Reviews: SAT118
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Progressivement le trio liegeois s'est forge une reputation. Arme de ses deux guitares et de sa batterie, ANGAKOK est sorti de sa cave et a travaille pour s'offrir plusieurs scenes oo il a pu affiner son exercice. Apres avoir joue avec des groupes comme MONARCH, ALTAR OF PLAGUES, SOFY MAJOR ou GALVANO, sorti une premiere demo et ete laureat au Loud de Court-Circuit, le trio s'est donne le temps d'enregistrer son premier album а Namur au Noise Factory Studio.
Lentement mais sorement, ANGAKOK gravit les echelons. Si la lenteur paraоt кtre un style de vie pour ces trois gaillards, c'est tout а leur honneur de ne pas vouloir broler les etapes depuis 2010. D'autres formations se seraient dejа precipitees et surtout cassees les dents avec plusieurs sorties.
Mor donc, le groupe propose un album finalise. Cet aboutissement sera une des qualites que l'on retiendra durablement de ANGAKOK. Leur Doom/Sludge lethargique s'est etoffe depuis leurs debuts pour arriver а un resultat plus dynamique et complexe.
Bien que le tracklist soit riche de dix compositions, ce premier album condense sans eparpillement les attentes que nous avions. S'ouvrant avec un sample, les premieres notes imposent la lourdeur caracteristique du trio. ANGAKOK s'extirpe de cette masse resonnante avec Sacrifice, le premier titre qui se demarque.
Rampant et engourdi, ce Doom, devenu identifiable, de ANGAKOK, suinte jusqu'а la piece maitresse de l'album, Samsara. Deboulant avec un rythme belliqueux, le groupe attaque frontalement un reveil de la bкte qui paraissait sommeiller. Durant pres de 11 minutes, elle ne desserrera pas la mвchoire tenant sa proie.
L'interlude Avioyok laisse sa place а la troisieme phase de l'album. La bкte approchee, puis affrontee, il faut maintenant la dompter. Dead Birds, Trust My Scorn et Empty Cup insistent sur la puissance qu'ANGAKOK peut developper dans ses guitares, sa frappe, son rythme et ses vocaux gutturaux.
Cette mise en exergue de la determination vitale qui nourrit les trois Liegeois se conclot avec Sivudlit Nertorpok, renvoyant а l'ouverture, Peerpaluktok Aitut. Une boucle qui laisse supposer que ANGAKOK retournera dans ses eaux marecageuses, pouvant кtre satisfait du travail accompli, mais desireux d'elever encore d'un niveau le resultat а la prochaine evolution. On devrait entendre parler d'eux de plus en plus souvent.
From Belgium, Angakok are a minimalistic, loud and chaotic trio merging doom, sludge and drone influences. A first track, "Porsinauleq", is issued on R.A.I.G.'s compilation "Dirgenera Compendium II". After opening shows in their hometown for bands such as Altar Of Plagues, Monarch or Sofy Major, they released a 3 tracks demo recorded by Jeremy Stoz (Mammouth Machine) at the Pole Image studio. As result of this ep. they gets on the road for a new series of shows, festivals and contests such as the Concourt-Circuit while working on some new compositions. The result of this work is Angakok, the band's first album, recorded at the Noise Factory Studio by Gerald Jans.
'Perpaluktok Aitut' is the weirdly titled first song, i say song its more of what sounds like a Native American speaking over some distortion guitar.
More traditional sludge/doom to listen to with 'Sacrifice' thoughtowards the end gets a bit more frantic.
Next we are 'Collapsing' with some slow and painful guitar chords, howevr as this progresses they throw in some speech samples from a news report (?) and the music gets a little heavier.
More weirdness with 'Aksarpok' and more speech samples over a riff this time, this is followed by 12 minutes of 'Samsara' more doom/sludge, until 5 minutes in and it gets very quiet with some simple guitar picking out a few notes, after briefly returning to the sludge and then it sort of mixes everything up towards the end.
'Avioyok' is abot one minute of sound effects, followed by 'Dead Birds' which is 90 seconds of sludge/avant-garde noise akin to the Melvins.
'Trust My Scorn'starts agin with that Native American speaking and then flows into another dark and painfull workout.
After 'Empty Cup' which is more of the same we end on 'Sivudlit Nertorpok' a very quiet atmospheric piece.
For Fans of: Melvins, Sunn o))), Earth, Blut Aus Nord
Angakok are a Sludge band from Belgium, and this is their début album.
Angakok play Sludge/Doom mixed with moments of Drone/Ambient respite.
This is Neurosis-inspired Doom that’s nicely heavy when it needs to be. Mix the Neurosis influence with that of, say, Zatokrev and you have an album that, (slowly), stomps over everything around it.
The Ambient and lighter moments give the album some shading, but the heavier side of the band is the main event; these asides are essentially delaying the heaviness so that when it returns it sounds even more immense.
The music really takes Doom to its black heart; the heavy guitars are slow and crushing, although they do pick up the pace when necessary. There are some good, winding melodies used on these songs and the mood of despondency and bleakness never ends.
The songs are darkly enjoyable, and it’s a collection of tracks that make for a engaging journey with the band.
The vocals are anguished, drawn-out screams, not dissimilar to those used in Neurosis. The style sounds a natural fit with the Sludgy guitars and the performance is not one to find fault with.
The album is well-recorded and seems to be able to be both murky and clear at the same time. It suits the band’s style and the music benefits from it.
I enjoy music like this, especially from a band like Angakok as they clearly know the genre inside out.
Le trio belge ANGAKOK (nom qui désigne un shaman chez les Inuits) ne donne pas dans la demi-mesure mais bien dans la démesure !
Epaisseur, lourdeur, colère viscérale : le Doom Metal monumental mis en œuvre par le trio liégeois charrie un flot pour le moins sombre et visqueux. Imaginez des rythmiques très lourdes qui progressent pesamment sur un tempo lent, martelé par une batterie tellurique. Ajoutez des riffs massifs, au rendu abrasif et granuleux (Sludge quoi), qui tombent sur l'auditeur comme autant de chapes de plomb. Tentant de se hisser au dessus de cette masse bitumineuse, des vocaux colériques et écorchés – qui ne dénoteraient pas dans le Post Metal - semblent vouloir vous hurler à la face toute la frustration, toute la colère et toute la haine que peut héberger en son sein une âme en peine.
A ce stade, on dispose de la bande-son parfaite de la scène du lac de poix de l'Enfer dans la Divine Comédie de Dante ; on croit entendre la captation des douleurs des damnés prisonniers de leurs péchés !
Certes, le trio prend soin de proposer ponctuellement quelques plages d'ambiances aux mélodies simples et troubles, plus oppressantes que libératrices. Il en est ainsi sur le monumental « Samsara » qui met en œuvre des ambiances très contrastées durant plus de onze minutes. Mais, sur d'autres passages, le groupe surenchérit dans la claustrophobie en insérant des samples de dialogues qui renforcent le sentiment d'aliénation.
On ne va pas se mentir : l'écoute de cet album s'avère éprouvante mais convaincante car le groupe atteint les objectifs qu'il s'était fixé, notamment en injectant une dimension vicieuse au sein d'un propos majoritairement à visée monumentale.
The ten songs packed by Angakok into their new album pop out swinging hard and aiming low, slapping sludgy anger into doomy riffs with a few samples thrown in for extra crunch. Hitting both slow and fast movements of this mix, Angakok sizzle through the feedback, reverb, and clangor of their music with solid melodies grounding the madness. While there's a couple of short tracks, that's balanced out by the ~12-minute "Samsara", which comes in around the mid-point to show the band's handiness with extensive destruction, and likewise, "Sivudlit Nertorpok" drops in at the end with a sharp-contrast meditative vibe to help your nerves feel less savaged. Something worth checking in on for those who like their sludge to hold some dirty surprises.
Belgium’s Angakok are an interesting proposition, melding doom, sludge and drone into a chaotic dirging behemoth of a record. Vast riffs loom from darkness, weaving droning metal through the fog.
After the dense drone of opener ‘Perpaluktok Aitut’, the doom starts proper with the slow motion crush of ‘Sacrifice’. Riffs the size of mountains groan under their own weight, while a tortured vocal howls from somewhere within. The torturous gloom of ‘Collapsing’ is the musical equivalent of watching a glacier crush you to death; it is slow but excruciatingly inevitable. It feels like the spiritual successor to Winter’s ‘Into Darkness’.
‘Angakok’ is a bleak, power statement as a debut album. The hypnotic droning of ‘Aksarpok’ leads into the blood and thunder of ‘Samsara’, a lurching twelve minute assault that is equals parts raw sludge and titanic doom. The word ‘epic’ is thrown around too much these days, especially with songs that are ten minutes plus, but ‘Samsara’ is an epic tour de force of primal rage and riff. A true album centrepiece, when the haunting mid section arrives with just a jangling guitar and a rumbling bass, where samples fade in and out.
The throbbing ‘Avioyok’ leads into the menacing smash of ‘Dead Birds’ and the almost wistfully jarring ‘Trust My Scorn’. Mixing blunt, crashing riffage with a sense of foreboding and in parts a genuine sense of dread, Angakok’s debut is a special release. Rarely is this kind of sludgy doom so emotionally honest, so drainingly heavy and so damn enjoyable. Take lessons folks, ‘Empty Cup’ is how you write end of the world music
In tegenstelling tot wat de naam Angakok (een soort medicijnman onder de eskimo's) doet vermoeden, is dit geen band uit een exotisch oord. Nee, dichter bij huis had het zelfs bijna niet kunnen zijn, want deze groep geweldenaars komt uit België. Uit Luik om precies te zijn en ik moet zeggen dat ik daarbij eerder aan wafels en bier denk dan aan lompe, trage en vooral agressieve sludge. Toch komt Angakok uit Luik en met diens eerste album heeft deze band een prima album afgeleverd.
Het album opent met een uitgebreide sample van een man die een verhaaltje vertelt (ongetwijfeld in één van de talen van de Inuit), waar trage gitaarpassages worden ingevoegd als voorbode van wat komen gaat. De meneer komt overigens vaker terug op het album. Met Sacrifice is het eerste stukje geweld een feit en het mag gezegd dat de band de sfeer goed neerzet. Trage, slepende passages en daar overheen gebrulde vocalen zoals we die gewend zijn uit de post-metal. De band varieert met atmosferische passages die Bongripper niet zouden misstaan en geeft zo af en toe wat ruimte om op adem te komen van de benauwende lompheid. Als Angakok al een "snelle" passage laat horen, zoals aan het begin van het twaalf minuten durende Samsara, is dit om een groter contrast te creëeren met de slome riffs die onvermijdelijk gaan komen.
Zelf ben ik helemaal van de doom en gloom, maar ik kan het begrijpen als deze release toch wat eentonig gevonden wordt. Naast het feit dat de muziek een beetje op hetzelfde niveau voort sjokt, zijn de riffs bijna allemaal in de lagere tonale regionen. Ik wil de band wel een beetje vergelijken met Fistula, ook door de combinatie met de vele samples, maar Fistula heeft serieus snelle nummers, die meer naar grind neigen. Ook de productie van het album is wat vlak. Deze doet puur wat er gedaan moet worden, maar zorgt er niet voor dat sommige passages net dat extra randje hebben. Dat is jammer, want als er dan een keer riffs worden gespeeld die afwijken van logge, slepende standaard, komt dat niet altijd even goed uit de verf. Ander puntje vind ik het gebrek aan basgitaar. Dit is iets waar ik normaal geen moeite mee heb, maar hier ontbreekt, ondanks de moddervette gitaartoon, toch dat extra beetje laag.
Dat gezegd, vind ik dit een prima album. Angakok weet op passende wijze de agressie die ten grondslag ligt aan het genre te bundelen en over te brengen op hun eerste album. De liefhebbers van modderige sludge met een shitload aan samples kunnen zich hier haast geen buil aan vallen. Bepaald geen zomers plaatje, maar misschien des te passend voor de koele, donkere en zompige plekjes waar sommigen van ons toevlucht zoeken tijdens deze warme dagen.
This Belgian trio have developed their brand of drone-sludge in two directions simultaneously, evolving a curious, experimental side while also achieving intense levels of ferocity. It is a balancing act that they pull off brilliantly in places, with the ensuing chaos sounding like the gates of hell about to burst open. But elsewhere this self-titled debut album feels a little uncertain.
After a droning intro track, ‘Sacrifice’ hits like a fist of misery: at first, it is simple and extremely effective, but later on the song explodes into life with some spectacular drumming (a noteworthy aspect of the album) and a searing stylistic shift. It sounds like a deranged artist tearing apart his beloved masterpiece in a fit of emotional meltdown.
Next up is ‘Collapsing’, which begins at a similarly slow, plodding pace. But we know from the previous track that we should expect the unexpected, and so we wait for an emotional twist… which sadly does not appear. This track does not quite deliver the same impact, and it’s difficult not to feel a little let down.
‘Samsara’ gets the energy levels back up before descending into more drifting drone, and then a couple of strange, short songs flash by like ugly swallows promising summer. Keeping things more focused is the mighty ‘Trust My Scorn’, a wonderful slab of seething anguish that showcases the band at their best.
Angakok’s straightforward, minimalistic riffs are a plain canvas onto which these lords of Liege band adds broad brushstrokes of blood-red pain and suffering. Their debut album is a mix of formulaic, droning sludge, extended samples that sometimes make you feel like you’re listening to the music with the TV on at the same time, and raucous, stentorian distortion. The moments of wonder are scattered.
Direction la Belgique avec Angakok qui nous sont proposés par le label russe Satanath Records. Le ton s’alourdit donc pour cette chronique avec le Sludge/Drone/Doom proposé par les liégeois.
Après un démarrage bien drone qui met directement l’accent sur l’atmosphère lourde agrémentée de samples, le combo vous prévient qu’il ne fera pas dans la légèreté.
Puis débarque « Sacrifice » et ces riffs bigrement accrocheurs dès le départ. L’ambiance est sombre à souhait et l’on sent qu’ Angakok a autant d’optimisme que Grief. Rythme pachydermique et assommeur, le Vallium fait effet et vous écrase le cerveau.
Niveau chant, on pourra saluer cet aspect mélodieux et néanmoins rugueux qui ravira les amateurs de Crowbar. L’ambiance sombre étant tissée, le morceau évolue sur un break plus brut et décalé avec le chant qui se fait plus hargneux et bien sludge.
Déjà du lourd,donc, qui laisse impatient sur la suite proposée et déjà « Collapsing » nous plonge dans une ambiance limite funeral doom au début avant de venir marteler cyniquement par ce sludge bien haineux. Poisseux, lourd et malsain. Les samples ressurgissent, captivant l’attention sur ce fond lugubrement hypnotique.
« Aksapork » vient se poser à nouveau très Drone, planant, avec des samples berçant l’atmosphère ambiante. Des cris rageurs assombrissent le parcours, déversant colère et mépris.
Une rythmique énergique, des roulements tribaux à la Baroness, High On Fire et consorts viennent apporter une bonne dose de dynamisme et font de « Samsara » l’un des morceaux à l’intro la plus accrocheuse. Bien puissant, décalé avec du bon break patate avant de revenir sur ce sludge colossal, noir et brut. C’est le morceau le plus long de la galette que nous tenons ici, presque douze minutes de torture mentale avec l’artillerie lourde d’attaque pour vous détruire. Encore une fois, ce morceau possède son pesant de très lourd alterné de passages nettement plus planants, assez ambient.
« Avioyok » poursuit et replonge l’auditeur dans un interlude drone, puis c’est « Dead Birds » qui prend les commandes avec ces sonorités et riffs qui ne sont pas sans rappeler les Melvins. Les rythmiques sont décalées mais lourdes, le morceau est court mais se fait efficace.
Le retour de l’atmosphère emplie de désespoir s’opère avec « Trust My Scorn » et son tempo bien lent, ce chant rugueux et plaintif accentuant l’aspect mélancolique. On retrouvera des airs bien Crowbaresques sur tout niveau avec un impact assommant.
La fuzz, les larsens et les dissonances se présentent ensuite sur « Empty Cup » pour vous offrir le trip le plus malsain que vous n’ayez encore jamais eu. Sombre, gargantuesque et dantesque, le titre vous tire vers le fond vers cette rage qui tâche.
Le final « Sivudlit Nertorpok » propose une atmosphère ambiante sur fond de sample et de retentissement de cloche tibétaine afin de vous accorder cet unique instant de répit en guise de conclusion.
Lourd et sombre sont les maîtres mots qui ressortent de cet album dont l’écoute vous emmènera sur les sentiers les plus désolés. Cet album est à écouter très fort afin que le doom/sludge du combo belge vous atteigne efficacement jusqu’à la moelle.
I was so happy, reviewing some albums, and then, a Stoner/Sludge Metal band appears. And everyone that knows Big Daddy here very well have in their minds that I respect the style, but I'm not a fan of the style. No, I'm not a fan of it for sure, but of course I can be a professional and write about it, taking aside my musical taste, so I can review in a easy way works as "Angakok", from Belgian band ANGAKOK, their first album.
As I told above, it's a band of Stoner/Sludge Metal being heavy and nasty, with very distorted instrumental (if you hear the album will feel that this distorted part that I speak about is due a bass guitar using a distortion effect), with some agonizing and really nasty vocals, slow and bitter tempos, even more than BLACK SABBATH used on their earlier works. But the sensation that "I heard it once in another album" appears often. Yes, it's not that they aren't a good band, but not as good as many that appeared before.
The sound quality is abrasive and dirty, but remember that in the style that ANGAKOK is playing, it's not really a problem, but it makes part of the whole musical conception of the band. But it's not dirty that we can't understand what they are doing, obviously. We can say that Gérald Jans (who did the recording and mixing), had done a good job.
Musically, the fans of the style will not have many complains, but the band really needs to improve in their musical work. It's not bad, but isn't different from many bands. Of course they have some good moments, as we can hear on songs as "Sacrifice" (some riffs really reminds a lot Tony Iommi playing style), "Samsara" with its good use of drums and bass guitar, and "Trust My Scorn", but the sensation that we heard it somewhere before is too strong.
They can do better than that.
Anyone fond of cheery tunes with sing-a-long choruses please skip to another review now. This one ain’t for you pal! If a foundation mixed with elements of doom and dissonant drone effects bring something approaching a smile to your face, read on my friend. Angakok are a Belgian trio and this is their debut release. An interesting affair it is too.
The first song – although of course it is actually anything but – is ‘Perpaluktok Aitut’. It begins with some fuzzy ramblings in a foreign tongue not entirely dissimilar from the kind of obscure channel you may occasionally have stumbled across in bygone days when twiddling the ‘tune’ knob of what was once lovingly referred to as ‘the wireless’. This eventually drifts into the distance to be replaced by a sonic drone that burrows into your skull supported by waves of dark distortion.
Having locked you into its pen of purgatory, the soundscape shifts into the second track ‘Sacrifice’ a pearler, opening with methodical percussion and a grating riff. And now the vocals join in with a sinew stretching cry wailing as though on a lost lament as the crescendo building around starts to evolve, kick open doors and eventually bring a semblance of shape to the movement. Mid-song there’s a 90-degree tempo change with cymbals crashing , drums savaged with the whining wail becoming more of a manic bark.
The overdub of disjointed voices babbling away returns on ‘Collapsing’ nestling uncomfortably on top of a sharpened riff, and restless percussion, the whole sound painting a suitably bleak picture with few, if any, glimpses of light. The tortured and twisted content is notched up on ‘Aksarpok’ a steady uncomfortable drone deadening your senses as the coldness envelopes further offering nothing to hang on to by means of escape.
The most interesting track is by far the longest, ‘Samsara’ clocking up around 12 minutes. It’s initially a complete contrast on the first four tracks, a pacey tom pounding machinegun providing a stark contrast to the funeral path already travelled down. The vocals are just as prehistoric although the accompanying riff does deliver a few more peaks and troughs rather than the spirit level drone of despair. Interestingly the following two numbers – one a flattened line of brain-cell-eating drone – only last a minute or so. The snappier ‘Dead Birds’ is a raw treat, albeit a very brief one.
Angakok are drawn to the doom like moths to a light and they return to their spiritual home on ‘Trust My Scorn’ which slowly releases steady rhythms into the ether flanked by a punishingly purposeful percussion and of course more strained hoarse cries. The doom descends with biblical proportions from the Liege trio on ‘Empty Cup’ the sluggish opening blows landing like weighty cannonballs, opening up giant craters for the following savagery to descend into. The drummer could nip to the loo and back so infrequent are his bludgeoning blows but when they land they do so with conviction and once the reins are released on the riff the evil sludge and slime is free to smother everything in its path.
Making music of essentially minimalist misery is never going to bring home the bacon financially. Angakok’s hostile landscape is a place few would choose to venture. But the musical back alleys are where it’s necessary to venture if you’re after something thought-provoking, challenging and confrontational. Angakok’s release ticks all three boxes.
http://www.themidlandsrocks.com/angakok-st/
Say whatever you want, but Belgium is right at the qualitative top of the sludge/drone/doom metal world. Despites all your counter-arguments: we have AmenRa. We also have a lot of other bands like Charnia, Oldd Wyrms, All We Expected... The list goes on and on and today I'd like to add Angakok to that list. Here's another gem from the Belgian underground, preferably to be played loud.
Angakok hails from Liège and was founded in 2010. Since then, the trio has been paving their way before they got picked up by Russian label Satanath. With thick, fuzzy guitars, slow but punishing drums, brutal vocals and a load of samples, this debut is pretty intense, as it should be. In ten songs, this trio proves their qualities as a sludge metal band by blasting their immersive drones through my speakers with sheer power and actually a lot of variation.
After a short, strange into, 'Sacrifice' immediately drags the listener down into the sloughy soil, only to let you crawl and ramble in this impressive combination of drones and noise. This song drives on simple but effective riffs which will get any sludge fan in extacy. The vocals also follow the vintage sludge tradition and often come very close to black metal screams. Furthermore, for some reason, I'm reminded of a band like Winter, and that's a huge plus.
'Collapsing' enhances the morbid atmosphere by throwing a full-blown doom metal anthem in our faces and brutally rubbing it into our veins. I can imagine this being a blast on stage. The intensity is massive and the sheer power of the song chases the sun away. I really dig the way Angakok uses vocal samples in their music. It gives the whole something extra, something impending and threatening. Not that I like to be threatened, but music often makes that feeling so awesome.
I also dig the instrumental, post-rock like, pieces, usually accompanied with vocal samples in a number of different languages. They bring a great sense of variation to the whole and enhance the bleak atmosphere. Besides, they alternate perfectly with the brutal doom songs, like the brilliant 'Samsara' which is probably one of my favorites on this album. This song goes on an on, showing absolutely no mercy on the listener. And we're not even halfway through the album yet...
In saw that Angakok is influenced by a number of different acts, including Merzbow and Lustmord (besides bands like Unsane, Melvins, Meshuggah, Isis, the Dillinger Escape Plan...- but let's focus on the noise in paragraph, shall we? I mean, after all, by now you should already know this is a great sludge/doom album). Truth is, these guys indeed make a lot of noise, at some points even nudging towards the harsh noise and thick dark ambient scene. This combination brings even more variation to the whole, and variation is always good.
So take it from me, Angakok are definitely on their way to the subtop of the Belgian sludge scene. Actually, someone should organise a festival and bring the best bands from the Flemish and the Walloon side of our little country together in one massive orgy of fuzz, doom and noise. It would be an epic event, never to be forgotten and I'm absolutely sure that this trio from Liège will be one of the highlights...
http://www.merchantsofair.com/reviews/angakok-angakok
Ominoso. Brutal. Pesado hasta decir basta. Lento hasta la exasperación. Demencial. El primer disco full de esta banda belga es un alud de sonidos densos y ritmos asfixiantes. 3 músicos desatando una bola de odio a paso lento, muy lento. 3 músicos aturdiéndose a sí mismos, y aturdiéndonos a nosotros con sus acordes eternos, con esas voces estruendosas, con esos ritmos aplastantes. Un poco más de 47 minutos de desesperación y oscuridad. Un poco más de 47 minutos en donde el Doom adopta formas conocidas, pero sosteniendo la idea de variar ocasionalmente para que esa sensación de agobio no nos sofoque, y dándole al disco un toque de dinámica lenta pero cautivante, lo que hace que valga la pena escuchar el álbum hasta el último segundo.
No los conocía, ni siquiera sabía que había grabado un ep en el 2012. Llegaron a mi gracias a Mel, una de las personas que está al frente de Fullblast!, quien siempre aporta material para que reseñemos. No los conocía, dije, y me arrepiento de no haberlo hecho antes, pues este disco autotitulado es asesino, lisa y llanamente asesino. 10 tracks que van desde el Doom más imponente hasta el Sludge más arrastrado, pasando por pasajes en donde viran hacia el Drone en la vena de Khanate, aunque esto último es tan sólo un recurso que usan de manera ocasional. Mas lo realmente importante es que el disco es un trueno que explota en el cerebro del oyente. Un golpe mortal asestado en la cien, una nube apocalíptica que avanza lentamente, pero que no podemos frenan. Mierda, este disco es malvado, realmente malvado. Es difícil escucharlo muchas veces y de manera consecutiva. Te deja exhausto, sin aire. Y eso que jamás aceleran, que nunca salen de esos patrones rítmicos lentos, muy lentos. Mejor así, pues esa es la impronta, esa es la esencia de Angakok.
No los entretengo más, los dejo en silencio para que se preparen para esta oscura pero sumamente recomendable experiencia.
http://puroruido.blogspot.com.ar/2015/09/angakok-idem.html
Angakok are a band from Belgium that plays a mixture of sludge, drone and doom metal and this is a review of their self titled 2015 album which was released as a joint effort between Satanath Records, Metallic Media and The Smoking Goat Records.
Melodic chanting and spoken word parts start off the album before adding in distorted amplifier drones and guitar noises and after the intro the music goes into more of a slow yet heavy doom/sludge metal direction along with all of the musical instruments having a very powerful sound to them.
Some of the tracks are very long and epic in length and the vocals are mostly angry yet melodic shouts and when guitar leads are utilized they are very distorted yet melodic at the same time and some of the riffs add in a touch of post metal and hardcore as well as the vocals adding in more high pitched screams at times and spoken word parts can also be heard in certain sections of the recording and the music starts incorporating more drones as the album progresses while all of the heavy riffs remain true to a very slow musical direction.
Angakok plays a mixture of sludge and doom metal that is very slow, dark and heavy and also adds in drones to create a style of their own, the production sounds very dark and heavy while the lyrics cover Shamanism and Dark themes.
In my opinion Angakok are a very great sounding mixture of sludge, drone and doom metal and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Sacrifice" "Samsara" "Dead Birds" and "Empty Cups".
http://hatredmeanswar2.blogspot.ru/2015/11/angakokself-titledsatanath.html
Partiamo dalle basi, con il termine «Angakok» (oppure «Angakkuq») si indica lo sciamano nella cultura Inuit del Nord America, che a dire il vero ha poco a che fare con Liegi, Belgio, dove gli Angakok si sono formati. La scelta del nome e delle immagini tuttavia ci aiuta immediatamente a comprendere l'approccio filosofico del trio. "Angakok" è il primo album ufficiale della band (dopo un EP uscito nel 2012), pubblicato in cinquecento copie dalla sempre attenta Satanath Records.
La copertina in bianco e nero fa da portale verso una dimensione altra, dove ci avventuriamo per meditare sulla condizione umana e il mondo, su un claustrofobico tappeto doom metal dalle multiple influenze. La sporcizia generale, soprattutto del comparto vocale, richiama alla mente lo sludge, mentre Ben urla le sue profezie e la band non lesina momenti più veloci e aggressivi (come all'inizio di "Samsara"). C'è un grosso uso di campionamenti nell'arco dell'opera ("Collapsing") e tutto contribuisce ad aumentare la nostra sensazione di pericolo imminente, di apocalisse totale. Curiosa la scelta di usare sia titoli in inglese che in lingua inuit (anche se può lasciar trasparire una incerta continuità concettuale), con l'eccezione di "Samsara" che definisce il concetto del cerchio di vita e morte tipico soprattutto delle religioni indiane, oltre a essere forse il pezzo più carico del disco.
Il lavoro scorre via che è un (dis)piacere, ottimo il bilanciamento dei brani e la gestione della durata. L'intermezzo drone dal sapore rituale ("Avioyok") si inserisce perfettamente nel contesto generale, mettendo in evidenza una dimensione che attraversa anche il resto dell'album in sottofondo. La quantità e la qualità del rumore che vi troverete davanti in pezzi come "Empty Cup" vi metterà subito a vostro disagio; cercherete di uscire dal fango dell'esistenza, lottando con tutte le vostre forze, prima di tornare in uno stato di pace almeno apparente, a meditare su quanto vi circonda con "Sivudlit Nertorpok".
Raramente ho visto una tale consapevolezza nei propri mezzi in un disco d'esordio, e sono sicuro che gli Angakok abbiano ancora tanto da dire. Se pensando a Belgio e violenza vi vengono giustamente in mente gli AmenRa, questo giovane trio di Liegi potrebbe essere un'interessante addizione alla vostra collezione.
http://www.aristocraziawebzine.com/recensioni/7329-angakok-angakok
I don’t know when I discovered the really slow doom metal but I guess it was through the Finnish bands Belial and Unholy that I got to really experience it up close. And ever since then I’ve been a fan of the really slow doom metal, whether you call it funeral doom or anything else. ANGAKOK are slow that a sloth seems like a drag racer. This is the kind of metal that requires a lot of patience to sit through. Not party music in any sense of the word. But if you are in no hurry to get anywhere then you’ll enjoy this.
http://battlehelm.com/reviews/angakok-st/
An ‘angakok’ is an Inuit shaman. Thanks to ivanpedia for this interesting info…
Angakok is also the name of a Belgian trio that started at the beginning of this decade. Their first demo was pretty successful in their local scene (the Liège-area), and the band was able to share the stage with acts like Fuck The Facts, Regarde Les Hommes Tomber, The Great Old Ones, Altar Of Plagues, Deep In Hate, Zatokrev etc., or to perform live on festivals such as Fiesta du Rock or LOUD Festival. Recently they did finish their first studio full length album, which was recorded at the Noise Factory Studio. It gets released by three interesting labels, being Russia’s top-notch Satanath Records (thanks again to Aleksey, who did send this album to me), Metallic Media (from Illinois; a close partner of Satanath), and the very small, somewhat hazy Italian label The Smoking Goat Records.
The album contains quite some excerpts from different angles, with extracts from Inuit shaman life stories especially. Since the core of this band’s existence is quite relative to the Inuit culture, this isn’t such a strange thing… But, then again, what about the sonic nature of this album?
Well, to be honest, my first impression came pretty close to the first Unearthly Trance-album, though nowadays, and indeed I am talking about the 2015-s-era, stuff à la Relapse and relatives aren’t quite revealing either anymore.
So, anyway, Angakok brings almost fifty minutes of ultimately harsh and deeply grim, yet still melodic Doom stuff (though there are a couple of nasty hyper-energetic outbursts too) with a profound sludgy execution and a discordant Black-edged sound result, above the most nasty spheres of Post-Hardcore, punkish Acid Stoner and Blackdoomsludgecore-stuff in general, and in addition quite some bizarre samples. Damn yeah, I am not focusing on originality or, well, whatever; I am just convinced that this album, despite its lack of ‘originality’, has something to offer that stands miles away from the ‘usual’, from what we might are used to. And in consequence: Belgium has quite an impressive scene when talking about this material especially – but with this band I think our small country will surely overpower their place…
http://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/angakok
Hoe vaak heb ik het al niet gezegd? Doom/sludge is duidelijk de smaak van het moment. Overal springen dat soort bands als paddenstoelen uit de grond, zo ook in België. Angakok is er weer eentje. Men heeft duidelijk naar grote Belgisch broer AmenRa geluisterd en ook wel naar het Franse Year Of No Light. Luister maar naar hoe de drums beuken. Het is vrij standaard sludge in het straatje van deze twee bands wat hier ter tafel gebracht wordt. Door het gebruik van samples zorgt men echter wel voor de nodige variatie zodat de aandacht van de luisteraar vastgehouden wordt. Al met al is ‘Angakok’ een lekker plaatje maar echt beklijven doet het niet en ik vraag me dan ook af of ik er in de toekomst naar terug zal keren. Mocht de band eens in de buurt komen optreden dan zal ik ze zeker wel gaan bekijken.
http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/nl/reviews/view/id/31310
Those who like their metal low and slow will appreciate what Belgium’s ANGAKOK are doing with this, their self-titled, debut album. Angakkuq are Inuit shaman and this is perfect for the kind of reflective, icy, dark meditations of the tundra. Lots of samples of what I can assume are from Inuit nature and spiritual life run through this ode to minimalist Doom/Sludge and Drone, although the drone is less of a factor than the others. This is an almost experimental work that flashes beautifully like northern lights at times with songs like “Samsara” and the soul-wrenching “Empty Cup.” At other times they seemingly throw the formula out the window like the sadly fleeting “Dead Birds” that could have been a standout if not for its abrupt finish. More experimentation occurs with the inclusion of extended samples in the tracks “Sivudlit Nertorpok” and “Aksarpok.” The comparisons to other bands will be many for ANGAKOK on the bulk of the tracks but the bleakness and thematic elements, that have not been touched before to my knowledge, makes this effort emerge from the crowd.
http://www.metaljunkie.rocks/reviews/shmug-conveyer-angakok-windfaerer/2016/01/31
Egy-egy stílus, irányzat mindig valami korábbiból táplálkozik, annak alapvető elemeit csűri-csavarja kénye-kedve szerint, valahogy így látott napvilágot a doom egyik mára időnként felismerhetetlen testvére is, a sludge metal. Ha a tradicionális doom egy angol öregember képében személyesülne meg, akkor a sludge ugyanez az úriember, csak belekkel kifelé, torz és erőszakos formában. Tesztalanyunk a kizsigerelés után még magánál van és végső agonizálása közben játssza a műfaj jellegzetes taktusait: a béka hátsó fele alá lehangolt, pattanásig feszített riffeket, a végtelenségig kitartott hátborzongató hangokat. Valahogy így kell elképzelnünk a belga Angakok bemutatkozó lemezét is, akik derék(batört) öregurunk mellé időnként felidézik a stoner metal szellemét is, aki lelki szemeim előtt egy pelyhes állú, betépett hippiként ábrázolható leginkább…
Az énekért felelősségre vonható Ben, akinek sikolyai, ordításai és gitártémái kísérik a lemezt, valamikor 2009-ben trombitálta össze zenei útján kísérő hűséges társait, akik Baston (szintén gitár) és Run névre hallgatnak. A zenekar nevét viselő tavalyi bemutatkozásukra pedig igencsak jellemzőek az előzetesben foglaltak, a hagyományok mellett mindenen torzítottak, csavartak egyet, hogy sajátosnak nem nevezhető, de erőteljes közeget hozzanak létre a kiadványon. Fiatal koruk ellenére magabiztosságot sugall mind a pofás borító, mind a remek hangzás és még a dalokkal is el lehet lenni abban a bő 50 percben, amíg messzire űzik tőlünk a jókedv és könnyedség apró szikráit is. A lemezt nyitó rövid, számomra ismeretlen nyelven hadaró emberi hangokkal teletűzdelt intróként szolgáló Perpaluktok Aitut után az egyszerű, rövidnek mondható Sacrifice sodor minket magával, már-már minimalista nyitása után azonban a végére előkerülnek azok a bizonyos belső szervek, miután Ben erőszakos, mániákus kiáltásaival levetkőzi lelkének külső rétegeit. A folytatásban a jóval hosszabb Collapsing súlyos és monoton, molett nőket megszégyenítő magabiztossággal repeszti be az ablaküveget megfelelő hangerő kíséretében, ráadásul a dal végére egy hulla is gyorsabban vonszolja magát az illemhely felé vészhelyzetben, mint ahogy a hangok követik egymást. Ez tökéletesen előkészíti a terepet azAksarpok drone törekvéseinek, amit szerencsére nem erőltetnek a továbbiakban, mert igencsak unalmas 4 percet vesztegettek el az életemből. Az univerzum egyensúlyát és lelki békémet a lemez közepén eltehénkedő Samsara hozza egyenesbe, ami a kiadvány leghosszabb, egyben talán legjobb szerzeménye, főleg ha megfelelő türelemmel viseltet valaki az efféle zene iránt. A meglehetősen szellős dalban már működnek a drone lassulások, pszichedelikus elszállások is, amik korábban külön kevésbé voltak érdekesek. A Dead Birds pontosan olyan beteg és kitekeredett cucc, mint az azonos címmel készült horrorfilm, a Trust My Scorn pedig a Collapsing rövidebb testvéreként funkcionál a lemezen, meglehetősen depresszív kiáltásokkal kísérve. Az Empty Cup gitárbúgatása, szóló gyanánt hasznosított brutális torzításai szintén erős dalt eredményeznek a kiadvány vége felé, ahol utána már csak a kezdésnél némileg hosszabb, fura Sivudlit Nertorpok vár minket, hogy hipnotizálhasson.
Összességében egy kellemes bemutatkozó lemezt dobott össze a belga trió, bár izgalmakban nem fogunk dúskálni ennyi belsőség mellett, viszont amit ígérnek nekünk, azt teljesítik. A kiadvány voltaképp egy minimalista nyomornegyed, aminek díszpolgáraivá avatják a hallgatókat, de valami még nagyon hiányzik az összképből. Összetartóbb, kiforrottabb szerzeményekkel, némileg koruk előrehaladásával azonban később szívesen futnék össze velük ismét, de addig jócskán akad ennek a műfajnak sok jóval prominensebb előadója, akivel elszórakoztathatjuk magunkat.
http://www.femforgacs.hu/kritika/3479/Angakok_Angakok_2015
Oh, now here we go. Belgium's Angakok, a band I'd never laid ears upon before have certainly put a large smile on my face. Playing a style of Sludge Doom (not sludge metal) with the "speed" and heaviness of Walk Through Fire along with the spite and biliousness of Grief, they throw in the experimental stylings of Melvins and the merest hint of Drone to create something rather special. It's not overtly nihilistic, as there's definitely some decent method, purpose and thought gone into this sonic catharsis, but I'd have to go back to 'Corrado Zeller' by Mudbath to find anything to equal the harrowing nature of the delivery.
(Sludge/)Doom of this kind is a niche genre within a niche genre. A further distillation of the very essence and reasons as to why slow and heavy music gets made. This album comes across as something wholly unafraid and unabashed to venture into the very heart of the perplexing existential horrors that trouble humanity. And, whether humanity wants to acknowledge them or not, Angakok are here to attest to their despicable reality. Spoken-word samples add to the mystery of the record and make it at times reminiscent of Eyehategod or Fistula, but without the bluesy Sabbath worship.
Lengthy down-tuned chords reverberate, whilst the vocalist spits his venom above them. At times it's like listening to a far nastier version of Cough. At other times the music comes in the form of those slow stabs of muted frustration which Noothgrush are so good at, beating out a tense and exasperated atmosphere. Track five, 'Samsara', changes the pace slightly and shows Angakok to be anything but a one trick pony. Starting off with some Unearthly Trance vibes, it's actually not long until the pace slows again, before it quietens down into a moody soup of textured guitars and atmospherics.
Elsewhere there's the jumpy, almost grungy influence of Melvins-type anarchy, and a couple of shorter atmospheric tracks which all help to give the album much more than an overly simplistic dynamic. Which is where I think Angakok really hit it off. Sure, you could do fifty minutes of slow sludgy doom with scorching vocals, and I certainly wouldn't argue with that, but by veering off the beaten track, Angakok have created something mysterious and interesting with perhaps a hint of mysticism. The minimalism of the artwork by Derek Setzer, lack of available lyrics and curious song titles really point to a band making an esoteric statement primarily for themselves. Art, in other words.
Personally, this album ticks all the boxes, not least because of how the record ends. Final track 'Sivudlit Nertorpok' begins with something sounding like a Tibetan singing bowl before a voice in a language I don't understand narrates the album's epilogue. Could be a secret spiritual doctrine. Could be the ramblings of a madman. The two possibilities are perhaps inextricably linked. Angakok's bleak and perilous soundscapes are not without essence or meaning, or I suspect political intent. This self-titled debut is a fittingly disturbing reflection of our times.
http://www.doom-metal.com/reviews.php?album=2929
Stepping out of the shadows only to tower over you and tear your life to shreds is Angakok with their self titled record. Angakok is menacing and monolithic. From the cover you would never know that what is inside is music that strips you of your soul completely and eats at you from the inside out. What you get with this self titled release is something that is wholly sinister and compelled only by the darkness and it demands to be heard. Once you open the disc and pop it in for a quick listen, you don’t know that the poisonous darkness that is inside will consume you whole.
Each song-including the songs that act as interludes-have a great negativity about them. This style of doom is apocalyptic and a very harrowing experience to say the least. The heaviest sound you can think of is what Angakok seems to achieve here with this release. This self titled record puts you through mental anguish and torture and pushes you off of the ledge of insanity that you have already been contemplating jumping off of.
This debut is aggressive and it is unapologetically so. As it barrels through your subconscious and holds you prisoner within your own mind, it takes you through dark places that etch themselves into your mind for the remainder of time. This isn’t a doom and sludge combination that take you on vivid trips through bright soundscapes. This is a doom and sludge combination that present exactly as the genre states. You get walked through wastelands, poisonous fields, and darkened corridors that swallow all sanity all with the keeper of the dead holding your clammy hand.
Angakok is a slow dirge toward your collapse. This release revels and thrives in obscurity and makes you sink inward into an abyssal corner of your mind.Throughout, you hear songs that are punishing and purely sinister. Angakok is a gloomy spectacle, one that is played at glacial, heart stopping speeds. The way in which these Belgian doom dealers play creates an atmosphere that makes you feel insecure and makes you feel as though everything around you is about to crumble.
With their minimalist riffs, heavy discordant bass, solid drumming and shredding vocals, Angakok create a destructive force to be reckoned with. Every song is intense and makes you focus on it. There is no looking away from the boundless darkness and the sordid creatures that stare back. This record is as heavy as you can imagine and even heavier than that. Angakok is something to take note of as it is a record that can’t be skipped over.
https://cadavergarden.wordpress.com/2016/04/11/angakok-st/
Mit dem ersten schleppenden Gitarrenriff des Openers "Sacrifice" ist man von der okkulten, düsteren und mysteriösen Atmosphäre gepackt. Die vertrackten Riffs von "Collapsing" oder auch von "Samsara" prägen sich im Gehirn ein. Besonders eingänig ist die Gitarrenspur von "Dead Birds", das zu den schnellsten Songs gehört. Somit wird nicht nur Dynamik ins Spiel gebracht, sondern auch das Klangfeld der Musik um ein Vielfaches erweitert. War es auf den vorherigen Songs progressiver, tritt die doomigere Seite auf den letzten beiden Tracks deutlicher in den Vordergrund. Somit sind mit "Trust My Scorn" und "Emty Cup" zwei melodische Doom-Epen auf der Platte zu hören. Es gibt nur eine Handvoll Bands, die es schaffen, den Hörer von Anfang bis Ende des Albums in die Atmosphäre der Musik einzubinden. Zum Schluss ist "Angakok" von ANGAKOK ein großartiges Album voller eingängiger und vertrackter Riffs und klugem Songwriting.
http://www.franconiametallum.de/cd-reviews/genreportal-cd-reviews/angakok-angakok/
Belgium’s doom, sludge, drone metal trio Angakok play with a gargantuan down tuned sound, which is sure to annihilate your ears leaving you deaf forever.
These guys play with so much anger and frustration driven feelings, you’re bound to feel every note claw at your goose bump-laden skin. You’ll feel the deep and down tuned guitar and bass rhythms to slowly wind around your neck like a python, leaving you helpless and motionless.
The ten cuts of the most hellish-sounding doom, sludge and drone metal on this album is much more toxic than being addicted to weed and crack at the same time. People, this is extreme metal not written for the masses, it’s for the very elite and special fans of darkened, doom, sludge metal with drone overtones. Angakok’s music is definitely eclectic yet more extreme than some of the most brutal death and black metal bands in the scene today. What this trio play is a frantic, nightmare-like doom metal, which will come into your mind and then smother your face into the pillow leaving your body lifeless, while the walls around you shake, rattle and roll.
If you want to experience depressive doom and sludge metal at its most vile and insane, look no farther, as Angakok is sure to obliterate your bloody senses to the sun and back.
The almost 12 minute in length “Samsara” was slow, dirge filled melancholia with hints of acid burning your flesh slowly, and wicked moments of musical changes potent enough to give you an eternal high. The drumming too was down tuned in its tuning while the strange, eerie guitar rhythms sent shivers down my spine, leaving me out in the cold to witness my own forsaken misery.
Listen, if you want to knock yourself out, do it while listening to Angakok, as you’ll truly experience the darkest confines of a true hell! Not recommended for everyone, especially trendy people listening to heavy metal nowadays just to be accepted by the metal norm.
http://www.explicitlyintense.com/reviews/cd-review/angakok-doomsludge-metal-album-review/
Jammerschade, dass uns zur ersten LP des belgischen Trios ANGAKOK keine weiteren Informationen vorliegen als ein paar Zeilen zur Herkunft und Spielart der Formation. Band- und Albumname, soviel ist herauszufinden, ist die Bezeichnung der Inuit für einen Schamanen. Die rätselhaften Songtitel dürften teilweise ebenfalls der Sprache der nördlichen Urvölker entstammen. Zudem wird in anderen Artikeln die interessante Tatsache erwähnt, dass die Texte von ANGAKOK in Esperanto gehalten sind. Allein diese Fakten sprechen dafür, dass "Angakok" ein tieferes Konzept zu Grunde liegt. Herauszufinden ist im Vorfeld allerdings nichts darüber - und auch das musikalische Ergebnis fällt bei näherer Betrachtung etwas zwiespältig aus.
Nach dem mysteriösen Intro 'Perpaluktok Aitut', bei dem die Stimme eines Inuit zu hören ist, die nach kurzer Zeit von dröhnenden Gitarrenfeedbacks überlagert wird, bekennt die Band mit 'Sacrifice' im Anschluss Farbe: Harsch und rau wie eine alte CULT OF LUNA-Aufnahme, behäbig und getragen wie die Franzosen von DIRGE, bedrohlich und beschwörerisch wie NEUROSIS - ANGAKOK steht für doomig-trägen Sludge, eingebettet in einem psychedelischen Drone-Soundgewand. Im Gegensatz zu den Kompositionen ihrer Artgenossen bleiben die Songs auf "Angakok" allerdings großteils fragmentarisch und nur schwer nachvollziehbar.
Im Mittelpunkt steht eine bedrohliche, teils mystisch-okkulte Atmosphäre, die durch das garstige Gegrowle von Sänger Ben obendrauf noch einen schwarzmetallischen Einschlag erhält. Die Songs, die sich zwischen einer und elf Minuten Spielzeit bewegen, bleiben dabei abstraktes Stückwerk. Das ist sicherlich so gewollt, erschwert den Zugang zu "Angakok" allerdings massiv. Nur das überlange Post-Metal-Epic 'Samsara' weiß in sich anhaltende Spannung aufzubauen, zwischen der rockigen Einleitung, den ebenso aggressiv wie meditativ ausgebreiteten Riffwänden, einem akustischen Interlude und dem vertrackten Instrumentengehacke zum Abschluss. Ansonsten regiert auf "Angakok" in weiten Teilen aggressiv-psychedelische Eintönigkeit. Womöglich lohnt sich eine tiefergehende Beschäftigung mit dem Album aus inhaltlichen Gründen - das lässt sich an dieser Stelle aber nicht nachvollziehen.
Fans von abstrakten, getragenen Drone-Gewalttätigkeiten werden die Belgier womöglich schon länger auf dem Schirm haben und sich deren ersten Langspieler nun genüsslich zu Gemüte führen. Knapp 50 Minuten lärmige Gitarrenriffs, unmenschliches Geschrei und meditative Einsprengsel (so gibt es zum Abschluss bei 'Sivudlit Nertorpok' noch einmal beschwörerischen Schamanengesang, untermalt von hypnotischen Klangschalenklängen) dürften den meisten Post-Metal-Anhängern aber zu wenig sein. "Angakok" ist andererseits aber auch wieder so speziell und atmosphärisch mitunter so aufwühlend, dass aufgeschlossene Musikfans mit Interesse am Exotischen durchaus ein Ohr riskieren können.
http://powermetal.de/review/review-Angakok/Angakok,28205,28107.html
It’s funny how at certain points in one’s life certain things just blow you the hell away. For several years, anything labeled Doom would spark my interest and I would most likely find something to like about it. Over the years that enthusiasm has unfortunately turned to caution and hesitation. THe world of Doom, Sludge, Drone, it’s become very saturated, just like Black Metal, Thrash, and most other genres. Yeah, you get old, you get bitter, and you get suspicious when your favorite genres are taken on by young upstarts. With Belgium’s Angakok’s debut self-titled record, I was cautious after reading the introduction, but also excited to hear it. And I’m damn glad I didn’t just write it off. Angakok do cross the lines between Doom, Sludge and Drone quite effectively, sometimes sounding like Eyehategod, sometimes sounding like Sunn O))), and more often than not, striking their own sound, which is really what we’d all like to hear from a new band. Over all this record is not ground-breaking, but what is these days? What we do have here is a solid album for Doom junkies to inject into their systems and see where it takes you. Maybe sitting at work I wasn’t completely in the proper “mindset” to take this on, but I think I’ve got a pretty good grasp on it. But you might wanna “alter” your reality a little before jumping in. It can only help.
Angakok to płyta z tych, co wymagały ode mnie kilku podejść. Nie dlatego, że muzyka do mnie nie przemówiła, gdyż kupiony zostałem po pierwszych minutach, ale nie potrafiłem się skupić dostatecznie by wsłuchać się dokładniej w tony i uchwycić atmosferę tego debiutanckiego albumu Belgów. I pomimo że słuchacza nie przytłacza nawała dźwięków, a wręcz przeciwnie, ilość środków wyrazu jest minimalna, to wydawnictwo wymaga pewnej koncentracji, aby w pełni odczuć jego klimat wytworzony przez doomowe tempa, sludgeowy brud i dronowy trans i sądzę, że nie jest to muzyka, która może sobie lecieć w tle podczas wykonywania innych czynności.
W pierwszej kolejności zwróciłem uwagę na rzężący bas, który buczy na pierwszym planie i przytłacza swoim ciężarem. Wtóruje mu równie ciężka, nisko strojona gitara, grająca powolne, walcowate riffy. Chaosu i pesymizmu dodają obłąkane wokale. Taka przytłaczająca atmosfera panuje w drugim Sacrefice i w trzecim Collapsing. Otwierający płytę Perpaluktok Aitut to instrumentalna kompozycja, w której usłyszymy szamana wypowiadające jakąś inwokacje. Gdy w czwartym w kolejności Aksarpok do głosu dochodzi szybsze tempo, można pomyśleć, że album się rozkręca, ale już w kolejnym Samsara wracamy do mrocznej i dusznej atmosfery. Następujący po nim Avioyok z dronowymi, pulsującymi gitarami i szumem wody w tle jest wstępem do Dead Birds. To jest natomiast najkrótsza na tej płycie, a równocześnie najbardziej pokręcona kompozycja, głównie ze względu na zmiany tempa i gitarowe zagrywki. W Trust My Scorn powracamy do atmosfery z pierwszych utworów a przedostatni Empty Cup to istny walec powoli przetaczający się po słuchaczu. Zamykający płytę Sivudlit Nertorpok ze swoimi dzwonkami tworzy wraz z otwierającym kawałkiem klamrę, spinającą ten album. Ponownie słyszymy szamana i jego kończące zaklęcie.
Dziesięć kompozycji składających się na ten album tworzy spójną całość. Poszczególne utwory gładko przechodzą z jednego w drugi, wywołując u słuchacza wrażenie udziału w jakimś rytuale. I właśnie ta spójność szczególnie przypadła mi do gustu.
http://kvlt.pl/recenzje/angakok-angakok-2015/
Belgium's Angakok blast on the doom scene with a dark and powerful debut that is as heavy as it is simplistic. You'll find no fancy guitar wankery solos here just an album that slowly grinds you to dust moving on without a care in the world. If you're a fan of Old Man Gloom or newer arrival Kowloon Walled City then this one is probably right up your alley as it was mine. Perhaps if you're a Star Wars fan (who isn't?) this album can best be described as the perfect soundtrack to your demise as you're slowly digested in the bowels of a Sarlacc for a thousand years. That might make you believe that Angakok is overly drone but I didn't find it that way though there is a droning element running through most of the tracks but not of the one note ringing on for 30 minutes variety you'll find in pure drone like Sunn O))). I found this album to be excellent so check 'em out.
Feind's Fav Tracks: Collapsing and the very short Dead Birds
http://www.thydemonsbescribblin.com/scribblin-metal---album-reviews/catchin-up-on-metal-wfeind
Первый мощный полноформат бельгийское трио ANGAKOK решило выпустить на Satanath Records, чем обеспечило максимально возможный доступ к материалу фэнам Sludge/Drone/Doom Metal из СНГ. И не только, конечно. Недавно контора опубликовала сводку посещений сайта — 138 стран. Число говорит само за себя.
Но это бельгийцы — европейские любители медленной, мрачно тягучей музыки. Диск вышел, кстати, в сотрудничестве еще с парой лейблов — Metallic Media (USA) энд The Smoking Goat Records (Италия).
Буклетом такие вещи сразу дают по колпаку. 4 страницы жестокого арт-хауса)), более похожего на изображение магнита, упавшего в кучу опилок. Но это, конечно, не так, фишка в том, что уже после первых 10 минут прослушивания я понял, что тут попахивает самым отчаянным оккультизмом. И знаки эти на обложке вполне эзотерические. Потом я сделал лицо попроще и пошел смотреть, что такое ANGAKOK. Да что там говорить — эскимосский шаман. С него и начинается видимо повествование ансамбля — старик что-то бормочет — заклинания, видимо. С эскимосским языком трудно. НО, повторюсь, чувствуется, что речь идет про потусторонний мир. Вроде как — опыт, помноженный на интуицию. Волшбой здесь несет немерено. Факт.
Бельгийская злонамеренная троица ANGAKOK даааавно ухватила суть дела и беспредельно музицирует в самом дроун думовом ключе. Это хорошо. НО нужно заметить, что ансамбль прекрасно понимает ситуацию на фондовых рынках металла, И работает с созданием высочайшей атмосферы. Как полагается. Тут для этого применены шикарные саунд-решения, которые однако не линкуют к делам и бытованию эскимосов, как их не называй, материал более похож на технологические ОТГОЛОСКИ северной цивилизации типа Гипербореи или Туле.
Гитаристы ANGAKOK — а их двое, были настроены играть именно такую музыку — упадка, депрессии и вечернего дестракта. Как раз во имя этих идей реализуются длинные мегаломаниакальные пассажи: скрипучие и опустошающие. На стыке дума и дроуна. Чтобы медленно заколотить этот мир и мигрировать в нордическую перспективу. Это только один из аспектов, реализованных на компакте, который звучанием под 50 минут. НО как только появляется неминуемая необходимость, струнники переходят на короткую рубленую фразу в духе дум-дэта, которой позавидовал бы любой окровавленный мясник с ножом в руках. Но это только перебивка, потому что далее включается опять ультранеспешный апокалипсис. Именно он, ибо уже окрашен в иные тона и недокраски. Это как гигантским резиновым молотом пружинисто и ЗАМЕДЛЕННО бьют по толпе людей и оттуда сильно брызгает. Красным и другими цветами. И сдавленные крики ужаса. Гитаристы ANGAKOK (а басист как-то не указан на заднике диска) строгают протяжные риффы, обернутые саваном и воздухом обреченности.
+ не забывайте, здесь везде и всегда атмосфера трансформации (вероятнее всего — из живого в неживое). На то работают взвизгивающие струнные выкидыши, кончающиеся в смертельных судорогах. А потом — удивительное дело: гитары начинают рисовать эмбиентальное шоссе, которое уходит сразу через три метра за горизонт. И переслушивавший тонны эмбиента, я, тем не менее, приостанавливаюсь и прислушиваюсь. Это гитара, поющая о пост-бренном, о неминуемом и удаленном (на две сажени вниз (1 сажень = 2,13 метра)). Невольно настораживаешься и вслушиваешься. Таковы здесь струнники, такова их воля и неволя слушателя. И опять быстрый риффаж: скоростной и принудительный.
Вокалист ANGAKOK совершенен в профильный стилистике — это разорванный гроулинг-харш с ударением на первую часть. Резко эмоциональный и в самом быстрейшем темпе меняющий акценты и настроения. По взрослому отчаянный — в нужных местах и где надо — совершенно отчаявшийся.
По этому диску отлично видно, если композер задумает что-то, даже и достаточно сложное по саунду, то реализовать это на компакте в бельгийских условиях — весьма возможно.
Doom. Drone. Sludge. Todos términos para referirse a riffs lentos y pesados como elefantes. Los belgas Angakok debutan en estas cenagosas aguas para intentar mostrar lo suyo en el que tal vez sea el menos mainstream de todos los estilos musicales.
Si debiera definir este álbum con una sola palabra diría “espeluznante”. Todo es lóbrego aquí. Los diez tracks son babosas gigantes que se arrastran en un lodo de riffs pesadísimos, atmósferas de desesperación, gritos desaforados, y estructuras de una aridez atacamense.
Si me apuran, diré que Angakok suena a unos Celtic Frost (chequeen “Dead birds”) mucho, pero mucho más lentos, pero por ahí va la mano.
La producción es simple, los instrumentos se escuchan con claridad, el blanco y negro de la tapa no deja dudas, y la música es elocuente y claustrofóbica. Todo contribuye a crear una sensación de apocalipsis total. Imprescindible.
http://rockarollazine.blogspot.ru/2016/11/angakok-angakok-2015-satanath-records.html
S první velkou deskou se českému posluchačstvu představuje belgická trojice ANGAKOK, která se někdy před sedmi lety rozhodla pro tvorbu doom-sludge metalových skladeb s výraznými post-hardcoreovými prvky a poměrně košatými samply. Dá se říci, že deska nepřináší nic zas až tak podstatného s ohledem na žánr jako takový, ovšem po stránce provedení není nic zásadního, co bych ANGAKOK vyčetl. Ba právě naopak! Příznivci hudební strnulosti si jistě přijdou na své ve všech ohledech.
Album startuje intrem „Perpaluktok Aitut“, jež představuje pravou hlukovou bouři. Myslím, že se jedná o vskutku pozoruhodný začátek, při kterém si posluchač v době premiérovém poslechu musí klást otázky spojené s dalším pokračováním. Následující „Sacrifice“ už odkrývá tajenku naprosto zřetelné. Z hudby doslova sténá hnilobné a mazlavé bahno, kytarová tempa jsou opravdu vzorově doomová a zapomenout nemůžu ani na exkluzivně vybrující basu, jejíž podíl na atmosféře nahrávky je naprosto nezastupitelný. Dobrým zjištěním budiž i skutečnost, že kapela nebazíruje jen na šnečích tempech, ale zcela záměrně se oddává hardcoreovým radovánkám ve stylu CROWBAR. Jediným rozdílem je absence jakéhokoliv melodična. Tady se zkrátka ani náhodou nelze čapnout „snadněji zapamatovatelného intermezza“. S tím ale milovníci tohoto žánru určitě počítají a své smysly o to víc zaměří na celkovou atmosféru a výsledný zvuk. A v tomto ohledu ANGAKOK „odmaturovali“ s noblesou, přičemž od mimořádného „vyznamenání“ nebyli daleko.
Angakok_bandNahrávku je zkrátka třeba vnímat jako pikantní soundtrack, jehož průvodcem je zejména ukřičený vokál s neméně důležitými nasamplovanými hlasy či různými dalšími „průpovídkami“. Mému vkusu celkově imponují skladby, kde se celá hudební hmota ANGAKOK pojí s ambietní rozpínavostí, jež jako černá ruka zasahuje do už tak hnilobného dění. Viz. skladba „Aksarpok“, případně hned následující „Samsara“ – v té se toho ovšem děje mnohem a mnohem víc, neboť se jedná o dvanáctiminutovou kompozici, nejdelší to kousek skládanky. Naproti tomu „Dead Bird“ působí jako ten nejvzteklejší (ani ne) dvojminutový paradox nasranosti. „Empty Cup“ v závěrečné části už jen podtrhuje všechny primární atributy, kterými se ANGAKOK na této nahrávce řídí.
„Angakok“ mě baví. Jedná se o promyšlenou a sugestivní nahrávku, jejíž úkolem není předstírání ani snaha něco posluchačům (zbytečně) ulehčovat. Naopak „neviditelná černá ruka“ se snaží odvážlivé stáhnout do nejhlubšího bahna a hezky je v tom sajrajtu vymáchat. Po aplikaci „Angakok“ se cítím být příjemně vyčerpaný a umazaný… A závěrem ještě jedna poznámka. Recenzenti se často rozplývají nad překrásnými obaly a booklety, jejichž přičiněním dostávají alba řádný emoční bonus. Ale představit si načinčanost u tohoto produktu? Opravdu nemožné! Bizarní cover je myslím všeříkající, a to jste ještě neviděli jednoduchou rozkládačku, kde se nachází pouhé černobílé zrnění. :) Ale přesně tohle sem patří! „Angakok“ „nesmrdí“ mimořádností, ale i tak se k němu budu s chutí vracet!
http://rumzine.com/angakok-angakok-cd-2015-satanath-records
Когда вместе встречаются такие стили, как дум-металл и сладж, можно ожидать чего-то действительно нестандартного. И извращенно интересного. Хотя по сути сладж в какой-то момент вышел из дум-металла, и оба этих стиля имеют общего предка – Black Sabbath, время распорядилось так, что сейчас они представляют собой довольно разную музыку. Тождественную, но в то же время разную. Бельгийские рокеры Angakok решили устранить такую несправедливость и усилили один стиль другим. Каким какой, выбирайте сами, потому что на мой взгляд группа добилась практически идеального симбиоза, и не в этом звуковом шквале понять, где кончается одно, и начинается другое. Стоит отметить, что и дум, и сладж стили чрезвычайно эмоциональные, как по настроению, так и по подаче, что также не было упущено музыкантами. Одноименный альбом – это настоящий музыкальный шаманизм, вводящий в состояние транса, причем не только странными звуками и шумами, но и вполне традиционным набором электрических и акустических инструментов. Angakok не забывают и о том, что являются в какой-то степени последователями Black Sabbath – и это знание возводится не только в абсолют, но и в многократную степень, что выливается в непроницаемую стену грязного и жирного звука, на пределе возможностей динамиков усилителей и ударов палочек по барабанам и тарелкам. Все это сопровождается истошными воплями вокалиста, не менее истошными и эмоциональными, чем вся остальная музыка, изредка прерываемая сэмплами с настоящим шаманизмом, отчего все это безобразие напоминает не столько Black Sabbath, сколько максимально поехавший по этнической и внезапно северной шаманской теме Soulfly – будто Макс Кавалера кинул тропических индейцев и уехал к чукчам и эскимосам, как следует закинувшись там ягелем и оленьим салом. Дебют Angakok это огромная, неосязаемая и невероятно тревожная мантра, с которой будто бы каплями стекает музыкальный жир, а эмоции бьют через край, воплощаясь в масштабных композициях, понять которые могут под определенное настроение исключительно любители такой музыки. Рискнуть окунуться в такое может каждый, однако только истинный ценитель максимально неторопливого и одновременно динамичного сладжа сможет получить от данного творения максимальную дозу наслаждения. Остальные могут просто ничего не понять
http://metalheads.by/en/review/angakok-angakok.html