Byfrost - Black Earth - review
Byfrost - Black Earth - review
Tracklist
01. Horns To The Sky02. Black Earth
03. Night Of Damnation
04. Lord Victorious
05. Desire
06. Wings Of The Angel Of Death
07. Evil Arise
08. Skull Of God
A review by
Daniell October 06, 2010
Byfrost's Black Earth may just be enough to give you a musical equivalent of that beery adventure. Think mid- to late-period Immortal - the spirit of black metal is firmly in place, but the riffs are becoming suspiciously, albeit gloriously, thrashy. This summarizes Byfrost's music quite well. Even the vocals are similar. But don't let this makeshift definition fool you. The band utilizes well-known ingredients, but mixes them in their own way, and does it so powerfully, with so much verve, vim and vigor, with such irresistible and disarming conviction, that it's impossible to resist.
Your foot will start tapping as soon as the first track starts. "Horns To The Sky" is a perfect opener - a memorable riff, groovy rhythms, and fast-paced passages that will send you headbanging, regardless of the length of your hair. What will also immediately catch your attention is the production. It's fantastic. Things that are supposed to sound low are deliciously low - the bass drums seem to massage your diaphragm, and the bass guitar tests your sub-woofer, assuming you have one. The guitars are massive and lead-heavy, and the vocals are set somewhere in between - not too prevalent, but not too distant either. Everything is mixed together with perfect proportions, every instrument is clear and easily audible, yet the overall impression is that the sound is properly abrasive for the kind of music Byfrost plays.
It's no use going over more songs, because they follow a similar formula. Generally mid- to slow-tempo, with occasional speed-ups, and a lot of groove groove groove! I really can't stress it enough - this is one of the most groovy metal albums I've heard in quite some time. Forget about listening to it while doing something else - Black Earth with grab you by the balls and squeeze until you give it your full, undivided attention. It's impossible to sit still, balls squeezed or not - there's so much energy in the album, that you will involuntarily react to the music. My gut feeling is that the reaction will be enthusiastic.
Rarely does a debut album have such an impact. It's easily the debut of the year for me, and, seeing reviews on other sites, not only for me. Long story short, stop reading now and go. Buy. Listen. Headbang. Listen again. Headbang some more. Come MS Awards, you will know who needs to win The Best Debut Album Category.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 9 |
Comments
Comments:
20
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Posts: 702  |
Posts: 702
I only listened to the samples online. but I feel asleep after 3 songs... it all sounds the same, there is no variety... but maybe it's me.
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Posts: 6209
Samples are fooling you my friend. Listen to the album. And no, the songs do not sound the same.
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Posts: 589
Very nice review. Byfrost is indeed a "thrashy sounding Immortal", the influences are very clear. A definite new add to my collection.
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Posts: 702 Written by Daniell on 06.10.2010 at 12:27 it must be the poor MySpace quality...  still, quite boring, if you ask me... can't find anything exciting about it and, IMHO, 9 is a tad high.
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Posts: 6209 Written by Merchant of Doom on 06.10.2010 at 12:52 Actually I was considering a 9.4 
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Posts: 18613
Holy fucking shit, just heard some songs from the myspace and this is intense, I will probably give it a 8,5 myself but this is by the best debut I've ehard this year. Really promising stuff! And yes, I love the grooooooove
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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Posts: 376
This is great.. i would give this album a 9 myself. Recommended
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| Valaskjalf
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Valaskjalf
Account deleted Written by Merchant of Doom on 06.10.2010 at 12:52 Well if it's that boring then at least we know for sure it sounds like Immortal lol
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Posts: 702 Written by [user id=1909] on 06.10.2010 at 18:51 well, my impression.... to be honest. I didn't find anything exciting about them (well, not a 9!), but then I did say I found the latest Enslaved a bit "mainstream"... but I think I meant more "approachable", as in "harder" but too polished... just a strange combination... which works!
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Posts: 124  |
Posts: 124
Gotta say my fav debut albums this year by a mile are Cebren-Khal's 'A Mass of Despair' and Castevet 'Mounds of Ash'. Will have to listen to this and prove those picks wrong.
---- I will kill you so hard you will die to death.
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Posts: 6209 Written by Merchant of Doom on 07.10.2010 at 00:29 This is the first album that made me stop listening to the new Enslaved. I found it VERY exciting, and I still do. It's just a surprisingly fresh and lively reworking of well-known ideas, and it's pure gold to me. Such excellence warrants a 9 in my book
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Posts: 702
Ok, the only way to find out for me is to buy and listen to it properly...
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Posts: 6209
I bought it on allegro.pl, the Polish equivalent of e-bay. Being a doom fan, you should have no problem digesting 40 minutes of relatively slow music with occasional uptempo passages
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Posts: 702 |
Posts: 702 Written by Daniell on 07.10.2010 at 12:21 not funeral doom... 
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Posts: 6941
I thought I'd commented already, oh well... better late than never  So I loved this review and it definitely made me want to listen to the album ASAP. Especially this line, "Generally mid- to slow-tempo, with occasional speed-ups, and a lot of groove groove groove! I really can't stress it enough - this is one of the most groovy metal albums I've heard in quite some time." ...and I totally agree. The groove here was perfectly to my liking! I enjoy good black metal but don't listen to a ton of it. Bands like this make me want to listen more. Definitely WILL be on my radar come awards time.
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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| !J.O.O.E.!
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| !J.O.O.E.!
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!J.O.O.E.!
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I wasn't quite as blown away by this as you were. It's strong, heady music but the Immortal worship is a bit too obvious for my liking. I couldn't stop thinking how I'd rather be listening to Immortal 
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Posts: 6209
Which isnt a bad thing because Immortal does have some fucking brilliant releases in their discography
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| !J.O.O.E.!
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