Drudkh- Autumn Aurora- Amazing!

One of the things that makes a great album, especially in the black metal or depressive black metal genres is atmosphere. The ability of a band to capture a certain atmosphere whether it be depressive and melancholy, or hateful and dark, the atmosphere of a black metal album is important. This album delivers a thick sorrowful, and very natural atmosphere. Out of the 4 Drudkh albums I've listened to this one is by far their best.

This album will capture the listener and draw them away into the middle of forest right in the middle of autumn, hence the title Autumn Aurora. The introduction is an acoustic piece with various nature sound effects. Its a perfect lead in to the rest of the album. What I immediately notice is how the guitar tone works with the synth and keyboards to provide a sorrowful and completely natural sound. It captures the essence of autumn fading into winter. The guitar tone is fuzzy and not too high in the mix, but no too low either. The riffing style is very similar to that of Burzum, think fuzzy guitar tones, depressive and emotional melodies. Every so often they throw in some nice guitar leads that add a wealth of feeling to the atmosphere. There are also a few nice acoustic passages to be found as well.

The synth is used quite effectively on this album as well, many times it's more prominent in the mix than the guitars, and the melodies always have a very melodic and yet sorrowful feel to them. One of the best examples of this is the track Glare of Autumn the guitar drones on in a hypnotizing riff while the keyboards play a very profound and emotive melody on top of it. To me the way the synth and guitar work together to create the atmosphere is the best part of this album

There is also credit to be given to the drum work in this album. Many times it is a hypnotic beat that's very repetitive, but it's very effective throughout the entire album. On occasion the drums play some pretty nice fills and do more than just keep the traditional hypnotic depressive style beats. Sometimes they come out of the mix and really shine. There is a wealth of double bass on this album, and the drums don't overwhelm everything they are pretty even in the mix with everything.

The last point is about the vocals, they aren't necessarily the most memorable thing about the album, but they are very effective. The vocal tone is more of snarl or mid-pitched growl then the usual black metal screech, and it sounds like there is a good deal of reverb added. You can feel the sorrowful emotion as he snarls. The vocals are also very well-produced, not polished production mind you, but it has the exact effect i'm sure they were going for: raw emotion and atmosphere.

To summarize the word I've used most is atmosphere, and its for a good reason, the vocals, guitar, synth and drums (the bass is pretty much inaudible.) work together to create the perfect atmosphere of the beauty of autumn and yet the sorrow and death of the beginning of winter. The album is like listening to all the emotions conveyed from late autumn to early winter. The sound created is a very natural, very emotional very thick atmospheric sound and it's done perfectly. This album has no flaws, everything fits together to create an album only gets more enjoyable the more you listen. Beware: if you start the album, you will get lost in its atmosphere and be hypnotized by its beauty.

Cradle of Filth: Cruelty and the Beast

As long as I've had this blog and I have yet to review any albums from my most favorite band. These days you catch a lot of flack for liking this band but to be honest I could give a fuck less. Today my friends we'll be talking about one of Cradle's greatest accomplishments. A concept album about the infamous countess Bathory. A woman who believed that she could stay young by bathing in and drinking the blood of young virgins. And to spoil the review a bit this album is an amazing experience.

     Lets get to it. The most standout thing about this album is its twin guitar attack,and its atmosphere.  Although some have complained about a more thin production, to me it adds to the overall atmosphere. It makes it sound rather wintery and raw, while at the same time showcasing the talent of every instrument. The guitars really steal the show musically speaking. The melodies they weave have a very gothic leaning and yet they harken back to Iron Maiden in their twin lead lines.

      The whole album flows quite well, each track seems to fit in its place, giving way perfectly to the next. The flow of the album is flawless. Another thing that really stands out to me is the expert writing by Dani Filth. This is honestly a top notch writer and vocalist. He portrays perfectly the emotion that he is attempting to convey. A great example is in the song Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids. The lyric "Madness came upon her like an amours lovers seed. The delivery is perfect on every single track. My standout tracks as far as this album is concerned are 13 Autumns and a Widow, Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids, Beneath the Howling Stars, and Bathory Aria.
The first is an introduction of sorts where we meet a young Elizabeth who is raped by a priest. It is unclear but in my interpretation she quite enjoyed it but yet she had a distain toward him. In the end she castrates him and hangs him from the bell tower of the church. In Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids we get to witness her descent into madness. She has lost her faith and begins to become obsessed with maintaining her youthful image.
   
     One of my all time favorites is Beneath The Howling Stars. It's basically the story of how the Count falls for her. She goes to a ball with her lips painted with the blood of a freshly murdered woman. She and the Count basically nearly fuck on the dance floor until they leave the ball and go for ride in the dark of winter. At the end of the song they marry and consummate the marriage, in Dani's words "soon in morning fever they were wed. Lycanthropic in the conjugal bed.

The album doesn't miss a beat. The guitar work is amazing. The production is amazing. The story is written out quite expertly in the lyrics. The whole album is amazing.


95/100