Reviews: SODP105
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The black metal band Aetranok was spawned in the high desert of New Mexico in the small town of Aztec, but from the sound of their music you’d think they dwell in one of the lower levels of Hell. Their second album, Kingdoms of The Black Sepulcher, is set for release on April 26th by Symbol of Domination (Belarus) and Death Portal Studio (U.S.), and today we present the premiere of a lyric video for the song “Ov Precipice and Bestial Purity“.
The lyrics of the song proclaim that “the mantra of ruined angels vibrates the heavens to rubble,” and they celebrate the advent of an immaculate oblivion. “Here lies the abyss,” the vocalist shrieks in scorching tones, and the music matches all these words.
A martial snare pattern and the moaning of deep horns announces the coming of Aetranok’s sonic oblivion, and then it arrives in a fury, with bursts of heavy rampaging riffs, militaristic drum blasting, and those incinerating vocals. The torrent is marked by writhing, dissonant guitar flurries and groaning, distorted bass detonations, and an ominous keyboard melody rises up and slowly heaves across the maelstrom-like storm of sound. It’s a breathtaking assault, and a chilling one as well.
One more track from the album — “Signum Eios Barathrum” — is available for listening now on Bandcamp, where you can also pre-order this devastating album.
Aetranok are a band from Aztec, New Mexico that plays a very atmospheric form of black metal and this is a review of their 2018 album "Kingdoms Of The Black Sepulcher" which was released as a joint effort between Symbol Of Domination Productions and Death Portal Studio.
Militant drum beats along with some atmospheric sounding keyboards start off the album which also mixes in with the heavier sections of the music while the faster sections of the songs also bring in a great amount of blast beats and tremolo picking which also gives the songs a more raw feeling.
Vocals are mostly high pitched black metal screams while growls can also be heard at times while the solos and leads are done in a very melodic style along with the riffs also using a decent amount of melody as well as the songs also bringing in a great mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts and a few of the tracks are very long and epic in length and as the album progresses a brief use of spoken word parts can be heard which also gives the music more of a sci-fi atmosphere and on the closing track the music goes into more of a ritualistic direction.
Aetranok plays a style of black metal that is very atmospheric and keyboard orientated while still being very aggressive at the same time, the production sounds very powerful while the lyrics cover Nihilism and Occultism themes.
In my opinion Aetranok are a very great sounding atmospheric black metal band and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this album.
https://occultblackmetalzine.blogspot.com/2018/05/aetranokkingdoms-of-black.html
The overwhelming majority of new black metal releases that come in for review to SFM666 are either by bands who perform traditional sounding raw BM or atmospheric BM. Out of all the black metal sub-genres (and there are many) those two seem to be most popular. One genre that over a decade ago was prominent is symphonic black metal. Now for obvious reasons it took a nosedive in popularity. But in the past couple of years I've been hearing new bands bring back the sounds o that sub genre without any o the trappings of it's past.
AETRANOK is a five piece black metal act hailing from Aztec, New Mexico. That's a small town located in the northwest corner of the state. The area is also called the high desert and no it's not a frostbitten kingdom but cold and somewhat desolate, yeah. Although looking at the song titles there's no reference to their whereabouts. Musically you would think otherwise.
Kingdoms of the Black Sepulcher is this band's second full length. Now when I suggest symphonic black metal I'm referring to their use of keyboards. Fortunately they're not used in a way that a decade ago I would've called cliche. They're not used as a standout. Instead they're placed perfectly in the mix. This leaves the soundscape as a whole to be furious and fierce as well as allowing some melody to seep through.
The major highlights on this seven song blast are the harsh vulture like vocals that come at you like talons ripping flesh. The band's use of that wall of sound effect, a mainstay in symphonic black metal and of course the song structures. AETRANOK are the new name when it comes to great USBM. This release proves that.
https://scumfeastzineblog.blogspot.com/2018/05/aetranok-kingdoms-of-black-sepulcher.html
Такие альбомы приятно слушать после чего-то навороченного и прогрессивного, симфонического - с дудками и аккордеоном. И вот приходит AETRANOK. Блэк метал из США из штата Нью-мексико. Будто пустынный шторм, сметает он все на своем пути, а что прибито гвоздями, или держится зубами, то обтачивается миллионами песчинок - например, зубы лишаются эмали — для начала...
6 л6т 6работает эта формация, исполняя временами труйно-металлические гимны темнейшему эгрегору на этой планете. Это второй полноформат, который недвусмысленно указывает, что вектор движения задан, и каменный фрегат неумолимо движется по песочному морю. Тут самое место сказать, что в составе группы имеется клавишник. Правда, это мало помогло нуждающимся в духовной опеке. Проще забрать у них ключи от подвала. Клавишник знает свое место и в трэке Kingdoms Of The Black Sepulcher уже сделано немало. Вообще музыканты с черно-белой колодой в блэк металле много сделали для тру блэка. В своих попытках нормализовать поджанр, как уже упоминалось ранее в наших заметках о жанре. Из нормализации, конечно, ничего не получилось... но особые (по духу и звучанию) клавишные заняли свое место среди инструментария блэк металла.
Кстати, попервоначалу клавишник сидит себе тихонько в уголку и особо не рвется на первые роли (и кто ж ему даст?). Он просто хитрейший в этой компании и, прекрасно понимая ситуацию, ожидает, когда гитаристы после таких бомб какие сброшены на старте Ov Precipice and Bestial Purity приустанут. Тогда и он подключится к этому армагеддону. Так и получается. И еще дело в том, что тот же трэк - по настоящему ураганный и и проткнуть его парой другой клавишных ударов - дело вполне возможное. Особенно, если считать за результат - сумасшедший конгломерат отчаянного антимузыкального строительства.
Кстати, во второй компо такие же эксцессы, а иначе их назвать очень трудно. Причем тут еще специфическое звукопостроение - что, если сказать: АД, то ошибешься ненамного. И само-собой, в век IТ-технологий, это все сделано нарочно. Сомневаюсь, что это настоящий, а не примоченный десятком приблуд вокал — очень трудно поверить, что это реальный голос. Да не в этом суть. Он есть - и это само по себе явление - отдельный самум в той самой мексиканской пустыне.
В траке 3 - Kingdoms of the Black Sepulcher неожиданно диспозиция и саунд меняются. Ощущение такое, что его взяли с другой демо-записи. Но это такой же оголтелый true raw black metal со сместившимися акцентами: на два бестиальных вокала, сменился строй гитар, - ушел вниз, в глубину, в подполье, в адовые могилы, и оттуда же вылезла гулкая ритм-секция. И на тех же клавишных вдруг переломанные пальцы сыграют нечто похоронное, но очень недооконченное. Ввиду травматического состояния. Но есть еще время в этом треке достойно сыграть толковую эпитафию. Неожиданную в данном контексте, честно говоря.
Вот такое разнообразие предлагает AETRANOK, и это мы допилили только чуть до середины, ибо в середине компакта формация начинает валить чуть ли не дум-блэк, но мидтемпо дарк металл это точно - The Lament of Seraphs. В этих границах.
Далее группа неожиданно возвращается к своему первому аватару - буйному и чертопоклоническому, опять накручивая вокруг оси вашего дископриемника энергии тьмы и блэк-металлической анархии. И главное: - следующий же трэк - это второй аватар — дум-блэковый = выше описанный - Infernal Vestiges — реально инфернальный заход, бесноватый по вокалу и расчленяющий по гитарному деянию. А клавиши здесь для контраста зарыты на самом деле мажорные, только они выглядят так же странно, как цирк на помойке. Композер встраивает чуть ли не симфо-пассаж в этот тру-блэк-глыбу угля. Не знаю для чего. Но это все только эпизоды в большом и труйном конгломерате этого диска.
Знайте! Для зловещего эффекта авторы измыслили в финал этого аудиального манускрипта записать кусок черного эмбиента - совершенно в роде проектов Французского Черного Легиона (LLN) - маниакального, полностью отмороженного и чудовищного по духовному строю. Нужно услышать адеептам темного искусства.
Черный углерод под давлением. 6 из 6 черепов.
https://vk.com/wall216331265_3400
On this release of AETRANOK we can discover intensive Black Metal with sinister guitar riffing and screaming vocals and keyboards. Yeah, keyboards! It is not that case when keyboards make some melodic snotty stuff; instead it makes the sound of AETRANOK darker and grimmer and lets you to feel the atmosphere of “Kingdoms Of The Black Sepulcher.” Also I should to say that tracks are rhythmically varied and interesting to listen to. The last track “Liber Khao Ad Veritas” is some mantras with a sick sounding accompaniment and puts the final point in the chaotic journey through the “Kingdoms Of The Black Sepulcher.”
A black metal band based in Colorado, Aetranok has seen significant changes in their early years. Cycling through various former members, a line-up was solidified prior to the release of their second LP, and consists of five members, including the band's founder and songwriter, Apophis (guitar / vocals), Draka (vocals / guitar), Tenebros (keyboards), Thoros (bass), and Xamot (drums / percussion).
The band uses a wide arsenal of musical methods to bring their creations to life, such as classical music ideology, complex percussion patterns, diverse lyrical placement, and instrumental transitions.
Even in the early years of the band's first album (Grand Invokation), these elements can be heard, shaping the band's musical direction into their second album (Kingdoms of the Black Sepulcher).
Aetranok expanded their influence from performing small local shows to travelling out of their native state for larger events, such as South Dakota's Stygian Rites.
Initially covered by local newspapers with the release of their first demo, this expansion was not limited to their live performances, as their second LP and derived videos were released / promoted with the cooperation of labels in two countries (Satanath/Symbol of Domination, Death Portal), spreading the band's music over half of the globe as well as catching the attention of widespread internet sources such as the music page "No Clean Singing."
Aetranok continued to apply disciplined musical techniques in their writing and performance as they set their sights on the creation of several videos, such as the title track, "Kingdoms of the Black Sepulcher," and other tracks from the album of the same name, all of which deliver the full impact of the band's aggressive musical approach.
https://thelegionoftchortzine.blogspot.com/2018/08/aetranok-usa.html
Sometimes the world puts you through hell. For me, when that happens, I need to listen to some intense savagery. It may not seem to make sense, but listening to vicious music is actually calming and cathartic at times. It seems to draw out society’s poison, if you will, so that I can move on happier and healthier. “Kingdoms of the Black Sepulcher” certainly fits the bill for this purpose. Only the second release in six years by this quintet based in the American southwest, the album features a no-nonsense Black Metal attack filled with acidic vitriol. Dissonant keyboards (Tenebros), haunt your subconscious from low in the mix. Meretrix and Apophis combine on a snarling guitar attack, with the bass lines of Þoros giving power to the unrelenting bite. Once the creature has you, it won’t let go until it flings you bodily from its jaws onto the rocks below, called forth by the pounding, percussive efforts of Xamoth. In all its essentials, “Kingdoms of the Black Sepulcher” is straightforward USBM, but Aetranok manages to conjure forth an entity ‘moste foule and perverse’ through their attack. Not flashy or showy, just ripping black metal. Go on….give it a go.
http://www.vm-underground.com/review/aetranok-kingdoms-of-the-black-sepulcher/
From the bleak, Arctic soil of New Mexico hail Aetranok, a quintet that started earlier this decade. At the very beginning of 2014, the band released a first album (on compact disc), Grande Invokation, via Colorado-based Death Portal Studio, re-released a couple of months later, also on CD and digitally, through Senseless Life Records from the U.K. (nowadays known as Sepulchral Silence). Then it took quite some time, but four years after their debut, and after some changes in line-up, Aetranok return with their sophomore album, Kingdoms Of The Black Sepulcher. This one gets released digitally and on CD in an edition of 500 copies via Belarussian Symbol Of Domination Productions (sister-label of Satanath Records) and, once again, Death Portal Studio. The CD-edition (jewel case) comes with a twelve-page booklet and the disc in so-called vinyl-style.
Kingdoms Of The Black Sepulcher was recorded at the Aetherial Studios in the band’s home country. The line-up on this album is: original members and guitar players Meretrix (aka Draka) and Apophis (also the main music writer and lyricist), keyboardist Tenebros, bass player þoros, and new drummer Xamoth (whom you might know from e.g. Itnotk, a band that also includes þoros, or Necronaunce and Music Distroyer [no fault, band’s name written correctly]).
What these guys bring is a very, and I mean VERY, intense, harsh and devastating form of so-called Cosmic Symphonic Black Metal. The pretty lengthy songs (the compositions last in between five and seven minutes) are extremely fast and energetic, strengthened by the artillery drum salvos especially. Oh my beloveth princess of the Underworld, those militant drum patterns crush and destroy. No mercy, just chopping fierceness without remorse. But that’s not the only thing that makes this recording so ‘intense’, evidently. When talking about the strings, it’s a surprising fact to notice, at the same time, a high level of melodicity at the one hand, and an enormous pushing rhythm section at the other hand. The lead parts create a wave of epic and astral elegance, while those melodies are forceful supported by a firm, powerful combination of rhythm guitars and bass lines. All this gets joined by several layers of synths; sometimes taking the lead, then again subtly darkening the whole concept at the background. And last but not least, you have a huge variety on vocals. Grunts and growls, screams, yells and so on, but the better part is simply malicious and tormented. The main vocals breath sulphur, or are like a sweet soundtrack for veins being cut slowly by a rusty blade. Those who remember Vintersemestre or those who are trusted with DUX will know what I mean. Furthermore: (church) bells and chimes, droning noises, hints of Lovecraftian horror, and so on…
The result is atmospheric, yet from a very frightening kind, and at the same time enormously technically written and executed too. The whole maintains a chilly and breath-taking morbidity, an evil grimness lurking beyond. This goes for the passages with synths especially, yet also for some of the blasting outbursts.
There’s one thing that deeply disappoint me, and that’s the sound. The quality is way beneath acceptance, and sometimes the mix fails to concentrate or accentuate important, necessary details. It’s muddy and messy, and way too inconsistent. A pity. But that’s only one aspect (though an important one), because the song writing and performance show these guys’ enthusiasm to rape the listeners’ eardrums with a sardonic, sadistic and sarcastic pleasure. And that is, at the end, what it all is about: Black Metal!!! Besides, in an industrialised Black Noise-oriented lullaby like Liber Khao Ad Veritas, it might be a surplus!
I guess it will be appreciated by everyone who likes stuff in between Sirius, Suffering Souls, Nocturnal Majesty, Limbonic Art, Obsidian Gate, Darkspace, Evil Palace and the likes…
http://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/aetranok
Ови амерички блекери својим другим албумом су могли одрадити много бољи посао, само да су се макар мало потрудили. Продукција и поред тога што је лоша звучи као прикладан омаж европском black metalu са краја деведесетих, почетка двехиљадитих. Једино што је требало барем да вокале ставе у други план, пошто су невероватно напорни за слушање. Мало клавијатура убачених ту и тамо, подоста закивачких ритмова и зујеће-режећих гитара, бас који се не да разазнати од остатка инструмената - класика.
https://ciklonizacija.blogspot.com/2019/04/blitzkrieg11.html
This is right up my alley. I am a huge fan of the really aggressive style of black metal that AETRANOK play. Nothing wrong with symphonic or any other form of black metal but this is too me the reason why black metal exist as a style. Toi play the most hateful and anti-Christian music possible. I am loving it. This is the kind of albums that can turn a shitty day into a really cool one.
http://battlehelm.com/reviews/aetranok-kingdoms-of-the-black-sepulcher/