Band:	Carpathian Forest
Album:	Strange Old Brew
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	2000
Guest review by:	Prugor

01. Intro - Damnation Chant
02. Bloodcleansing
03. Mask Of The Slave
04. Martur / Sacrificulum
05. Thanatology
06. The Suicide Song
07. House Of The Whipchord
08. Cloak Of Midnight
09. Return Of The Freezing Winds
10. Theme From Nekromantikk
11. The Good Old Enema Treatment
12. He's Turning Blue [bonus]

Strange Old Brew, Carpathian Forest's second full album debut is something like their first, but then something completely different. Growing in sounds, explaining into different ways to improve atmosphere and add hints of originality to Black Metal. This release proves that these boys from Norway know what they are doing and with that, they still produce some of the best Misanthropic Black Metal around.

Again, just like the first debut album from Carpathian Forest, it starts out with an introduction. But this time it's a track that is just an intro, filled with a droning pounding sound, a weird amount of keyboards, and then a whispering voice of a child. I have no idea what the child is saying, but it adds to the feel of the album. The track there after opens up as fast as ever, a good feeling Carpathian Forest song by the name of Bloodcleansing. Its a short song, only ranging in below three minutes and it does have a few second solo that wails and cuts back down into the simple arrangement of what Carpathian Forest sounds like.

The second song, Mask Of The Slave, which is a damn good song in all way, shape, and form. It has a very Rock n' Roll feel with it, mostly because of the drums and how they are done. They are slower, not pounding or fast at all, but mostly in the respect of average Heavy Metal or something along the lines of Discharge, which is one of the prime influences of the mastermind himself, Nattefrost. As well, the guitars change up drastically in the middle of the song, adding another element of that Black Metal can be more then senseless repeated noise.

Martur Sacrificulu, the fourth song which sounds well, a bit bland in all respects. Its a standard Black Metal song, a chorus, simple guitar sounds, and pounding drums. Nothing extremely special honestly. Now we move onto Thanatology, which is a slower track, probably one of the slowest on this album. Its a keyboard and drum basic song, with a slow hint of guitar that lies under the characteristic voice of Nattefrost. After that we move onto The Suicide Song, which is another very Rock n Rollish song, the guitars mostly. And of course, you guessed it, the song is about Suicide.

There are more instrumental or atmospheric tracks, such as House Of The Whipcord which incorporates a piano and a saxophone, along with distorted female and male vocals. Theme From Nekromantik, is just an instrumental with piano and then a string arrangement, it adds a sense of pleasure for the ears of Classical listeners. The Good Old Enema Treatment, is just something out of this world. Its a very odd track that adds in some oddly perverted sounds, moans, and the sound of water dribbling out of someone's rectum. Aside from that song, which isn't for the modest and respectable, the rest is Grade A Carpathian Forest material.

For the thoughts of Perversion and Suicide, this album is one of the best that Carpathian Forest has ever put out. Its a classic among a genre that is overshadowed with overrated bands that are clearly given to much for so little.

Stand out tracks - He's Turning Blue, The Suicide Song, Thanatology.