HULDER - Verses in Oath
20 Buck Spin
Before I even get into this release there needs to be a few things laid out. First off I admit that I'm late to the whole HULDER hype wagon. It was last year when I actually heard something about em. So I checked out their first album Godslastering, which originally came out in 2021 on Iron Bonehead Productions. Then earlier this year I watched a live performance by em on Youtube. I enjoyed it and learned that there was a live album by em called Benighted in Blood. Unfortunately it's not a physical CD but something that you download from Bandcamp. Well Fuck You but hey doesn't the faux cover photo look familiar?
Next up there's plenty of hipster hype over HULDER which begs me to ask a question. As far as the music goes, which is late 90's era Scandinavian style black metal, if this band was a bunch of guys would there be any hype from the hipster media? I ask that because, if you didn't know, HULDER is a female fronted black metal band. Now I have nothing against female fronted bands. I do have a problem with the idea of the importance of who's in the band over the merit of the music especially when it comes to hipster media past opinions. I'm not into the whole diversity, equity and inclusion BS in business, education or every day life. And I'm definitely against it when it comes to metal. Hipsters live and breath that rhetoric.
I mean come on and let's review what the hipster media hypes as great black metal in recent times. So you've got that fake Indian guy from Canada who's either Mexican or Italian. Then there's that Cowboy & Western themed BM band from Colorado, cowboy hats and dusters included. And let's not forget that Kentucky hippie who's like a more folk XASHER. Is it any more obvious that hipsters would hype a female fronted BM band doing what maybe a hundred other male fronted bands are doing? I mean homage to the past is great as long as it's done well.
Now once again nothing against the woman here who's name is Marliese Osborne. Technically she is HULDER per say and is credited as performing vocals and all instruments (ahem?) But anyways whether it's in session or live, her husband Sam Osborne plays bass. He's also in another cool band called FUNEBRARUM. Get their 2009 release The Sleep of Morbid Dreams. So from there you've got drummer Xander Buehrer. Also there's a second guitarist who plays live which is not a stretch at all.
So with all of that said musically this sounds like an average late 90's era Euro black metal album with background keyboards. Marliese Osborne is originally from Belgium before moving to Wash. St. and getting married so there you go. There's also some folk elements which are subtle to say the least. Osborne's vocal delivery is good when she's in blackened mode. I wasn't impressed when she's adding cleaner sounding vocals to the folk elements. There's a couple of instrumentals among the ten tracks as well. The musicianship is fine but nothing to scream about.
All in all the best thing I've heard from HULDER is that live Youtube performance / live stuff on Bandcamp. The first album was OK but done live those songs sound better. This album is basic background black metal music good for when I'm house cleaning. I had to play this thing five times in a row because I kept on getting up and walking away to do something else in my house. Bottom line, if the music doesn't hold your attention (especially when it's black metal) then it's not that exciting.
This is why I hate hipsters, their over hyped horseshit and their media darlings. They promote mediocrity in order to look inclusive / progressive. So I repeat my earlier question. If this band was a bunch of guys would there be any hype from the hipster media? The answer is no. In all honesty I don't like this release regardless of who's performing it. I know the lame-stream mainstream media crowd will like this album simply because they don't listen to a plethora of good black metal which is out there. So checking this out was a waste my time. Remember Tristessa of ASTARTE was doing this over twenty years ago and she was quite better at it. Where was all the hype back then?
Nuff Said.
LISTEN HERE:
https://20buckspin.bandcamp.com/album/verses-in-oath
No comments:
Post a Comment