The Ruins Of Beverast - Foulest Semen Of A Sheltered Elite - review
The Ruins Of Beverast - Foulest Semen Of A Sheltered Elite - review
Release date
September 11, 2009 Tracklist
01. I Raised This Stone As A Ghastly Memorial02. Alu
03. God's Ensanguined Bestiaries
04. Mount Sinai Moloch
05. Transcending Saturnine Iericho Skies
06. Kain's Countenance Fell
07. The Restless Mills
08. Theriak - Baal - Theriak
09. Blood Vaults (II - Our Despots Cleanse The Levant)
10. Arcane Pharmakon Messiah
11. (untitled) [Vinyl bonus]
A review by
Lucas October 04, 2009
The Ruins Of Beverast, the name of Alex' one-man-project, hit the scene already with the critically acclaimed Unlock The Shrine and the lesser (yet still impressive) Rain Upon The Impure. It has been three years since Rain..., but the new album Foulest Semen Of A Sheltered Elite immediately shows it has been worth the wait. Opener "I Raised This Stone As A Ghastly Memorial" is a ten-minute monster of a song with everything that Ruins is known for, and more. The song contains Alex' ever-interesting, heroic yet droning, circulating riffs and epic solos, carefully crafted ambient additions, ritualistic chants, Von Meilenwald's impressive shrieks, a ghastly atmosphere and... a ton of Doom. Doom? Yes. Foulest Semen Of A Sheltered Elite contains a ton of doomier and slower riffs that give the album a mesmerizing and haunting vibe.
"I Raised This Stone As A Ghastly Memorial" is the album's best song, which inevitably means that the rest of the album is weaker, but the 'drop' in quality is minimal. Every song is a real killer and throughout the album's whopping eighty minutes there's not even the scent of filler present. Follow-up "God's Ensanguined Bestiaries" ("Alu" is just an interlude) contains the aforementioned elements, now coated in anger and hate, showcasing the other side of the album. Throughout the album the doomier, slower parts carefully alternate with the angrier, hateful parts, topped off by impressive clean vocals, resulting in a varying, vibrant album. Oh, and if you are a bit worried about the production, you should know that Foulest Semen Of A Sheltered Elite has a production miles away from Rain..., it's spacious and 'light' production could even be called 'inviting'.
For some, no matter how good the music, eighty minutes is simply too long. Well, my regret goes out to you, but I can to some degree understand your sentiments. I still urge you to give this album a try, listen only to half of it if really necessary. If you have a thing for Black and an itch for good ole Doom and dread, you will not be disappointed.
Ladies, gents... after Srontgorrth (Nagelfar), Unlock The Shrine and Rain Upon The Impure, he's done it again. Is this the Black metal album of the year? Quite likely so, in my opinion. Play it loud.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 10 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 9 |
Guest review by
VIG
VIG
Rating:
9.8
9.8
|
Rating:
9.8 |
Black Metal outfit The Ruins Of Beverast need no special introduction. The great Alexander von Meilenwald (formerly of Nagelfar) has been making masterpiece after masterpiece for over 13 years now. But he really reached the peak with Foulest Semen Of A Sheltered Elite. Read more ›› |
Comments
Comments:
14
Visited by
266 users
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Posts: 1378  |
Posts: 1378
I'll check it out tomorrow for sure! Or at least half of it 
---- That rug really tied the room together, did it not? 
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Posts: 124  |
Posts: 124
Unlock The Shrine is one of my favorite black metal albums.Rain upon the impure was also amazing. Still have not picked this up yet, but will soon. Sounds great!
---- I will kill you so hard you will die to death.
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 Posts: 9726 |
Posts: 9726
I repeat Lucas, you always get the albums with bullshit awesome cover artwork. By the sounds of it the music matches the artwork for once...in quality.
---- "I got a lot of really good ideas, problem is, most of them suck." - George Carlin
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 Posts: 8703 |
Posts: 8703
Another item in "have to listen asap" checklist 
---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep 
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Posts: 204  |
Posts: 204
Anyone know of a place where I can listen to these guys? I'm very curious.
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 Posts: 13427 |
Posts: 13427 Written by Ascendant187 on 05.10.2009 at 17:17 Here. The track "Blood Vaults" is new.
---- SLUDGE. DOOM. DEATH. Wait, what?  "The reason I'm running for president is because I can't be Bruce Springsteen." - Barack Obama
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 Posts: 15360 |
Posts: 15360
Consider me intrigued. nice work on the review.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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Posts: 57  |
Posts: 57
Pretty cool, especially the ritualistic chants haha. Anyone know any bands similar to this?
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 Posts: 376 |
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Posts: 702  |
Posts: 702
I couldn't last the course... too boring and samey for me, but it's a great album if you like this stuff...
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| Insineratehymn
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Posts: 242  |
Posts: 242
God, this album is some excellent stuff. One of the finest works I have ever heard. I feel odd whenever I listen to it, but it doesn't change my liking of it.
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 Posts: 40071 |
Posts: 40071
Great album, terrible cover art.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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 Posts: 5989 |
Posts: 5989 Written by [user id=5630] on 20.05.2010 at 02:03 It should be *Vox sanguinis fratris tui clamat ad me de terra, but either way it's Latin for "The voice of your brother's blood cries to me from the Earth" The more you know 
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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