Owl - Owl - review
Owl - Owl - review
Tracklist
01. Conquering The Kingdom Of Rain (Enter Her Holy Halls)02. Lost In Vaults Underneath The Melting Mountain Of The Saints
03. The Daimonion Of Dying Summers Looming Through The Golden Mist Of Dreams
04. Spell Of The Ignis Fatuus That Leads To The Impalpable Altar Of Beasts
05. Threnodical Ritual At The Spectral Shores Of The Eternal Sunset
A review by
KwonVerge July 03, 2011
Apart from the aforementioned definitions, Christian Kolf, the figure behind Owl, embeds in the sound of the band ambient references that make their appearance during the end of the compositions. It's also omnipresent through the overall chaos. So, that's all? No, the ending song is a 30-minute magnum opus of ambiance relying upon keyboards and water effects. And here's the big challenge, either you drown with it or bury it so deep you'll never encounter again the threnody of the ritual at the spectral shores of the eternal sunset as the title indicates. With a bit of imagination and a clear (or fucked up?) mind you can achieve the visuals.
The cover artwork is utterly representative, it's the picture of a hostile fortress and the album gives you the impression as if it was recorded in its deepest dungeons in utter secrecy. There's an echoing sense in it anyway that strengthens the rotating fear that unfolds through mist and ivy. Every instrument partaking in this martyrdom of unfurling horror plays its part as a solo ornament of pain and at the same time all together work as one, crossing the threshold of sanity in unity. The vocals are volcanic, boiling grunts from the deepest core of the earth, foreboding the transcending chaos. All those echoes of torment turn to screams or unearthly recites whenever needed, but the most important aspect of them has to be the fact that Christian doesn't follow a specific formula, such abysmal disharmony could only be impulsive and in one-take. The drumming is the equivalent of impalement, violent, imposing and echoing and even when it's mid-tempo it still sounds ominous! As for the guitars, they evoke a claustrophobic scenery of asphyxiating emissions with their sinister "melodies" and chords, the soul-crushing riffing and the effects. All of them forge a massive, maniacal torrent that is not willing to ease its fury and strikes you down from waterfall to waterfall inside an everlasting, devastating orbit.
If you still require some references, the only ones that come to mind at the moment could be Esoteric and Disembowelment. Owl's self titled debut is here to imprison sanity in a self destructive cell with non-directional torque. If you ever heard an owl while wandering in the forest, it definitely didn't sound like this, a bulldozing near-death experience.
Hints n' Tips: Lock up yourself in your room, close the door and the windows so that the sound will get trapped inside, along with you, then you're ready for this sonic assault.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 9 |
Comments
Comments:
13
Visited by
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Posts: 373  |
Posts: 373
Another great band on Zeitgeister and those song titles are fucking epic however I have no idea what "Impalpable" is.
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 Posts: 18613 |
Posts: 18613
I would take off at least one point from that rating. 7,7-8,0 from me. The death metal is pretty fucking good indeed. But the last song isn't more exciting than the 25-minute song by burzum. Hell I think I like the burzum song more.
---- 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: 5068 Written by (((O))) on 03.07.2011 at 20:57 Summer music  Just found it, didn't know it either: im·pal·pa·ble adj \(ˌ)im-ˈpal-pə-bəl\ Definition of IMPALPABLE 1 a : incapable of being felt by touch : intangible <the impalpable aura of power that emanated from him ? Osbert Sitwell> b : so finely divided that no grains or grit can be felt <rock worn to an impalpable powder> 2 : not readily discerned by the mind <impalpable evils>
---- Dec. 30, 1334. ...And the whiskey and wine entered our veins when blood was too weak to carry on.
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Posts: 18613
I like how most of the "complicated" words pretty much the same in spanish.
---- 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: 373 |
Posts: 373
You should really check out the other bands on Zeitgeister, Valborg and Ekpyrosis are two great bands there. 
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Posts: 5068 Written by (((O))) on 03.07.2011 at 21:04 I had already Valborg in mind, i'll check the other one too, thanks 
---- Dec. 30, 1334. ...And the whiskey and wine entered our veins when blood was too weak to carry on.
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Posts: 5068 Written by X-Ray Rod on 03.07.2011 at 21:02 I dunno spanish, so i can't have an opinion ;o but the burzum is good, it's more "gling gling" (xD) than this one here, but such songs are mood songs, you can't just sit down and listen to them anytime xD
---- Dec. 30, 1334. ...And the whiskey and wine entered our veins when blood was too weak to carry on.
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Posts: 18613 Written by KwonVerge on 03.07.2011 at 21:07 I didn't mind the 25-minute song when I was reading a book while listening to Filisofem so this one might not be a problem either.
---- 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 |
Posts: 376
Oh man this stuff crawls beneath my skin.... Its very wicked and at the same time brilliant.... I would easily rate this stuff 10/10
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Posts: 21306
I really tried with this but something didn't click. I suppose it's that "atmosphere = subjective" thing. :/
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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Posts: 702  |
Posts: 702
I don't quite get the Esoteric reference, to be honest... and I didn't find very much 'atmospheric' music in it either. It's just dissonant, brutal death metal. And are you sure the drummer is real? It says so on the Zeitgeister website, but sounds like a machine to me. I quite liked the ambient track at the end, although I was waiting for David Gilmour to start playing Shine On You Crazy Diamond any moment, which unfortunately (or fortunately?  ) didn't happen...
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Posts: 5068 Written by Merchant of Doom on 04.07.2011 at 15:23 Personally, it reminded me a bit of Esoteric's more upbeat moments, but that's just me As for the drummer, as far as i know he's a session musician or something, now if it's true, this i do not know looooooool, the gilmour reference was awesome 
---- Dec. 30, 1334. ...And the whiskey and wine entered our veins when blood was too weak to carry on.
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Posts: 702 Written by KwonVerge on 04.07.2011 at 15:38 mmmm.... I see what you mean about Esoteric, but still don't get it...  The drummer is some guy called Patrick Schroeder, apparently... I can try and get in touch with David or I can send him my CD and see if he would like a collaboration with Owl... I think it could be interesting...
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