Ravenzang "Uit Een Duister Verleden" vinyl LP

I have to admit that being previously acquainted with Vaal, who contributes to the project under the same name, I did not know all the bands he is involved in. So it was with great enthusiasm that I approached the material, which landed in my hands. Namely, this is the debut album RAVENZANG, in which the just mentioned Vaal creates music together with a companion nicknamed Imperiosus. The band was formed in 2017 and has so far earned three demo materials, as well as the debut album described in the following part, which was released under the wings of the well-known underground label New Era Production.
Uit een duister verleden is the debut full-length that was released in 2019. On this album, there are seven tracks that collectively run for over twenty-nine minutes. The music, which breathes evil from the speakers, is very much referring to the second wave, black metal, which climate is very close to the old DARKTHRONE, which only evokes a lot of emotions that accompanied me when listening to the Norwegian variety of black metal. Here and there you can hear a bit of punk sound, which brings to mind classics of the genre from the late seventies. RAVENZANG recorded a lot of icy riffs, which move mainly in medium tempos. The music is very sparse in production and the arrangements are simple, although at times they can surprise with a catchy melody. Despite the simplicity, which was used here for sure on purpose, this album builds up an unusual atmosphere. The musical matter crawls under your skull like a snake. It wriggles inside and entwines its cold body around the mind, which can no longer free itself from this music. The riffs are based on tremolo and rhythm section and immediately catch the ear, evoking associations with the atmosphere set in the first half of the nineties. They are causing there is an impenetrable darkness, and the cold emanating from this work is devoid of life and wants to consume all the souls that stand in its way. The bass gives the impression as if ominous dark clouds have gathered overhead, from which the leaden rain will fall in a moment and its weight will crush every being. The drums may be quite simple, but there are some cool drum passages, which adds a lot of dynamics. Besides, it gives the music a very raw and ruthless overtone. The vocals also bring to mind the typical shredding of vocal strings in black metal projects. Apart from the fact that it's quite a well-known patent, it's great to absorb, and also here we can find a lot of hatred and primitive aggression and escape into the deepest darkness. This album, for me, is a great piece of art, which will fill a few holes in the collection of music, referring with such force to the Norwegian black metal scene. I definitely recommend getting familiar with this album.

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