Ruins of Beverast

Unlock the Shrine

Battle Kommand 2006

It seems like there has been a surge of bands that are pushing the boundaries of what is considered black metal.  Or perhaps they are shattering them altogether.  These bands include such elite artists (and I use the term to its full meaning) such as Leviathan and Deathspell Omega.  And now I feel Ruins of Beverast have joined their ranks.  Birthed from some of the creative and fiendish minds that brought you Nagelfar, Ruins of Beverast take elements of traditional black metal and warp it and twist it with insane sonic devilry such as odd keyboards (Procession of Pawns), murky underwater sounding guitar (God Sent No Sign), or almost folky guitar riffing (Summer Decapitation Ritual).  The music never ends as one song bleeds right into the next one with no break at all.  Roughly half of the tracks here are maniacal interludes and the other half are black metal journeys that span one end of the spectrum to the other.  The guitars are nice and crisp with plenty of hiss and fuzz which makes the recording feel so organic.  When the guitars and drumming start blasting away the music is ice cold.  The evidence for this declaration is clearly shown in my favorite song The Mine where a wall if snow drenched fuzz is hammered down upon my ears.  I would have thought with so many varied ideas strewn about on Unlock the Shrine it might seem too scattered or inconsistent.  But surprisingly it manages to maintain a focused feeling due to the overall mood and execution of these compositions.  This is not an easy album to swallow, especially immediately, however it manages to plant itself firmly into my consciousness and then sprout forth vines of discomfort and unease that reveal the genius behind these compositions.  I am not sure that I have heard anything this creatively inspired since Deathspell Omega's Kenose release.  I am not sure my mind will ever be the same.  I know that was the goal or Ruins of Beverast.