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.