Beyond the Endless Horizons

Darkthule are yet another of the NS-associated black metal acts to originate out of Greece in the 21st century, but they're perhaps the most subtle of the lot. Their lyrics revolve around the same basal restoration of Europe to its ancient values, a cleansing of culture from the poisoning of outside influences, but without the epithet slinging rigmarole you might expect of the niche. Beyond the Endless Horizons is, like many of its Scandinavian influences, absorbed in the elemental and pagan concepts of antiquity, but this is by no means restricted to the words, for the music itself provides an antithesis to the notion of complexity or innovation.

Ripping, raw streams of chords given resonance through a hefty dose of reverb, they hammer along a similar course to Norse legends Immortal, Mayhem and Enslaved on their formative works of the early 90s. I actually enjoy the distant dissonance they create through the low fi production of the debut; but on the other hand, the actual guitar patterns leave me less than inspired, and the rather standard rasp to the vocals and monotonous blasting rhythms simply don't manifest into anything truly malevolent or memorable. This is an admittedly brief record, clocking in at around 27 minutes (much longer if you've got the re-release with bonus demos), with only four blackened tracks at its core, book-ended by a bland if atmospheric acoustic guitar sequences with some special effects. But most of the metal here moves at the same accelerated tempo, with nary a difference between the drums in "Revealment of the Cosmic Harmony", "The Lightning and the Sun", or "Beyond the Endless Horizons".

Unflattering patterns of notes cascade and careen through landscapes of far less color than the cover art might hint, and the band is also privy to those sorts of transitions where the beat will stop entirely and a tremolo sequence will ring out into the horizon. If these were impressive riffs, then the technique would be easier to appreciate, but in this case the breaks are just as vapid as when the band is blasting along with the full strength of vocals, drums, and bass. The album is incredibly difficult to distinguish from so many others of its style, and yet there is nothing truly lamentable about the performance here. It's stock, aggressive black metal with an airy drift of atmosphere that wouldn't be out of place on some through barren plains, the skies overcast and a storm possible brewing somewhere on the horizon. This in of itself isn't bad. But at no time does it ever surge 'beyond' that visual border, and it ultimately offers only the least ambitious of absorptions.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

'Beyond The Endless Horizons' is a very short introduction to the National Socialist methods of this Greek black metal band. I've stated before when reviewing bands with short records, I like long tracks that amount to long records. Why? Because it allows me to get in tune with the band and their intentions. I like to feel my way through a full-length. I like to explore the ways in which it works. To an extent, 'Beyond The Endless Horizons' doesn't allow the listener to do this. It's largely constructed of short and sharp bursts of anger. Darkthule do manage to manage to impress though, despite the fact that they don't leave themselves much time to do so. Thankfully, it has come to my attention that 'Beyond The Endless Horizons' has been re-recorded and a number of new tracks have been added to it. I'll have to find myself a copy at some point in the future. For now, lets focus on the original version


Well, it's actually a fairly standard black metal record. It reminds me of black metal of yesteryear. By that I mean black metal of the early 1990's. It's fairly simplistic and focuses all it's energies in creating an atmosphere so cold that the forefathers of the second wave would be proud to call this their own. Instrumentally, as I said, it's simplistic. The percussion is by far the most simplistic element of Darkthule. Double bass blast beats are pretty much all Darkthule seem to be capable of. The odd use of a cymbal here and there is heard, but for the most part, blast beats are today's special order on the menu. They don't particularly sound original and why would they? They're quick paced blasts. They serve no real purpose if you're attempting to find intricate black metal with lots of changes and innovation. The production can so a tad amateurish at times. That scratchy lo-fi feeling buzzes along in the background. It doesn't help what little bass you can hear, that's for sure.


The guitars are much like the percussion side of things. Simplistic tremolo picking is really all that occurs, but having said that, the fast paced melodies that the tremolo picking creates are enjoyable. 'Beyond The Endless Horizons' is extremely repetitive, but in a sense that's a good thing. Given the fact that this is such a short record, the repetition allows the audience to grasp the music, feel their way around and become accustomed to the style. It's primitive and standard, really. Nothing incredibly special or head turning. You'd need to be in a particularly angry mood to appreciate 'Beyond The Endless Horizons'. It's harsh assault in the form of double bass pedals and melancholic riffs aren't to the liking of everyone. The vocals are of the rasping kind, again, fairly standard. It reminds me of 'Transilvainian Hunger', but with far much exploration done on the melodic side of things. The vocals don't add much depth or a different texture to the atmosphere. They simply exist, but do a competent job of existing for the sake of it.


'Beyond The Endless Horizons' is a record for those of you with your hearts still stuck firmly in 1993/1994. Otherwise, this isn't for you.