Odpörovät 1968 : Elend – Doom metal

Reviewed by Gird_09

Evidently inspired by the edgier bits of bands like My Dying Bride Elend starts off surprisingly soft and subtle. Once the music gets going however any lingering hopes of a sleeping pillow rapidly dissipate.

Elends cover is toned down and hauntingly dark, with touches of gothic imagery as well as more overt metal elements. It's good craftsmanship and conveys the message of the music deftly. Luckily it doesn't end up anywhere near the facile campyness of Cradle of Filth - and it would be an oversight to call this music "gothic metal". (Frankly, the cover alone should perhaps be enough to buy the album. It's really well done.)

The vocals are fitting, and reminds me a bit of Funeral, something I appreciate as it gives Odpörovät 1968 their own musical space to develop in. The guitars are edgy and distorted to the point where the result is a great deal heavier than most doom I have heard. Granted, that's not very much compared to the true followers of the genre, but enough that I know that much of it can get quite mushy. Still, the soft synth piano that provides melody in the background for certain parts leaves a lot to be desired. I know I have high demands, but this particular piano sounds even more artificial than usual. The least you should do is throw a bit of reverb in the mix to soften the sound.

The music is mostly deftly executed and consistent, but at times the music sounds a bit thrown together. This is especially true for Abkehr, which sounds a bit randomly arranged at times. Considering the length of the album it wouldn't be a bad idea to cut a little closer to the bone. Contrast this with its follow up Mother of Negation, and you know what I mean.

All in all it's a good album, and it deserves more attention. Odpörovät is a project I'd like to follow for the next years, as I think it will develop into something really exciting. It has direction, intention and edge – and I appreciate that. It still lacks that little something to push it that last inch, but it's getting there. Elend is a bleak slab of sound, and I'm glad I got to review it.

Germany, 2010, Ominous Silence, CD album (limited to 250 copies)

http://www.myspace.com/o68
http://www.ominoussilence.com

1 Mournau [14:13]
2 Nothing but Death Remains [6:52]
3 Kremation [4:57]
4 Abkehr [6:45]
5 Mother of Negation [5:53]
6 Zeitgeist Nokturne [5:49]
7 Mortal [7:30]
8 The Lowest Day [15:59]

Akem Manah – Testament Sealant Mound : Doom Metal

Testament Sealant Mound opens with something that might as well be the theme for a made for TV-horror film, and clearly this is the intention behind the album. The moods are reminiscent of Poe and Lovecraft, but a great deal heavier than you'd expect. The nine track album makes liberal use of double bass drums, growled vocals, wailing lead guitars and severe riffs, against a backdrop of classic horror themes. It's music for hanging out in a graveyard with a murder of crows flapping around your ears.

The strongest part of the music absolutely has to be the vocals, which reminds me of My Dying Bride both in style and theme. The growling is capable and the clean vocals are well executed and moody. The guitar is also good and supplies weight and melody. However the rest of the sound is a bit flat and the guitar and vocals often have to work almost alone to convey the dark moods this album clearly aims at. With more time spent on production this could have been avoided, and the album would've benefited from a heavier and slightly dirtier sound in general. This is especially true for the snares, which could need a great deal more power and reverb to really punctuate the beats. This is perhaps a matter of preference though, but the way it is the drums are too weak to really drive it home.

It's hard to pick a favorite track as they tend to be a bit anonymous compared to each other. The album is more of a total experience, and I certainly recommend listening to all of it one go to receive the maximum impact. The second half of the album is clearly the best half, and "Dark Millenium" is absolutely the strongest track with its flirtations with arabic music, sharp stabbing riffs, as well as skillfully composed atmospheric bridges. Without being too "far out" it manages to combine the heaviest portions of the album with progressive elements. Kudos, and more of that!

In general the album is an ok piece of atmospheric metal, but I'm probably not going to listen to it more than once. I feel that the album lacks the final inch it would need to go to convince me. A little darker, a little angrier or a little heavier and everything would be so much more interesting. As it is I would probably prefer going straight to My Dying Bride if this was the fix I was after. If the entire album followed in the steps of the aforementioned "Dark Millenium", or "Pandora" it would an entirely different thing however.

I don't doubt in any way that Akem Manah is capable of producing something really enticing though. It's just not there yet, but going by the last four tracks we could have something really worth while in store for the future. I'm also completely certain that if you're really into the genre the album would strike a nerve with you.

Belgium, self released CD album, 2010

1 Death at Dusk [0:24]
2 the Back Unknown [6:13]
3 Dead for Days [4:31]
4 the Testament of Sealant Mound [5:48]
5 Sacrilegious Ceremonies [2:32]
6 Dark Millenium [7:44]
7 Pandora [9:59]
8 Nightmares [8:43]
9 the Quelling [3:46]

http://www.myspace.com/akemmanah
http://akem-manah.tumblr.com/
http://akem.bigcartel.com/ (to buy the album)