Prosatanica Shooting Angels

Nargaroth is a band with a shaky reputation in the black metal scene. He has created a few of my favorite albums every band has THAT album. You know, the one that really doesn't do justice to the rest of the band's discography. "Prosatanica Shooting Angels" is that album for Nargaroth. Really, it baffles me that this is the guy that also created the albums "Herbstleyd", "Jahreszeiten", and "Geliebte des Regens". Hell, even "Black Metal Ist Krieg" is a damn fine album, although very underappreciated. Originally, "Prosatanica Shooting Angels" was supposed to be the debut album for a side project created by Ash called Prosatanica, and the album was going to be called "Shooting Angels". Obviously that was not the end result, and Ash decided to release this album under the Nargaroth name. Personally, I maybe would have enjoyed it slightly more if he released it under a different band, but it is what it is. For Nargaroth, this album is very below average.

Although I have read a Nargaroth interview stating otherwise, this album seems to be a tribute of sorts to the "old school" black metal sound that emerged out of the second-wave, or a "back to the roots" album if you will, because it sure sounds as such. This sounds more like a watered-down tribute to the early Norwegian scene than something new or original. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as a lot of bands tend to stick with the classic sound of Norwegian black metal and run with it, whether they were actually already active during that time period or not. The main pitfall of this album is it's just plain boring and uninspired. It honestly sounds like a second rate Darkthrone clone. The riff structure is exactly the same as something we would hear on "Under a Funeral Moon", however, production wise, this thing is even more bleak and thin than "Transylvanian Hunger". There is literally no bass, which again is really nothing that we haven't already heard in black metal, but at least on Darkthrone's practically untouchable "unholy trilogy", the base could be heard ever so slightly so as not to take away from the cold, harsh atmosphere. On "Prosatanica Shooting Angels" the story is pretty much the same, except the atmosphere here is dull and uninspired. There are plenty of bands that play in a similar style to Darkthrone but a lot of these bands do it so much better than Nargaroth. I guess one reason I feel this way is I am a little biased towards Ash's work. He has put out some absolutely brilliant material that I respect greatly, and I feel he is above creating something like this.

Overall, this is definitely Nargaroth's worst album. Sure, there are definitely some melodic riffs such as with the track "Be Dead or Satanic", but these songs all drag forever and are way too dull and uninspired to really be at all interesting. If this wasn't meant to be a boring Darkthrone worship album or a "back to the roots" effort, it certainly sounded that way to me. I'm sorry Ash, I'm just not feeling this one. Thankfully, he redeemed himself in 2007 with "Semper Fidelis" and certainly in 2009 again with "Jahreszeiten". Hell, even the mostly ambient "Spectral Visions of Mental Warfare" from 2011 is a bit better than this. If you want to hear a pure Darkthrone worship album or maybe just want some background noise, go ahead and give this a spin.

Greetings again. This time we’ll look into Prosatanica Shooting Angels, another misunderstood album by the all too often misunderstood Kanwulf.

First off, this was not meant to be a Nargaroth album, but a side project in which the author decided to include several jokes, the most obvious probably being the “NO DARK THRONE FAN” inscription on the back of the LP jacket. This happens to be a reference to Fenriz being known for some time to get pissed when they spelled Darkthrone as 2 words instead of 1, not meaning that he hates the Norwegian duo, but just as a joke.

The mixing of this record is unappealing to most people for the complete lack of bass presence, because it doesn’t sound “pretty”, it actually give you a earache if listened to with headphones from start to finish at full volume, very bleak. This should have no effect on the music itself and actually helps strengthen the vibe, that wonderful vibe of passion that unleashes the deepest and darkest emotions...

Written in the highest BM tradition, PSA has a track structure. Instrumental/ambient, 2 songs, instrumental/ambient, 2 songs , and instrumental/ambient with 2 song in which the later track has a short outro attached to it at the end. There’s plenty of references to the actor Dennis Hopper throughout the record, voice clips of him from different films I suppose.

It leads you into a dark world of wildest imaginations that’ll give you goose bumps with the riffing and occasional sound effects. All good riffs, memorable, played in a bleak fashion, creating desolate and chilly sound-scapes full of despair and sheer un-released hatred which has been locked for a long time. The vocals sound desperately depressed in a manic crisis probably influenced by a temporal altered state of reality with lots of echo effects.

The album is guitar lead, the bass being present only in the background but being stripped away of its power and characteristic decibels and frequencies by the production. The drums do their job properly, nothing outstanding, although you won’t hear the snare in the fast parts.

Lyrics wise, and much contrary to what the title suggests, it’s not your typical anti-religious bm lyrics. They are mostly insightful and personal, misanthropic and in some cases hilariously disturbing. Songs about going out to hunt people with a riffle and getting a hard-on before pulling the trigger. Religious criticism in reference to the denial of god proclaiming that heaven and hell are in truth here on earth by stating all the evil and “satanic” things are already here. Extreme devotion towards the genera the band plays. A reference to John Milton’s Satan in the poem “Paradise Lost”, and so forth. This record is among the angriest offerings in Nargaroth’s catalog, with the same artistic approach as always, played in a bleak way. All this, of course, if you manage to tolerate the extremely thin production.

I was starting to lose my patience with this band. Kanwulf has always shown for great potential in his work. Black Metal Ist Krieg had a few clever tracks with interesting if bloated ideas but it suffered from arrogance. The Rasluka Part II EP was average and pointless. He has yet to put out any album that comes close to the greatness of the coldly medieval Herbstleyd. After listening to Prosatanica Shooting Angels, I can’t help but think that the law of diminishing returns is starting to take effect with Nargaroth. But this is improvement taken on its own merits.

When I opened the case, there read: No Dark Throne Fan! You can’t miss it because it’s right there in big Old English lettering on the gate sleeve awaiting you. Beneath it is a picture of Kanwulf holding a rifle looking like an Apache gun buff in a Frederick Remington sketch. Now, I’m going to go ahead and assume that Kanwulf is just being a sardonic wise ass here because this album is pure Under A Funeral Moon styled raw dissonance. Maybe he is trying to outdo the Darkthrone album. If that’s the case, ‘Prosatanica’ shoots for the ‘Moon’- and misses.

There’s nothing bad about this album really. It’s got many of the riffs and reps that I love and the low-fi sound of orthodox trilogy Darkthrone. I just expected more innovation this time around since Kanwulf takes so long in between albums. The vocals are alright but overly familiar. There is practically no bass to speak of but whatever droning is in lieu of it sounds to be substituted as synth. The drumming is alright. It belongs to the simple and low blast variety but shifty which works for the songs like Satan Industries and Thinking Below the Ocean but is substandard for the first two cuts.

As good as the movie Blue Velvet was, I see no reason how that sound byte of the Dennis Hopper character from the film remotely relates to a black metal song even if that song is titled Love Always Ends With Ejaculation. I don’t need a sample from that famous scene to spell out what the title is about. The song to immediately follow called Be Dead or Satanic is decent. There’s a soaring chromatic layer at the end that was neat but this song is one of the weaker ones on the album. Satan Industries has some thin primitive riffs that put it over the top but Kanwulf’s screams were not all that great. The drums on this one were quite old school-ish and they are good in the mix. There’s a good banging beat to close it out that you might want to check out. Thinking Below the Ocean has some great sound effects in the beginning. The repetitive guitar riff on this one is very dark and hellish. It’s a pure instrumental and done in good fashion. Black and Blasphemic Death Metal is anything but a death metal song. As a matter of fact it is a very, very blatant song ripped off from Transilvanian Hunger. I think Kanwulf went for irony with its title. Since that certain Darkthrone album as mentioned is one of my all time favorites, I appreciated this song’s closeness to it despite the razor thin line between tribute and thievery. I will say that it is longer than it needed to be and strays off a little bit into predictability. A Tear In The Face Of Satan achieves the Darkthrone coldness even better than the previous songs. The tremolo is well executed and cutting with a rickety intonation and Kanwulf’s screeching is closer to how it should sound.

The Dark Side of the Moon is just a synthesized song with gargled passages and creepy melodies. It doesn’t fit closely with the rest of the songs but overall it’s pretty benign. And then we have Hunting Season whose title somehow seems to be in keeping with Kanwulf’s necro take of a Hemingway-esque theme with imagery of himself in the gatefold and back cover toting that rifle. With this song I was surprised to hear more successful playing in the frosty and evil modes as the previous song. Consistency is always a good thing as I feared the songs would start to amble. I Bring My Harvest Home is a slower, slightly more melodic track. I would say it’s more in typical of Nargaroth’s other albums. And for some strange reason, the end of the song contains a brief sound byte from a Dave Mustaine interview in which he seems to be discussing his past drug abuse. Why this is on there is beyond me but it’s just another “whatever” moment of random detail on a Nargaroth record.

Prosatanica Shooting Angels is recommendable depending on what you are looking for and whether you’re able to give this band more benefit of the doubt. If you want to hear raw and proficient black metal that Darkthrone used to play, you might want to give this a spin. If you are looking for just another “German misanthropic metal” album in Nargaroth’s typical fashion then you might want to pass on this one.

Tracks: 9
Love Is Always Over Ejaculation (Intro)
Be Dead Or Be Satanic
Satan Industries
Thinking Below The Ocean (Instr)
Black And Blasphemic Death Metal
A Tear In The Face Of Satan
The Dark Side Of The Moon (Instr)
Hunting Season
I Bring My Harvest Home

Playtime: 56 Minutes

Lineup: Kanwulf – Everything

Year: 2004

This album, while being somewhat rawer than former releases and with a sound greatly influenced by older BM, still has quite an atmospheric tune to it. Despite having many blast parts, it still connects to you and creates that introspective and reflexive mood typical to atmospheric BM.

If you sit down to listen to the whole album without any kind of distraction, really paying attention to the music, you are sure to undergo a strong experience filled with myriad emotions. The songs build upon each other, slowly but steadily passing different feelings to the listener. At one time you are filled with impersonal hatred, at other moments you find yourself just looking to the ground and drifting inwards, with the hair on the back of your neck all up. At the end of the album, you are sure to arise as a different person, somehow inexplicably changed. There are moments where you can’t help but feel anxiety, feel that something’s closing in, some strange kind of persecution you cannot explain, as well as some powerful isolation; the emotions Kanwulf tried to pass are strongly incorporated by the listener.

Musicwise, the songs represent a return to oldschool black metal, with a mixture of some atmospheric parts. The sound is blurred and fuzzy, which I believe adds to the “mixed emotions” mood of the album, that can’t be precisely defined but are clearly felt. It is still possible for you to distinguish the instruments and the vocals, but not to understand the lyrics. The drums have some quicker, blast parts, and some slower and more ambient lines. They blend in perfectly with the songs, at times being repetitive so as to externalize a feeling of helplessness and anguish, and at other parts tranquil to show some reflection. The vocal has some reverb and is quite passionate, really worth listening to.

And as to the lyrics, they are also something deserving attention. Though quite simple at some times, such as "Satan Industries", they have reflexive and interesting meanings on other songs. Special interest goes to "A Tear in The Face Of Satan", that shows a particular view upon Satan and the so-called human Satans that exist. Other lyrics are revealing of the artist's thoughts and feelings, such as "I Bring My Harvest Home", displaying quite some emotion and resolution.

Overall, I believe this is some of Kanwulf’s finest releases, being side-by-side with other classics such Herbstleyd. It is a truly strong musical experience that can affect any true BM fan. This is another masterpiece from that which is, in my opinion, the best currently active band. Necessary to any metaller who prizes himself.

The new Nargaroth album represents Kanwulf's attempt to create an "old school" black metal album that sounds "back to the roots." Not surprisingly, he succeeds. The problem is, anyone can make this album, and they have. Many, many times.

Despite the fact that Kanwulf is obviously sticking his tongue out at the black metal scene and its obsession with "going back to the roots" in a sort of juvenile "Black Metal Ist Krieg" way, if taken on its own merit, this is a brainless album not worth wasting time over unless you're a complete newbie to black metal.

The sound on Prosatanica Shooting Angels can easily be described as a combination of the most common elements of the early Norse black metal movement: the fuzzy almost bassless tone, repetitive tremolo riffing, and singleminded ritual drums of Darkthrone - Under A Funeral Moon and Transilvanian Hunger with the occasional speed that gives a nod toward De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. The heavily reverbed vocals are of course completely generic and are wholly familiar to anyone who's ever heard Darkthrone's "unholy trilogy."

The album is interrupted by two "creepy" instrumentals--Thinking Below The Ocean and The Dark Side Of The Moon--which are placed perhaps to offer a break from the boredom of the surrounding black metal, but which actually enforce it with their own drabness and pointlessness.

Kanwulf tries to end this album on a high note with "I Bring My Harvest Home," Prosatanica's "epic." This song would be great, it really would; if it was released ten years ago. Even then, it would have easily been overshadowed by the greats of the time.

Kanwulf is trying to dig up a certain spirit that died years ago, and the result is predictably washed up and plasticine music. Thousands of black metal bands have done the same exact thing that can be heard on Prosatanica Shooting Angels, and many of them have done it better, too. In conclusion, keep listening to your Darkthrone, Burzum, and Immortal discs and ignore coasters like these. I don't expect black metal to be utterly and wholly original in this day and age: I just expect it to have a face in the crowd.

The new Nargaroth album is definately back to the more old school feel, but it lacks that punch that Black Metal ist Krieg and Rasluka I had, and for that matter Amarok and Herbstleyd had as well. There are moments on this album that feel uninspired and generally lacking that distinctive Nargaroth sound. Basically, much of this is bland.

The intro is just some guitar soloing in the background with random sex noises overtop which ends in the lovely "fuck you, fuck you, don't fucking look at me!" Something like that anyway. The production is definately a major step down, as everything is very fuzzy, definately an old school production. Kanwulf does everything on this album, and his drumming is the major highlight for me. He has really progressed amazingly in his drumming skills. Never let it be said Kanwulf was never a good musician. When he wants to be, he can go head to head with the best of the Black metal musicians.

Another thing that caught me by surprise were a few of the song titles. They almost feel like a parody. Satan Industries, Be Dead Or Satanic, Love is Always Over with Ejaculation (intro), Hunting Season, they seem on first look parody Black metal songs, but they are not, thank god(satan, whoever). I don't have any lyrics, so I don't know what Kanwulf is saying, but I'm sure it's something misanthropic. Oh and Hunting Season has the same riff as a song off of the last full lenght (Geibelte Des Regens), the exact same riff. I can't remember the title, but it's like number 5 or something.

All in all this is a good album, just overall it seems very bland. I like it and listen to it regularly, but for how long, I really don't know.