Reviews: SAT337
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After releasing two well-received EPs — αμβροτος in 2018 and Cosmic Annulus in 2019 — the Greek black metal band Ambrotos are now poised to released their striking debut album Transcendental Mastery.
Lyrically inspired by pre-Socratic philosophy and ancient cosmology (represented by Khaos Diktator Design‘s stunning cover art, depicting Empedocles’ idea of the Origin of Cosmos), the band have fashioned melodically memorable music of fiery and forlorn intensity that’s capable of reaching towering heights of extravagant and mythic power.
As proof, we present a gripping video for the new album’s second single, a breathtaking onslaught named “Aeras, The Infinite“.
There truly is no time for any deep breaths. Here, Ambrotos launch a brazen barrage of bombast and bonfire. Racing at a furious pace, and armed with equally furious and inflamed vocals, the band discharge fleet-fingered riffs and nimble bass-lines at a jet-fueled pace.
The drumming ejects bullet-spitting blasts, inflicts skull-splitting hammer blows, and electrifies the song with acrobatic fills, while the guitars dart and swirl in glorious fashion, and descend into grim seething tones that bring daunting darkness to the forefront.
Transcendental Mastery will be jointly released by Satanath Records (Georgia) with The End Of Time Records (Ireland) and Yahuar Mallcu Records (Colombia), and they recommend it for fans of Rotting Christ and Hellenic black metal in general.
The album was produced, engineered, mixed, and mastered George Nerantzis (Abbath, Dark Funeral), and it’s available for pre-order now.
We also invite you to listen to the first single from the album, “Void“, which is a free download at Bandcamp. It’s no less thrilling than today’s premiere, but creates a more ominous, bleak, and beleaguered mood, with sounds of torment amidst the turbulence (and varying vocals as well). It will get your head moving too, even as its dire melodies hook themselves in your head.
https://www.nocleansinging.com/2022/03/24/an-ncs-video-premiere-ambrotos-aeras-the-infinite/
Het Griekse Ambrotos bracht in 2018 en 2019 een EP uit. Volgens de bijgeleverde biografie werd dit eerste volledige album in 2020 opgenomen maar pas twee jaar later uitgebracht. Naar de reden daarvan is het gissen, maar wat vaststaat is dat Ambrotos destijds blijkbaar in een productieve fase zat. Dat is des te opvallender, want de muziek van dit drietal is allesbehalve simpel te noemen.
Wat bij de eerste luisterbeurt al opvalt is het feit dat de muziek vrij gelaagd is en de overgangen tussen de riffs vrij abrupt komen. Daardoor is Transcendental Mastery vrij moeilijk te doorgronden. Het vraagt van de luisteraar het album meerdere keren te beluisteren voordat er iets van herkenning optreedt. Een oorwurm zul je dus niet snel vinden. Wat daar zeer aan bijdraagt is het vocale gedeelte. Er wordt gegromt, gegrunt, gescreamd en zelfs gefluisterd. Het houdt het geheel spannend en interessant maar de muziek wordt er ook ontoegankelijk door.
Waarom wordt dit dan toch een positieve recensie met dito eindcijfer? Omdat deze moderne vorm van black metal nou eenmaal obscuur, ondoorgrondelijk en ontoegankelijk hoort te klinken. Ambrotos slaagt erin in ieder nummer een occulte en donkere sfeer neer te zetten. Wanneer een band over die gave beschikt, het geheel goed en oprecht uit de verf komt en vergezeld gaat van mooi artwork, dan kan het niet anders dan dat het een dikke voldoende gaat scoren. Het wat doffe geluid, met name in de drums, en het feit dat deze soms wat simplistisch overkomen nemen we dan graag op de koop toe. Transcendental Mastery is typisch zo’n album voor echte liefhebbers van dit soort moderne black. Niet voor niets worden er slechts vijfhonderd exemplaren op de markt geslingerd.
Het ding eindigt trouwens met een Darkthrone cover. Deze werd bij het digitale exemplaar wat Zware Metalen mocht ontvangen niet meegestuurd. Geen idee of het wat is dus.
https://zwaremetalen.com/albumrecensies/ambrotos-transcendental-mastery
Video review.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R02J8JJSr8A
Greek band Ambrotos are out with the album "Transcendental Mastery", and extreme metal is the style explored on this production. The major parts of this album revolves around high pace and high intensity creations with surging, circulating and fluctuating patterns, cutting guitar solo overlays and harsh lead vocals, occasionally with gentle and often acoustic interludes breaking up the sonic attack just a bit. We do get a case of a more purebred gentle creation too in the shape of 'Mental Vastness' revolving around acoustic instrument details, spoken words and clean vocals, and the concluding 'Sin Origin' is a slower paced, chugging affair possibly a bit closer to thrash metal in form and execution. But first and foremost this is an intense and tight variety of extreme metal though, and a production to take note of for those who tend to enjoy this form of music explored in such a manner.
Sin I - Guitar/Bass: A extreme mixture of raw and catchy riffage with additional clean/harmony sections, and solid bass lines
Sin II - Vocals: Agonizing snarls/growls and theatrical/quotation verses
Sin III - Drums: Raw and ferocious drum strikes and beats
Sin IV - Overall: I welcome you to ‘Ambrotos’ with their debut full-length release, approximately fifty-two minutes runtime of seven tracks, well six tracks, with the closing track being a ‘Darkthrone’ cover.
Soon as the listener presses that play button, one is welcome by a band hailing from the land of myth and legend, of Gorgons, Dragons Teeth, Varathron and Rotting Christ Etc…. where the listener is welcome to the first opening piece; “Transcendental Mastery”, which welcomes the listener with a sound of crackling of a fire and warm-melodic passages of the guitar and single drum strikes -following suit with a surge of instrumental and vocal artistry.
As one continues their journey, with the second track, “Void”, and the remaining five pieces and a raw theatrical opening to an atmosphere of pushing boundaries within their music... delivering this warm (Hellenic) epicus atmosphere of Rotting Christ, Varathron, etc. with a touch of a raw-blackened frigid atmosphere of Mayhem and -early Darkthrone upon the listener’s soul and ears -thus creating this “Esque blackened Philosophy theatrical extreme metal” where parchments of lyrics inked of pre-Socratic philosophy and ideas.
“A Blackened Philosophy Theatrical Extreme Metal”
At the same time, Transcendental Mastery delivers and provides the listener’s ears with a piece of compelling and breathtaking astonishing artistry – providing the listener's ears with a composition that’s well written, both in the musical score, instrumental and songwriting. Simultaneously, there are moments within the music there is a touch of that darkly atmosphere/vocal work of Cradle of Filth, the sinner atmosphere of Behemoth, as well as various compositions/characteristics within their musical spectrum -where each is convenient to place at the right moment such as multiple tones, tempos, theatrical/dramatic moments, atmospheric and experimental sections, long and multifaceted (at times ‘epic’) song structures, sound fx and sombre ambience atmosphere, which are all woven together with aggressive instrumental passages of raw and catchy riffage with additional clean/harmony sections, solid bass lines, raw and ferocious drum strikes and beats and vocals which are woven together with agonising snarls/growls and theatrical/quotation verses which are provided by outstanding craftsmanship, musicianship and showmanship.
Transcendental Mastery is not to be missed -a clever and well-put-together back metal release.
Sin V - Artwork: This artwork says it all; as you gaze upon the artwork, this tells the listener this is Hellenic black metal
Sin VI - Outstanding: A album that “captures the grit of Norwegian old-school black metal, the mystical and sun soak atmosphere of Hellenic black metal.”
https://metal1on1.squarespace.com/black-metal/ambrotos