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Then
there are the little bitches who, no matter what, will
always complain. Those are the fools that claim that
trve black metal shall be kept in the basement, if
possible, at dungeon levels for no other reason than to,
mmmhhh, nothing really. To them, lo fi and cheap not
only means barely audible and enjoyable, but is the seal
of acceptance that shall grant them the time and a
worthy place in their metal collections. But some, like
us, know better. We have grown up. We will always dig
bedroom recordings made by milk drinking panda bears,
but that does not mean that one can’t come to appreciate
black metal that has taken its time and monetary
resources to be created, arranged and produced. Plus
man, if we were to ignore such recordings we’d be
missing The Howling Wind’s latest, an album that sounds
as grand as these songs deserve.
Into the
Cryosphere, The Howling Wind’s second full-length, was
produced by Colin Marston, the same dude that can play one
thousand notes a minute in Behold…The Arctopus and who has also
worked production and mixing duties with such complicated
extremists as Genghis Tron and Orthrelm. The man knows the
range needed depending on the style of the band and in this
case, he has given this record a well-rounded sound. There is
depth and considerable size to it. In the end, production-wise
and music-wise, this is actually the exact opposite of the raw
black metal sound where the high end reigns and the vocals
screech like Satan with helium in his stomach.
The
production works because the music of The Howling Wind ain’t
exactly necrotic, accidental, chaotic or ill conceived. The
arrangements are rather conventional but the music is played in
such a propulsive manner that it grants the heaviness. Also, if
I played the guitar like Ryan Lipynsky (Thralldom, Villains,
Unearthly Trance) I’d want to be clearly heard too which is
achieved through a professional sound like this. If Killusion (Lipynsky’s
nom de guerre) continues on this path he will go down in history
like one of the baddest riffmeisters on the underground.
Adding color
to this cold affair are “Obscured Pyramid”, a sort of ambient
transition between blackened metal and more blackened metal and
the gorgeous “Impossible Eternity” which is a monumental
melancholic instrumental that shows that just because you play
for the devil doesn’t mean you always have to make ugly faces
like a pissed off teen.
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