NETHERBIRD
Swedish black metal crew Netherbird are actually a new name for me although a little digging reveals they began life as a three piece in 2004, and have remained a studio-based project. That is, until now, with the release of second album 'Monument Black Colossal' being their first work written with a full lineup and mention of hitting the road for live shows. Retaining vocalist Nephente and guitarist/keyboardist Bizmark from Netherbird's original formation, their personnel now includes, most notably, ex-At The Gates/Cradle of Filth and current Paradise Lost drummer Adrian Erlandsson...well, at least for this recording as a quick glimpse at the band's website states that Erik Röjås has now been recruited as a full time sticksman. Is there any Scandinavian black metal act out there that can claim a stable lineup?! Music-wise, we're talking atmospheric black metal injected with occasional thrashier elements to supplement the idiomatic tremolo picking, twin guitar harmonies, blast-beats, angrily snarled vocals and layers of orchestrated keyboards. And it's all very listenable and everything this brand of black metal should be - grandiosely engaging with a fine balance of dissonance and melody. However, harking back to the glory days of mid-90s black metal also has its pitfalls in that pastiche can all too easily become plagiarism such as with the opening of 'The Weight of Vapour', which sounds like it's been lifted directly from the mid-section of Cradle of Filth's 'Black Goddess Rises'. There's generally never any excuse for musical theft but I found myself forgiving Netherbird as 'Monument Black Colossal', genre trappings aside, is a mightily fine work of epic, atmospheric black metal that deserves your attention. Approach this with no expectations of originality and you won't be disappointed. Great stuff.
LABEL:
FORMAT:
Sound Pollution
Album
MONUMENT BLACK COLOSSAL
Review by Mark Holmes
RUNNING TIME:
37:52
RELEASE DATE:
3rd Sept 2010
TRACK LISTING
1) Looming Majesty
2) Whitenoise Sky in Overdrive
3) The Faraway View
4) A Shadow in the Garden of Darkness
5) Strindbergian Fire
6) The Weight of Vapour
7) At the Bottom of the Crystal Artery
8) In the Eyes of Time
9) Across the Chasm
2) Whitenoise Sky in Overdrive
3) The Faraway View
4) A Shadow in the Garden of Darkness
5) Strindbergian Fire
6) The Weight of Vapour
7) At the Bottom of the Crystal Artery
8) In the Eyes of Time
9) Across the Chasm
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
Sweden
"...everything this brand of black metal should be - grandiosely engaging with a fine balance of dissonance and melody."
