Harvist "Lightning Storm In The Veins" CD

Tracks 6-9: Turmoil of the Seed, promo 2002

Once again out of the forests of the Appalachian Mountains comes the pagan black metal band HARVIST. "LIGHTNING STORM IN THE VEINS" is the second release of HARVIST for Dark Horizon Records and is meant to appeal only to a select few minimalist woodland occultists. Introducing a more sophisticated writing style while capturing the raw and primitive essence that is HARVIST. HARVIST shares similarities to ARCKANUM or early BURZUM, by creating a nature-inspired sonic atmosphere of isolation and darkness. The "TURMOIL OF THE SEED" EP 2002 Promo is included as bonus tracks taking this release to full length and giving the listener a taste of the HARVIST progression from "A GLEAM IN THE NIGHT" to the material you now hear on "LIGHTNING STORM IN THE VEINS". "TURMOIL OF THE SEED" also features Aaron Carey aka NECHOCHWEN on guitar making this one of the most monumental HARVIST recordings ever to exist.
For those who walk deep in the woods with... Arckanum, Burzum, Graveland, Lucifugum, Beherit, Nargaroth...

Harvist's second full length album is an amazing work. It retains the raw feel from A Gleam in the Night, but benefits from a much cleaner production. Like Gleam, it alternates harsh Black Metal with more subdued melody, and should be viewed as a classic of underground American Metal.
The album is short, with only five songs included, but all five are amazingly well written and performed. Daybreak on Darkview opens the CD, with a short instrumental at the beginning floowed by raw Black Metal. Forest Dreaming in my Discontent speeds up the music, but continues with Dusk's raw vocals. A Harvester's Hymn represents a departure in style and form, lightening the speed and aggression. The lyrics are touching and soft, as opposed to the often angry themes on the other songs. Defy returns to the harsh mood of the album, and Troll's Bane concludes it on a very positive note. After Troll's Bane, there's an experimental 4 minute section called Water in the Lungs which simply takes you breath away after the aggression of the two preceding songs.
Harvist included the material off their EP Turmoil of the Seed afterward the five songs on Lightning as bonus tracks. These songs continue the raw feel of Lightning, but show a good deal of diversity ranging from the very heavy title track to the melancholy Hollowed from Within. All in all, the last four songs are a welcome addition to the album.
Overall, Lightning Storm in the Veins is a great album. Harvist represents the elite of the USBM scene, and their entire discography including their next album, Wolfskin Clad, should be a welcome addition to any Black Metal library.

Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...