From the Tumulus Depths

You have just found the (un)holy grail of black/speed metal my friend. Hands down the fastest black metal recording on the planet, there simply are no competitors. To quote the Highlander "There can only be one" and this motherfuckers is THE ONE!!!

Norwegian forests, mjolnirs and norse viking ravens all adorn the front cover artwork.................what the fuck!! This christian beheading legion actually hails from France and they will tear every album in your collection a new one!!! The Norwegian scene wishes it could claim this CD in their infernal armoury. It happens to beat their best efforts since the dawn of the black metal era. I worship blistering speed, albums that must be as fast as fuck and then these savages came along and not only took it to the another level, they created a new fucking category. One that is almost impossible to beat.

Every song is exactly the same and yet completely different, if that is even possible to do. The same being that mind bending speed injection that crushes you like a battering ram in battle and the completely different being that diversity within each song that makes every one of them instantly recognizable. Surprisingly the album slows down from time to time in short bursts only to take it back beyond warp speed. This contrast between darkness and light showcases just how fast most of the album really is. After hearing this record, Infernal War sound like fucking geriatrics. This pulverizes their Terrorfront album and decimates their Redescecration release no question and I'm a massive fan of Infernal War, make no mistake.

Between fire and frost starts the vicious assault and we get barraged by 10 lessons in ultimate black/speed metal violence of the Satanic variety. Only once track #10, Mon denier combat, comes to a grinding hault does the band let up for what I would call their outro, the title track that is, From the tumulus depths. Wolfnacht's vocalls are insane, crude and raspy and are a highlight. Its torture from start to finish, a standout performance

S.C. plays all the instruments on this release and a load of people say he used a drum machine. I dont really give a fuck if thats the case as the music here has no equaly and the guitar riffing is what makes this album the rare gem it truely is. Just take a listen to Funeral upon a baltic sea to know what I mean. You cannot help but to headbang until it bleeds. The blastwaves are relentless as you smash your head into mush. Satan is most certainly pleased and his hell militia are banging relentlessly as this album stokes the fires of hell.

Christhunt productions must get ultimate accolades for releasing something this fucking good. Its a killer package from cover to cover and sits in my Top 10 albums of all time. It never dissapoints.

Buy or fucking die!!!

Ravensblood seem confused about who they are, and with a name like Ravensblood, a generic moniker if ever there were one, they should be. Though the band is French, “From the Tumulus Depths” is a vague retelling of Norse mythology. One track is written in French, three are in German, and the rest are either instrumental or in English. In a nutshell, “From the Tumulus Depths” is two Frenchmen doing the whole Viking gimmick in French, German, and English. It’s confusing, to say the least, but the music suffers from more tangible problems.

In regards to the drum machine, “tangible” is a euphemism. The drum machine hardly ever stays in the realm of human possibility, to the point where it becomes ridiculous. Given that Stephane Casier has programmed drums for The Call, I only assume that Ravensblood is using a machine, though if they aren’t then Casier is himself a machine. In either case, if it’s not the snare pummeling the listener to death, then it’s the bass drum. Ravensblood doesn’t even try to keep the machine under control. Instead, they really push for the grab-your-battleaxe-and-pillage-your-next-door-neighbor’s-house gimmick, but faster isn’t always better, especially when it’s borderline annoying.

It’s not even that “From the Tumulus Depths” sounds bad. Actually, the production is very well done. The drum machine, though overwhelming in its velocity, isn’t overpowering in its sound. The machine, the guitars, and the vocals exist in effective, if impersonal, balance. This is clearly not the work of a throwaway bedroom project. On the contrary, “From the Tumulus Depths” could be seen as a more strictly black metal and non-symphonic brother to Vladimir Cochet’s projects (Mirrorthrone, Weeping Birth, and others). However, the drum machine limits the band’s attempts to suspend reality and to create a more immersive atmosphere. For instance, the album ends on a great exercise in grandiose restraint. Multiple layers of triumphant tremolo patterns follow a plodding pace, but in comes the bass drum which, kicking wildly, ruins the mood.

While the drum machine is by far the most debilitating element, “From the Tumulus Depths” just lacks the punch of originality. The vocals are varied but lackluster. They go into deeper range or into spoken word, as in “Runatal,” but for the most part they stick dispassionately to mid-ranged rasps. Ravensblood are conscious of the fact that they, already stretching themselves thin over Norse mythology, run the risk of being uninteresting, and so they make appeals to atmosphere, but the variations seem half-hearted. The bass, for example, is heard for the first time in “Funeral Upon the Baltic Sea,” but its small run only lasts four seconds. The acoustic passages like the one in “Storms of Ages” and the instrumental “Echoes from the Past” are welcomed breaks from the onslaught, but that’s all they are.

Despite its flaws, “From the Tumulus Depths” works as an album. It’s a cohesive release that is unified by militaristic energy and grandiose nostalgia. Ravensblood really wanted to be epic without sacrificing aggression, and the album is successful in this regard. “From the Tumulus Depths,” particularly in the second-half, is saturated with a feeling of war and triumph. Still, these feelings are as vague as the identity of the band itself. Songs of battle will get a fan to bob his head, pump his fist, and jostle those around him, but the album offers little beyond short-lived reactions of intense energy. Intensity is what Ravensblood are all about, and they certainly go well beyond a healthy dose of aggression.

Ravenblood's first full-length can be summed up in three terms: enraged, high-speed and vicious. That's the first impression this album will have on you with the fast riffs, the swift black and death vocals and the constant double-bass that last from the first track to the last. For me, this album is exactly what a French underground Black Metal album should sound like. It's not directly comparable to it but Armageddon's "Kill Yourself Or Die" comes very close to the ferocity of this album.

The 11 tracks last for a total of 39 minutes. That might be a bit of a disappointment for some but this isn't Graveland with it's elaborate keyboard intros and interludes - this is in-your-face and to-the-point Black Metal. You're at full-blast from the beginning of the track to the end.

The guitaring otherwise is basically normal Black Metal guitaring - nothing entirely out of the ordinary - which means there's lost and lots of rhythm and some lead here and there. Although I should add that the leads in tracks such as “Storm Of Ages", "Rabenblut" and "Bloodshed" stand out from the rest. In fact, they've used two guitars in "Bloodshed". Musically, this album, which has been recorded in different sessions, is a great achievement. Even the range of songs is pretty good - you've got 11 tracks that are very dissimilar to each other while maintaining the feel and the soul throughout the album.

The album's got two ambient tracks in "Echoes From The Past" and "The Way To Victory", but they're both very impressive (The first one's an acoustic piece while the later's a short track with sounds of sword-fights at the back).

Going track-by-track, the first track, "Innungagap - Between Fire And Frost", sets up the mood for the album perfectly. It's not an ambient keyboard piece, it's a swift Black Metal attack. "Storm Of Ages" is the longest, and perhaps the most elaborate, track of the album followed by two charged tracks - "Funeral Upon The Baltic Sea" and "Runatal - Odins Runenleid".

After the interlude-track, you've got "Rabenblut", which is the catchiest song of the album with it's guitar work.

Then come "Heidnischer Hexen Sabbat" and "Bloodshed", which basically carry on the style of the album with a some use of the tremelo.

"Mon Dernier Combat", although a good track on it's own, is probably the weakest track on the album - lacking the musical depth of the rest of the tracks.

The last track is a bit mellow, which is a pretty good way of ending an album, and it also ends with a small clean-guitar piece, followed by voices of ravens in the background - the perfect ending!

There aren't too many flaws in this album, to be honest. It's not perfect but it's exceptionally good. If you like fast Black Metal, this is definitely for you. Highly recommended.