Thy Catafalque - Rengeteg review
| Band: | Thy Catafalque |
| Album: | Rengeteg |
| Style: | Avantgarde black metal |
| Release date: | November 11, 2011 |
| Guest review by: | Mindheist |
01. Fekete Mezők
02. Kel Keleti Szél
03. Trilobita
04. Kő Koppan
05. Vashegyek
06. Holdkomp
07. Kék Ingem Lobogó
08. Az Eső, Az Eső, Az Eső
09. Tar Gallyak Végül
10. Minden Test Fű
It was recorded that he, one of history's finest war commanders, kept a journal chronicling the major events of his life. However, something mysteriously strange happened shortly after his death; the last page of his diary was torn out never to be found again?
The Prophecy
"We had previously captured Belgrade, Rhodes and nearly Rome; the moment of penetrating the virgin leas of Hungary through its Carpathian Mountains has never been more propitious. And so, I marched. With an army of sixty thousand men, I marched. Until the sun darkened dim, I marched. Until it finally peered on the far side of a boundless tassel-withered cornfield somewhere near Makó - a vast, trackless forest girdled by a wreath of darkness and swollen mist perching nigh the field wherein we stood like the roaming shadow of Óðr. We stood staggered, leering at the beguiling woodland that God had left untrodden; torn by senescence, dust and solitude for only demons to feast on. The masterpiece was complete when a Septentrional draught stirred amidst the five giant trees guarding its gates revealing in the process the message that was engraved on the trunk of the tallest; the prophecy:
"'Moulded within the kilns of Season of Mist and lasting for nearly an hour of atmospheric post-black brilliance, Rengeteg is more than just music. It's a way of life, a myriad of human conditions accumulated over a span of millennia. It's a dynamic cycle, an ever-changing state of mind romping through the brain stem to stimulate emotions connecting man to nature, music to dreams, and soul to landscapes. It's the unyielding simplicity of the riffs, the demolishing aggressiveness, the ethereal melodies of the instruments, the eerie Uralic lyrics, its scintillating aura and the undying passion of that dark-haired musician that all together make it quite simply an album unto itself. It charges like a howling tempest with ear-splitting guitars, flying solos, chilling keyboard passages, bloated vocals and well-programmed cold, hollow drums before it settles into a thick progressive-ish mid-tempo, low-tuned, folk-driven theme. Countless elements are thrown into the equation as the music marches on to enshroud the scattered blackened metal parts and leave you floored trying to distinguish the sounds slogging beyond the backcloth of the album (e.g. "Ko koppam": ghostly atmosphere bristled with genuinely soothing electronic elements and other melodies. Rengeteg is mind rape, an onslaught if you will, that encloses metallic pieces of different metal sub-genres brilliantly soldered into one world; a world that no human foot has ever trodden nor has any eye seen. You don't listen to it, you just feel it. It's certainly not for everybody; just daydreamers, poets and possibly demons. It's quite simply second to none and for that very reason it shall remain unrated...'
"Currently buried upon the third hill of Istanbul, I am Süleyman the magnificent (1494-1566), son of Selim the Fierce, grandson of Bayazid the Thunderbolt. What you just read was the last and lost page of my war book. The page that tells the message; the prophecy of Rengeteg, the dark forest."
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
Comments: 19
Visited by: 156 users
| K✞ulu Seeker of Truth Posts: 2573  |
Well, I like the italicized passage; good description. You mind remember from our discussion of one of Troy's reviews that I like to read a real description of the music, and I think you actually accomplished that very well, even if you included some of the imagery and "metaphorism" in your own style. Is the prophecy a real thing?
---- Savor what you feel and what you see Things that may not seem important now But may be tomorrow R.I.P. Chuck Schuldiner Satan was a Backstreet Boy
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| Mindheist No Longer Human Posts: 618  |
Written by K✞ulu on 11.03.2012 at 13:38 Actually, you're the one who gave me the idea  . You were right, the review should not be entirely figurative. It should have a little bit of both and that's what I tried to do. The main part of the review is purely technical. Thanks for the tip and for reading it.  As for your question, it was just a modest idea of mine to make it look like a story instead.
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| strade Posts: 677  |
Haha, I love your review. Very creative and interesting. Rengeteg really is an incredible album.
---- My lo-fi synth project: http://luciddreamer.bandcamp.com
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306  |
Hopefully this doesn't come across as offensive, but this is even more pretentious than my Deafheaven review.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Mindheist No Longer Human Posts: 618 |
Written by strade on 11.03.2012 at 20:56 I'll tell you, it's really nice to hear a compliment every now and then  . Your kind words are pretty much appreciated my friend. Thanks for reading my modest review Written by Troy Killjoy on 11.03.2012 at 21:10 You know, now that you've mentioned it, I'm kind of shocked because early today right after the review was published someone said the same thing. The only difference between you and him is that you actually took time to read it (thanks btw ). Now, I've just finished reading your Deafheaven review (again) and I disagree about it being pretentious. Actually, it's the furthest thing from being pretentious. That being said, I hope you realize I never intended it to come across as "showy" or anything. It's just that I get, sometimes, carried away with words when I'm trying to describe inspiring covers
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by Mindheist on 11.03.2012 at 22:55 I have the same problem (Deafheaven, Gris, Woods of Desolation) but I think it's easy for me to admit when I'm being pretentious. Maybe we have different views of what pretentious is, and that's fine. To me this review seemed pretentious. That doesn't mean it is. Regardless, the style is unique, it's definitely your review, and in a rather unorthodox way, it does tell the story behind the music. So kudos.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Mindheist No Longer Human Posts: 618 |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 11.03.2012 at 23:01 Thank you Troy. I'll try to tone "it" down next time, or better, come up with another approach
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by Mindheist on 11.03.2012 at 23:13 Don't let anyone change your style. Write the way you want - if people don't like it, they can go suck a fuck. Or write their own. Or comment about how bad it is. It's all a matter of opinion at the end of the day.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Mindheist No Longer Human Posts: 618 |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 11.03.2012 at 23:17 I couldn't have said it better myself Don't worry though, I know that my style isn't to everyone's liking, but I just love it and I know some others do as well. What I meant with "come up with another approach" is that I have an idea in mind for my upcoming ones. I figured, since most members don't go over reviews they once read again, we should find a way to "tempt" them into doing so, because reviews aren't meant to be forgotten. If successful, this method will not only do that, it will also help new reviewers find their own writing style. I don't know if I'm the right person for it but I'll give it my best shot. Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it:lol:
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6098  |
I'll rank it second on the scale of pretentiousness. Of all reviews on MS there is only one that beats it. So there's still room for improvement Please don't feel offended, your review is well-written language-wise, it's just that I'm allergic to too much pomp. Also, Troy summed it up very well: Written by Troy Killjoy on 11.03.2012 at 23:17
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| Milena gloom cookie Staff Posts: 4603  |
Written by Daniell on 12.03.2012 at 09:33 Which one which one which one?
---- 7.0 means the album is good
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| Slayer666 Posts: 2466  |
Written by Milena on 12.03.2012 at 11:50 I still don't understand why the writer of this review did not receive a Nobel prize.
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| Milena gloom cookie Staff Posts: 4603 |
Written by Slayer666 on 12.03.2012 at 12:00 Oh, right, I forgot.
---- 7.0 means the album is good
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6098 |
Yes, that's the one. I still can't figure out why that guy wrote "don's" and "can's" instead of "don't" and "can't". Doesn't look like a typo anyway.
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| R'Vannith ghedengi Elite Posts: 3099  |
Your reviews are always very evocative and don't fail to give some sense about the music. Your style is very different to those of other reviewers on here and if theres one thing I admire it's a bit of individual flair in one's writing. I can see why some would find your writing a tad on the pompous side of things, but I'm sure the worst case scenario is that it leaves a bad taste in some mouths but they still come out of it with some grasp on what the album is about.
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| Mindheist No Longer Human Posts: 618 |
Written by R'Vannith on 12.03.2012 at 15:29 waw, this might be one of those moments where I simply choose to stay still rather than ruining your beautiful post with an unworthy reply. Thank you my friend, that means a lot to me To everyone: I really still don't know where does the pretentiousness lie in my review. I never intended it to be that way. But since you were many to point it out, you could be right. I just would like you to know that the last thing I want to do is to come across as pretentious. Thank you for your honesty and I promise you, I'll try my best to make it less "pompous" next time.
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| Ivor Staff Posts: 5492  |
I can appreciate the literary aspect of the review but to be really honest, it's not something I'm looking for in a review. When I read a review I want to find out two things fairly easily. First, I want to know what we're dealing with, i.e. genre, band's approach to music, and so on. Secondly, whether it's any good in reviewer's opinion, i.e. I'm actually looking for a personal touch and connection with the music, so I can relate my tastes and compare with, you know, previous review compatibility record or something, if you know what I mean. Now, it's already hard to pick out the first of the two from your review, and second's missing, or rather it's behind a heavy curtain of literary abstraction. In short, you kind of overdid it this time. Not saying you should change but you shouldn't be losing the point of what you actually want to say in a way where reader can't distinguish black from white. Other than that, I think Rengeteg was one of the great discoveries for me during the awards. Powerful stuff. For me it metal equivalent of space rock. I.
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| Mindheist No Longer Human Posts: 618 |
Written by Ivor on 12.03.2012 at 22:24 I appreciate your honesty as well as the time you took to clarify things up for me. I'll make sure to follow your instructions next time
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| Danny Thomas Posts: 552  |
I saw this band in the top of the charts on metalstorm yesterday, and have been listening to this and "sguur" over and over. I have been in the mood for random finds and this band is fantastic.
---- Our children are dead. Burnt in the ruins that were left by war.
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