1349 - The Infernal Pathway
Season of Mist
Honestly I believe a lot of people got into 1349 with their Hellfire album from 2005. I say that because sure it's a fantastic release as far as black metal goes. But it also hung out there like low hanging fruit for a number of years. Plus the band went on various tours. I saw them either in 2007 or 2008. It was during the CARCASS reunion tour. I thought it was a great set albeit short.
Still back then I knew Hellfire was their high point as far as their brand of blistering black metal goes. I got into em first off with 2004's Beyond the Apocalypse which was a great release also. But what came next in their effort to explore new areas and break boundaries was a huge disappointment. 2009's Revelations of the Black Flame literally sucked but not as bad as watching hipster media scribes trying to bestow blackened virtue to such a crap release.
A year later 1349 came out with Demonoir which was slightly better that the previous piece of garbage. But still the damage was done and seriously why hold onto an act that peaked early and couldn't move onward properly without sounding as if they phoned it in. So I didn't give a rat's ass about their 2014 full length, Massive Cauldron of Chaos. I read about it being decent but fuck that.
So the only reason I'm giving this one a chance is because a lady friend of mine, who's really into black metal, said this was a great release. So by respecting her opinion I picked up a copy of this CD and I'm into it slightly. First off I'm glad they got off the post black metal hipster bullshit from years prior. Now it's one part old school 1349 meets a hard rock/classic metal approach within the guitars.
The overall sound on The Infernal Pathway is of a seasoned black metal act that's gone from being GORGOROTH meets MARDUK types to a more calculated act fit for modern BM audiences. There are times the riffs have a slight death metal influence on one or two cuts. Other times it's blackened hard fucin rock. Ravn's vocals are good as he invokes more of an animistic snare. The song structures are captivating as opposed to overwhelmingly punishing like of the past. In the end I just see this as their best album in a very long time.
http://www.season-of-mist.com/
https://1349som.bandcamp.com/album/the-infernal-pathway
https://www.facebook.com/1349official
No comments:
Post a Comment