounding harmony bordering on the joyful with the somber addition of dissonant 4th and 5th intervals, with the occasional jazz-sounding 7th or 9th, however infrequent, adding depth and originality to a melodic framework painfully close to predictable. More traditional heavy metal passages and thrash and groove palm-muted passages pepper and slow the otherwise densely-packed percussive blasts of black metal melodies, adding breathing space that allow the sometimes daringly long songs to spread organically without being too dense or obtuse. These changes of style are noticeable, moving between fast blasting black metal and slower triumphant power passages of thrash; but they manage to do so without becoming off-balance or choppy. Guitarwork here is very cleanly and stridently played, and the players here demonstrate a brash confidence in their ability to jump between difficult and sometimes strange chords with ease.

As mentioned before, the rhythm section here is anything but forgettable. In fact, the combination of interesting melodies and harmonies among a well-established style with the figeting and technical percussion keep this release stellar. Blasts do not simple start, go, and stop again. They are constantly shifting engines of syncopated speed in the best traditions of metal drumming, without stealing the show completely. Tempo changes are almost common among the songs, which brings this out of the strict realm of black metal into a grey area of excellent musical ability, as songs mutate while allowing for plenty of more simple passages worthy of a hearty headbang. Also alluded to earlier, there is a definite feeling between the thrash elements and sometimes more heavy metal than black metal drumming that force more of a smile on the face of the listener than the requisite snarling grimace so emblematic to bleak sallow-faced black metallers. There is a definite confident stride in the rhythms, that can be explained with no further clarity than to say it is more triumphant and brash than dark and sad.

Vocals here are a double-attack of high and low screams than mostly manage to avoid the pitfalls such a combo might engender. There is no call and response to remember here, more like verses of high punctuated with lows, with occasional longer duets of growling harmony. Hardly melodic, this combination of screams nicely counterbalances the heavily melodic feel of the rest of Stormbringer’s sound. My only complaint with the vocals is that sometimes they come too fast and too far forward in the mix, droning out the rest of the band. The songwriting, for the most part, knows when to unleash the vocals and when to keep the silent.

Overall this is an excellent USBM band very few black metal fans are aware of. Definitely recommended.