Tartaros "Darkened Destiny" CD

Considering how avant-garde and contrarian the originators of true black metal were, it's still surprising how fast it was before the genre had an established canon. By 1992 (and some might argue earlier) there were already bands sprouting up with little apparent calling beyond paying tribute to the instantly legendary Second Wave. Though I'm quick to boredom with apery in most other styles, there's something undying and timeless about cold black metal that doesn't wear thin on me. I'm glad I feel this way too as many of the so-called "copycats" feel their art just as much as Mayhem or Immortal did.
Having been around since the early 90s in one form or another, I'm a bit surprised I'd never heard of the Netherlands' Tartaros until recently-- not to be confused with their symphonic homonym from Norway. Dishing out a pair of unassuming cassette demos, they recorded Darkened Destiny in 1997. It found an LP release courtesy of Damnation Records in 2011, and was only relatively recently distributed on CD via New Era Productions. This doesn't sound like the most illustrious history for a band, and it isn't; Tartaros had a functional grasp of Second Wave black metal from the start, but the atmosphere and punch of the classics is lacking here. It's a pretty standard release for a well-treaded sound, but considering how many bands out there have managed to make a stronger impression using the same ingredients, Darkened Destiny is hard to recommend.
Tartaros knew exactly what they wanted to do with this album, and given our shared love of the Second Wave sound, they can't be faulted as such. I might think of Darkened Destiny as A Blaze in the Northern Sky if you took away that album's progressive elements and left the expected basics. The misanthropic rasp and cold buzzing guitars are here. Because none of the tracks here stand out in any way for songwriting's sake, it doesn't sound like Tartaros are playing their own material so much as a prefabricated style that was long since codified by the time they pressed this album. Even then, that's not a bad thing in its own right, at least it wouldn't be if Tartaros were channelling that sound with the right kind of tact.
Tartaros definitely understand the atmosphere and scope of Second Wave black metal, and they bring all of the ingredients. The way it comes together feels somewhat underwhelming compared to other examples however. The snare drum is overmixed to the point of irritation, sometimes to the point where its hard to appreciate the riffs beneath it. I don't think songwriting's near as important as cold atmosphere for this approach (and atmosphere is something Tartaros do have) but there's little impression that the songwriting is building up to something. Given the band's attempts at near-10 minute songs on "Fight 'Til Death" and "Darkened Destiny", this becomes a bit more of a gripe every time I hear the album.
I think it's telling that the most enjoyable tracks on the album are the intro and outro. They're not the work of Tartaros, instead having been plucked from Romano Rizzati's soundtrack to Lucio Fulci's ''House by the Cemetary''. It's a pleasant nod to Italian horror, and the eerie Baroque-by-way-of-synthesizer approach works as well to set the stage for Tartaros as it did in its source context. Intros and outros on Second Wave albums tend to be filler by default. Rizzati's score is nicer to hear than some throwaway ambient any day, but that music would have existed even if Tartaros did not. Its inclusion doesn't hurt Darkened Destiny, but I can't really give them credit here beyond having a healthy taste for cult cinema.
Tartaros is another band that slumped into obscurity and never cared to rise out of it. For what it's worth, the album is perfectly functional and decent for what it sets out to do. What's more, fans of the better-known Cirith Gorgor might want to hear it for ex-member Inferno's contributions here. Beyond that (and the Rizzati score aside) I don't think there's anything really here to recommend someone dusts off the cobwebs to go check it out. Darkened Destiny is what it is, and keeping in mind there are literally thousands of others like it, it would need to wax more than mediocrity to be truly worth the effort.

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