Striborg ‎"Southwest Passage" CD

Co-release with The End of Time Records and Inverted Inhumation Records. Licensed from Striborg. 

Re-release includes new artwork. Includes 8-page booklet. Includes Pit-Art CD. 500 limited copies. Jewel Box, CD

With Striborg's latest LP Sin Nanna has taken all that is great about his style and expanded upon it. I've heard several of his albums and I own a few on vinyl. I often find myself with the same raves and complaints about a Striborg record. When he's at his best he captures the spirit of true black metal as a form of high art -- and he does it in a way that no one else does. Sometimes he reaches a bit too much and I lose my patience. With 'Southwest Passage' he has finally produced an album that is all killer with no filler.
Thankfully, he skips the creepy intro on this one! The opening track gets right to business with some infectious tremelo-picked riffing. The fuller sound is much more forceful on this record than previous ones. Not since Gorgoroth's 'Under the Sign of Hell' have I heard a record this cold, this harsh! He does this while still giving the listener plenty to chew on. Listen to 'Human Extinction' and you will understand; note the subtle rhythms and melodies WITHIN the main rhythms and melodies. It is almost as though the track itself writhes, breathes and bleeds as it is being played -- it goes so beyond what most other artists are doing without losing any of the primitive attitude. The vocals are tastefully varied and superbly performed. The guitars, shimmering cascades. A host of other instruments are used on this record but are never applied in such a way that disturbs the blurry-as-hell soundscape.
There are no throw-away tracks on this record. The sound quality is top-notch when compared with his past LPs and he does it without losing any of his trademark coldness. This one is very special.

Australian band Striborg first released the album "Southwest Passage" back in 2009, and the album was subsequently reissued in 2021. The music on this production falls in under the extreme metal category, and it is a fairly raw and honest approach to the material found here. This is also an album with something of an inconcistency in what would have been the A-side and the B-side back in the vinyl era. The opening three cuts all suffer from a subpar sound, not as detrimental as on the artist's previous album, but with something of a demo like quality remaining. Buzzing guitars, distorted vocals and what I understand is something of a trademark cold and chill atmosphere are distinct traits here, along with a distanced sound that comes from the recording process, the mix - or both. The next two cuts have a more solid feel and sound to them, with the guitars in particular gaining a richer and more vibrant sound retaining a raw and rough quality but now with an overall quality above demo quality and otherwise exploring the same tendencies as previously described but with a better overall sound. The album concludes with a cinematic soundscape that makes use of what sounds like folk music elements to create a haunting, disturbing atmosphere. As with Striborg's previous album this soundscape construction is the best sounding track on the album, and on some levels it may be argued that it is the most intriguing one as well as it does explore sounds, moods and atmospheres that clearly sets it apart from the rest of the album. Those with a passion for raw and honest extreme metal should find this an intriguing album, and with the improvement in sound quality compared to the previous Striborg album this is a production that presumably should have a somewhat broader appeal as well

Sample: