Another black metal onslaught in the form of Spain’s Carcharoth. I actually discovered this band alongside another band under the same name, but an Australian band. This band are classed as Pagan black metal and are outfit with traditional elements, adhering to the form that many black metal fans want to see a return to. In some ways, I suppose one could say that Carcharoth are an old school act in the modern day era, playing a familiar style of black metal that I’m sure a lot of people will buy into if they came across it. There is also a breach of the ‘raw’ sub-genre, which promotes aggression and misanthropic tendencies. The Spanish scene has actually been rather successful in its approach of black metal offering bands that span across several established sub-genres of the main genre. From the depressive side, to the traditional, Spain has it all but has never quite managed to live up to the expectations, nor has it managed to fight off the other European nations in search of the key to the gate of black metal supremacy. Nations like Norway are still held in high esteem and up-and-coming nations like Germany are making them move too. Germany provides us with the best look at modern day black metal, in my opinion, but with acts like Carcharoth, Spain should be able to suppress the doubters and supply the fans with a successful stint somewhere in the top. Unfortunately, this record, ‘Desolated Battlefields’, is far too short for one to get a greater understanding of the band having never heard any of the other material issued to the public by this band. Therefore, although the future may be bright, the present is marred by a mystique that might work for other bands, but does not for this one. There are issues of creativity, despite having two guitarists and there are issues of repeating a dead scene. Darkthrone are evident influences, in my eyes and their work and influence is explored too much for my liking. That raw distortion harms the soundscapes, unlike it did with Darkthrone because when efforts like ‘Transilvanian Hunger’ came out, they were brand new and fresh. The lyrics are Pagan inspired, and seem to be the only element that reminds me of Pagan black metal.
“I walk against the wind in this desolated battlefield
I cry and I scream, someday they will pay for all of this
Father!
I can hear you
crying
for our land.”
‘Desolated Battlefields’ is the debut from this Spanish outfit who, wisely, employ two guitarists to elevate their themes above the standard deviation of black metal acts. In this day-and-age, with avant-gardé reigning supreme, black metal bands are taking the advantage, dispelling the moral high ground of the traditional bands but setting themselves up with two accomplished guitarists. Ploys like this work in favour of the soundscapes and entertain the audience with better established soundscapes. One guitarist plays off the other in a test of skill. The song writing abilities on this record don’t, at any stage, come under fire as the strength of this band lies entirely in the song writing category. The band uses an accomplished song writer to their advantage by occupying a ground which most successful acts do. The bass and guitars work in tangent to create that formulated blizzard sound, which gives the impression of an oncoming snowstorm. This formulation, although nostalgic, isn’t preferential to me. I like my experimentation and although I don’t mind repetition, in fact, I sometime promote it, the songs have to be fulfilling enough to carry themselves over well. Although the song writing is good and gives a better opinion of the instruments, like bass, that get left behind in the oncoming storm, there isn’t much impact within the songs. The vocals are rasping, the guitars like their tremolo riffs and the bass likes to repeat what the guitars have laid down, but as good as the song writing is, ‘Desolated Battlefields’ can sometimes boarder on boring. There is, in terms of the production and the enhancement that has on the guitars, a distinctive Darkthrone feel to the soundscapes which draw out a lot of the same positives, but they also draw out similar negatives. The buzzing distortion acts as a smokescreen, dismantling the effects of the bass and percussion. Unfortunately, those sparse elements of semi-acoustic play on songs like ‘Fire Purification’ don’t last long. Highlights include; ‘The March Of The Broken Souls’ which contains some decent lead riffs and varied percussion work that makes good use of cymbals and snares
Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzpVUC1CnbM
