Misanthropic Isolation / In the Heart of the Rainforest

We are the metalheads. We are extreme. We don't do social distancing. We do misanthropic isolation. Right? Yes? No? Come on! Yes, seriously. At least a little? Pretty please? Satan? Anyone? Oh well. At least we can pretend, and the best way to start is just about here...

Admittedly, 2001 and 1998 aren't as "distant, legendary history" in black metal terms as 1992 or 1993, and no stories are being told about those glorious days. To qualify for that, the recordings on this re-release would have to be, say, five years older. But, after the 1997 Cold Winter Moon demo, these two are the earliest Striborg recordings. As such, they are already a must for any fan. And wait until you hear how good they are...

First five (out of fourteen in total) songs are, strangely, the younger ones. In the Heart of the Rainforest opens with a windy intro and kicks in in that completely recognizable way: audibly and relaxedly plucked bass, hissing cymbals and the guitar tone consisting of more distortion than the actual "tone."

Yes, if I ever get to wander through the Tasmanian forests and don't hear Striborg playing in the air, I'll ask for my money back. What this man is doing, by himself, makes Tasmania feel as majestic, threatening and mysterious as anything his Scandinavian comrades have done for their own landscapes of origin. You can feel the rain, feel the forest, and damn it, don't gaze around with your mouth open, hypnotized and lost, thinking how you and Nature are one and have always been. Look where you are going because those moist leaves could be covering a trap, and the slimy stuff covering the branches and dripping on your path doesn't look healthy, either.

The only glitch on In the Heart of the Rainforest is the fact that the five songs don't quite sound alike so there must have been more sessions. But who cares?

Misanthropic Isolation is even harder to listen to. What a surprise. Even this early, it's Striborg as I know it (or him), through and through. Nothing new, but nothing "old," either. Compared to Striborg's more recent output, the guitar sound loses nothing in the intensity, except that all the harsh distortion was achieved in a much less sophisticated way. Simply, it's the classic "angry wasp in a tin jar" sound, but the rest of what you can hear makes Misanthropic Isolation a classic Striborg. There are the endless blasts, the recognizable screams and the sloppy drums. Of course, when you realize that, while being fast or slow, simple or complicated, they are equally sloppy, the joke is on you. Sin Nanna just did it the way it was supposed to be done. The bass is quite silent, but it matches the guitar in the careless, convicting insanity. Ranging from hypnotic to conventional black metal, Misanthropic Isolation is actually well above something you'd consider a mere demo, a showcase of one's possibilities, and not at all unlike mid-period Striborg.

So, if you're one of the chosen misanthropes, and you think that Darkthrone’s A Blaze in the Northern Sky sounds too commercial and way too technical, this one is warmly recommended. But if you know Striborg from before, you either already own these demos or are already looking for them anyway, right? Here they are, ready to take you away. Because, if I really have to be isolated, I'd rather be in Tasmania than in front of my computer.

I first hear this band sometime in autumn 2002, when researching bands for a compilation (which I never nurtured to release). Unfortunately I was not able to grasp Sin-Nanna’s peculiar talent and dismissed his works as mere noise. Indeed his recording were raw at the best of times, although that has lately improved… The way he chose to accentuate the tone of his instruments is also very odd…You will hear foamy guitars, clean ephemeral bass and plodding tin-can drums creating a very thin and ghostly atmosphere. Over the years it grew on me and the bizarre atmosphere began to creep into my mind. What one must remember, when listening to Striborg is that Sin-Nanna’s drumming is actually very good – he is able to create sustained, relentlessly pounding rhythms that fit the shifting nature of his guitar-work perfectly. Since I got into this on a song-by song basis, I shall say a little about each one. The first part of this disk appears to have been recorded in different sessions, so production and mix vary slightly…

1 Nocturnal, Transparent Rainbow – What a name! Hailing from his experience as a black ambient artist Sin-nanna creates an eerie introduction made of a subdued, foreboding synth phrases, the sounds of thunder and what appears to be LP player, stuck in the runout groove…think of perhaps being alone, late at night, unwilling to change the record, lying on your back, listening to the rain outside. It is a painting in sounds.

2 Misanthropic Isolation – the title track is what makes this album difficult to get into. For fuck’s sake! Totally morose guitar licks, over a frenzied blastbeat, that sounds like it’s being performed on the bottom of a cookie tin, groaned vocals, stereo dropouts too…I was never able to get into this song.

3 The Long Dark Path – different session. Wow, this is beyond atmosphere – everything is performed at blinding speed, but the chords change slowly, giving it that ghostlike, shifting feeling…the blasts alternate subtly, further dislocating the music as the vocals utter incomprehensibles from an immense digital distance. The track climaxes with a mournful ringing of a riff of untold desolation and sorrow…

4 To The Gate Of Beliar – a simpler, cleaner track, in the vein of Abyssic Hate’s “Suicidal Emotions” album. A tribute, perhaps? It sounds very similar, down to the way the pounding drums in the background…

5 As The Night Emits It's Shadow – is an instrumental performed with ear-splitting, treble, high in the mix, over a galloping drum track…

6 Where Cold And Darkness Meet – a slower, narrative track with those strange vocals as if shimmering across a black pool of water…

7 House Covered In Thorns – another, shorter instrumental, barely above black ambience in nature. Some very strange bass/guitar/synth interplay, strange to the point of disturbing. Unfortunately the mournful climax of this track is lost in the distortion static.

8 The Dawn Of Winter – possibly Striborg’s most accessible track, this is a relentless and fairly traditional Black Metal number, performed at flesh-ripping velocity and with a fuller than usual guitar sound. The opening riff sounds strangely similar to Darkthrone’s “Flittermice…”, but it quickly develops into Striborg’s idiosyncratic pounding. Great track.

9 Into The Gloomy Moon's Silhouette – another instrumental ode to darkness…what stands out is the morbid bass undertone…a fitting conclusion to a great demo.

10 Forest Of Fear. This is the introduction to the “In the Heart of the Rainforest” album. The title is strange as the region of Tasmania Sin-Nanna inhabits is known for a harsher, colder nature…I always wondered if perhaps this was his way of travelling beyond the confines of his country…

11 In The Heart Of The Rainforest – this album was said to be his transition to the more “depressive” style of his later releases. The production is markedly better, but the music is a direct descendant from previous efforts. I could never sit still through this track. It is slow and droning, but much too drawn out for my taste…

12 As Twilight Falls – suddenly he returns to the old formula of frenzied black metal madness. The guitars are even more foamy and subdued and the drums are even more insane. The voice, then proceeds to ritualistically chant out the verse and hell breaks loose again. Very simple, very effective. What makes this great are those foamy malevolent riffs that Black metal prides itself on.

13 The Dawn Of Winter – a remake of the track, that I feel is less focused as the version above.

14 Out Of The Fog She Appeared Dressed In Black – a tribute to his Phaedra. A slow, swaggering track with intent, that I think might be a little lost on those not involved…