Winds Saturate with Inhumane Longing

Suffocation and claustrophobia are immediate spearheads in the opening ode to the ancient spirit of the woods. The natural world existed long before us, and it will also stand idly by during the violent demise of the human race. This theme of pitiless, merciless nature remains constant throughout this sonic maze. The self-titled track introduces humanity and the complex sensations of standing alone and undisturbed in the wilderness, contemplating not just our present existence but the entirety of human history in order to understand how we arrived at this desperate state of separation from nature. Fantasizing about the past can conjure many emotions, from deep curiosity to outright frustration at our inability to see untouched vistas before the epidemic of human destruction. Misantropical Painforest finds great pain in this regard as both the vocals and the lyrics are haunted by a sense of anguished longing. The insane atmosphere created by this primordial rage is only further compounded by the devastating bass onslaught amid the frantic pace of the track, and verses eventually start to randomly repeat themselves and intertwine in a cluster of delirium.

"Past the Stonecircle Clearing" drags us away from contemplation and into an active search for knowledge and truth. A barbaric, intimidating atmosphere reigns here with crazed vocals ranging from falsettos to bloodthirsty laughing, simply intoxicated by the helplessness exuded by the forest. The vocal delivery possesses a strange sense of urgency, almost sounding as if voices have surrounded you as your brain is in the process of melting. As the smoke clears after the sustained intensity, only bewilderment remains; we are now in uncharted territory spiritually and physically, cowering in anticipation of the perversity ahead and blind to the next destination. "The path was gone!" A foreboding sense of doom awaits our every move as the low end aggression in "Besmeared the Tunic of Honour" returns to drown all hope. We are strangers in this wooded land and our presence is known and unwanted, not just amongst the trees but the plethora of animals that inhabit the various nooks within. This is a hymn for the lands that cast humanity out in all its natural rage - timeless forces born of this planet that can lie dormant for centuries. Only the most seasoned travelers may pass through, albeit not entirely unscathed.

With exhaustion taking control, visions of the past erode away earthly consciousness. One simple melancholic riff meanders through this psalm of veneration for quite a long while, just as the weakening rivers of autumn are no longer rushing to proceed towards larger waters. A force eventually begins to stir under the surface, and "To Bequeath the Tranquil Waters" undergoes a magnificent transformation. A renewed sense of vigor infuses the main riff to triumphantly march to the edges of the universe. The drums are performed in a possessed and transfixed manner, hypnotically lost in the ancient energy yet inspired to accompany the rest of the sounds to the fields beyond. The swirling monotony inhibits all motor skills and intruding external thought processes, creating a vacuum for all the unimportant noise that usually tends to surround our existence.

Harsh clanging stirs us from the dream state, piecing back together the harsh reality that was only briefly forgotten. "Wood Chain Summoning" contains the most brutal passages on this psychedelic escapade, leaving only sawdust and fumes in its hellacious wake. As tempos slow to a devastating crawl only to speed back up again, all sense of time and place becomes warped amidst the conglomerate of assaulting sounds. Rattling heaviness continues on "Journeying (T)here", but there is a mysterious energy present. Strange echoes signal our arrival to a different plane, as there is no barrage to propel us deeper into the unforgiving forest. There is nothing left for us to prove to the demons that haunt here, and clarity begins to wash over our once fragile psyche. We have been reborn in these woods at the hands of a merciless criterion that led us through an unpredictable and epic excursion through every facet of the infinitely curious human mind.

Winds Saturate With Inhumane Longing is a mythical exploration of monolithic proportions. Self-discovery through pain characterizes much of what is to be felt here, with disorienting, massive, and unique musical passages lying in wait at every uncertain step. Possessed by the merciless aura of the woodlands, the psychotic vocal performance assumes multiple identities over many revolutions around this arboraceous vortex. Much like preparing for a life-altering trip deep into the backcountry with dangerous terrain and predatory beasts, this trek also requires expert honing of survival skills in order to merely emerge alive. For the few that survive to reap the rewards of this labyrinth, they will be forever emboldened to pursue further enlightenment regardless of certain treachery.


The pain you may feel in your guts

If your heart is insincere

Is a sign of a forthcoming

Misantropical disembowelment!


~~ Originally written for agatized.net ~~

Somehow, I'm not entirely sure why, no review I've read on 'Winds Saturate With Inhumane Longing' has mentioned the cover art. Maybe the commentary is just so obvious it doesn't need to be said. It's a pretty accurate depiction of the music: crude, bizarre, and painstakingly detailed. This album doesn't lack at all as far as variation is concerned; it's easily one of the weirdest and most complex albums I've ever heard. That being said, I don't derive a huge amount of enjoyment from listening to it.

'Winds Saturate With Inhumane Longing' is the sort of album that I like having in my collection and appreciate in an abstract, artistic sense, but rarely gets an actual spin in the player from me. It's ridiculously unforgiving to the audience, because there's really nothing 'normal' or 'standard' about this release. There aren't any catchy riffs, any very memorable parts, or any real logical song structures. In fact, this seems to be an LP written with the specific goal of the listener being confused by it, as it refuses to make even the slightest concession to logic. On this album, you'll hear black metal, of course, but also folk, doom, thrash, and even oldschool NWOBHM at times. For those who fetishize variation (and you know who you are), you should get this album immediately, because it will be right up your alley. For the rest of us, though, it's a more difficult decision indeed.

The album opens in an entirely nonsensical way, with 'Demons Haunt This Forest' spiraling out of control throughout its sub-three minute running time. Rickety blasting abounds with seemingly pitch shifted vocals and crazy Kerry King style solos flittering in and out just as quickly. There's no real structure: the riffing seems random, and it's all pretty atonal and really, really chaotic. Fortunately, this is the most entropic the band gets on the album, but it's still a rather unfriendly way to open it. The title track that follows is a much more measured beast, with clicky bass following along with the recurring guitar theme, the melody of which is used as a counterpoint to the double-tracked vocals that fill the song. It doesn't resemble any black metal that I've heard, though it's clearly part of the genre; that seems to be the name of Misantropical Painforest's game throughout. When 'Past The Stonecircle Clearing' fires up, you'll notice yet another weird idiosyncrasy about this album: the production NEVER stays the same. One track has reedy, thin production, while another is much cleaner and more clearly studio-produced, while others are pure rehearsal room quality. It makes no sense at all, and it fits the music, really.

So the album continues with just such variation; 'Past The Stonecircle Clearing' is mostly midpaced black metal with strange clean vocals and a rather convoluted sort of development occurring in the drums and guitars throughout the lengthy track. There's only two tracks on this album that I really 'enjoy' listening to in the normal way: 'To Bequeath The Tranquil Waters', which has very organized, memorable, and melodic riffing, and a certain nocturnal, maritime atmosphere that I find very enjoyable, and the frequently-lauded 'Journeying (T)here', an experiment in only guitar and vocals, with the former going through a series of melodic black/thrash riffs while the latter growls along, and occasionally features warbling, Diamanda Galas-style vocals from out of nowhere. Despite how weird these songs are (just as weird as anything else that Misantropical Painforest does), they're able to channel their esoteric weirdness into something haunting and beautiful.

I have no idea what to make of the rest of the album. Much of the music seems like an extended Finnish jam-out, with a lot of what seems like randomness for the sake of randomness and alienating the audience. I'm all for audience alienation: it's a powerful tool which, when used correctly, can force the listeners to view the art in a completely different way. This certainly distances the audience, but I'm not sure how much it makes them want to explore it with their newfound view of the music, particularly when they can't get very close to the thoughts and feelings described in the first place. From an artistic perspective, I understand and respect 'Winds Saturate With Inhumane Longing' greatly; it's music created by one man (plus session drummer Dirtmaster) and is specifically and totally based on that man's thoughts and experiences alone, with no need to dumb down the ideas for anyone else. As a listener, I find it unappealing in a lot of ways, although it's clearly meant to be.

But, like in many cases, the artist in me wins out, and I find the almost punishing nature of the songs on this album pretty cool most of the time. It's like 'Winds Saturate With Inhumane Longing' is daring you to try to understand it, to unravel the layers of metaphor that shroud the lyrics and to dissect the abstract music that rebuffs any and all attempts to understand it in an objective fashion. It is music for itself, not for an audience, and an attitude that uncompromising earns my respect regardless of how 'fun' the music is. This is obviously not something that will appeal to many people, but that was never its intent in the first place. It is music to express feelings, images, and concepts in a completely abstract fashion, without any fear of being misunderstood. In fact, Misantropical Painforest revels in that lack of understanding and celebrates it as something majestic. For that reason alone it bears further investigation.

This is the first album from Misantropical Painforest, a solo project from Kutcheck Gorealis of Hail and Legacies Unchain.

The style on this album is quite difficult to describe. There are doomy moments, heavy-metal guitar leads, Burzum-esque atmospheric work, and repetitive, hypnotic riffing. Through it all are powerful vocals that range from shouting and howling on through to clean singing. The impressive thing is that these disparate elements aren't just thrown together, nor do they really alternate. Instead, they're combined into a single whole that sounds very little like any other band. One could draw comparisons to Kutcheck Gorealis' other bands, but even that fails. Hail has a doomier, more typically black metal sound, and Legacies Unchain is far more chaotic. Neither has as much heavy metal influence as one can hear on "Winds Saturate". This album stands alone.

"Demons Haunt This Forest" is the album's short intro track, a chaotic wall of drums, guitar, and declarative vocals. It's easily my least-favorite track on the album, but it's still a good introduction to Misantropical Painforest's sound, so I can't really fault it.

"Winds Saturate With Inhumane Longing" starts things off with a drum roll and a shout. This song is aggressive and direct, with a repeated, cyclic guitar theme and an amazing bass line. The latter is almost funky in the way it clatters along; its complete disregard for black metal convention gives this song a very distinctive sound. The end of this track builds up to a frantic conclusion before coming to a halt.

"Past the Stonecircle Clearing" features some of the best vocal work on the album. Double-tracking allows for two vocal parts: a snarling voice and bombastic clean singing. The voices seem to fit the main riff perfectly, even as it smashes through chaotic breaks and variations. About halfway through, this song seems to transform into something else entirely. A long, extended section of screams, groans, and doomy guitars breaks out into heavy-metal triumph for a moment, only to return to slow, painful progression. The last few minutes of this one are quite experimental and strange, yet still very heavy.

"Besmeared the Tunic of Honour" starts out with a moment of doom, but speeds up very quickly. This one features some especially interesting lead guitar work, which approaches a classic metal sound at times. After four minutes or so, the song grows frantic, thrashing about before settling into something reminiscent of themes heard earlier. A while before the end, there's a brilliant combination of soloing and bass work, after which the song races toward its conclusion.

"To Bequeath the Tranquil Waters" is, to my ears, an instant classic. The melancholy main theme is powerfully memorable, and the subtle variation and careful repetition in its use give this song a strong identity. The vocals here are quite understandable, and fit the music perfectly; taken as a whole, the song is a slow meditation on loss and the inevitability of change. It's the drumming that makes this song truly unique -- by the end, frantic stick taps and shifting drum fills are the chief source of variation, enhancing the repetition of the main theme. The last few minutes create a powerful sense of duty and finality in the listener.

"Woodchain Summoning" is the most aggressive song on the album, with a vicious, stomping riff and rasping shouts. The drums are front-and-center here, adding to the punishing sound. Snarling, mid-paced anger alternates with blasting sections throughout this song. Unearthly, howling cries echo during the closing half of the song, bringing strange rituals to mind. During the ending, speed variation on the main guitar lead lends the song a meandering feel, even as the underlying riffing and drums charge straight ahead.

"Journeying (T)here" is a combination of sounding, echoing guitar and wrenching vocals. It's easily the most experimental song on the album, in terms of structure, with very little in the way of ordinary metal progressions. The constant rise and fall of the guitar brings to mind waves, wind, the void of space, and other implacable features of nature. At the last, the vocals and guitar combine in triumphant celebration, before the whole thing ends with a proclamation: "Nowhere is everywhere!" Powerful stuff.

"Instrumental Longing Winds" is a repetition of the first track, instrumental-only, with added soloing. It's interesting to hear the difference between this and "Winds Saturate...", considering that the basis for both is the same.

This is easily the least derivative thing I've heard in several years, and one of the best. It sounds like nothing else out there -- just as I've come to understand a part of it, it defies categorization again. That alone makes this an essential purchase for those looking for powerful, original black metal. Highest recommendations.

Standout tracks: "To Bequeath the Tranquil Waters", "Woodchain Summoning", "Journeying (T)here"

Review by Vorfeed: http://www.vorfeed.net