1349 - Hellfire review
| Band: | 1349 |
| Album: | Hellfire |
| Style: | Black metal |
| Release date: | October 24, 2005 |
| Guest review by: | Doc G. |
01. I Am Abomination
02. Nathicana
03. Sculptor Of Flesh
04. Celestial Deconstruction
05. To Rottendom
06. From The Deeps
07. Slaves To Slaughter
08. Hellfire
Hellfire is the third instalment of the Norwegian Black Metal band 1349's discography. From a Black Metal fan stand point this is a very pleasing album.
Be prepared when you put this into your CD player, it gives no preparation for the mayhem that's about to ensue. Just one word "Hellfire!" then it breaks into 'I Am Abomination'. The production in this album is great for a Black Metal album. The guitars have a very big atmospheric sound to them, but unlike most bands the drums are at the fore-front of the music, making a very brutal sound. In fact, the drums are the high point of the album for me, they are so frantic and incredibly fast even if you don't like Black Metal you can still appreciate the skill level of Frost alone. The vocals aren't as much growls, but more just harsh yelling which I feel does little to improve the music yet at the same time it fits quite perfectly.
On the other hand, this album can become extremely irritating after some time. It's definitely not an album that can be played over and over again. By the end of the first play through there is very little desire to sit through it again. The good parts about the album can also become annoying by the end, like the drums for example. The drums being on top of the music make you just want to grind your teeth before the album is over. The guitar work can be very indistinguishable after a while and a lot of the songs don't seem to stand out from one another, which happens a lot in black metal.
This is a mediocre typical Black Metal album but at the same time it has a cool sound to it. Definitely not an album to look into if you're looking for diverse Black Metal but if you're interested in top notch drum work than you will enjoy this.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 9 |
Written by Doc G. | 15.07.2007
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
| Katatronik Angel of Lust Posts: 1018  |
I like this album, it's my favourite 1349 one... Though I agree with you in a lot of points, I'd rate 8 in songwriting... Very good review anyway man! 
---- "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." Howard Phillips Lovecraft
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| __Az__ Posts: 859  |
I agree, the drum work within this album is brilliant, definately catches the attention... However, personally I could play this album over.
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| Infurnace Posts: 948  |
It's also my favorite 1349 album. The drum works are insane, and the record consists out of a few very catchy songs, at least, I think they are catchy. I would rate it an 8,5.
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| gojko88 Posts: 19  |
I guess I'll be crucified for such a pompous claim, but for me, "Hellfire" is the best black metal album ever  And yes, I have listened to hundreds of bm albums, so this ain't coming from some kid who has been listening to black metal for three months now. It just has everything I want from a bm album. It has the aggressiveness of Satyricon ("Sculptor Of Flesh"), the old-school pummeling of Darkthrone ("To Rottendom"), the most complex drum-work ("Celestial Deconstruction"), Burzum's epicness ("Hellfire"). Ya know, just a perfect mix of everything taken one step further. Though I'm probably the only guy on Earth to feel this way...
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| Damnated Churchburner Posts: 4943  |
i honestly don't understand why so many ms users like this. it is crap.
---- Blessed is he that murders Christ in himself and in his fellow men.  Written by TheBigRossowski on 10.02.2009 at 16:01
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
Written by Damnated on 30.12.2007 at 14:37 No... it is not crap, you find it to be crap, that is an entirely different proposition 
---- 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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| Damnated Churchburner Posts: 4943 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 30.12.2007 at 14:40 from my point of view it is crap. to me: it's crap 
---- Blessed is he that murders Christ in himself and in his fellow men. Written by TheBigRossowski on 10.02.2009 at 16:01
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13254  |
and to a lot of other people it is a fantastic album.. "Hellfire" isn't my favourite 1349 album but this is a great great album - not mediocre as the review says at all I've seen these guys live three times and interviewed them as well though so I have a slight bias towards them. hahaha. but still, amazing band
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Dr. Rock you say, and I quote: "This is a mediocre typical Black Metal album..." then why the above average score of 7.5?
---- 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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| Damnated Churchburner Posts: 4943 |
perhaps dr.rock isn't the right person to write a review about a black metal album. just an idea.
---- Blessed is he that murders Christ in himself and in his fellow men. Written by TheBigRossowski on 10.02.2009 at 16:01
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| Sunioj Posts: 3894  |
@Marcel I would give it a 4 or 5... you're right, something is wrong with the rating!
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| ArcanaHereticae Posts: 169  |
Written by Katatronik on 15.07.2007 at 15:23 Well said, "8 in songwriting." Couldn't have said it any better myself. As far as music, I'd probably go with a 9.5. And the diction is nice, as well. "I am Abomination," "Slaves To Slaughter." Nice word-age.
---- The nectar ov Thy rage, I taste from the cup ov fornication. And woman by my side, And scarlet is her skin. She's eager to rise, And so eager to please.
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| Damnated Churchburner Posts: 4943 |
just listening to this right now, only because i heard so many good stuff recently and needed a dose of crap. this is worse than i remembered. i'm under the impression that instead of going to the studio, they gathered all their laundry, bought some detergent, turned on the washing machine and recorded everything that happened there.
---- Blessed is he that murders Christ in himself and in his fellow men. Written by TheBigRossowski on 10.02.2009 at 16:01
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| Doc G. Full Grown Hoser Staff Posts: 9718  |
Written by Damnated on 30.12.2007 at 17:18 Ouch, but yeah true enough. This was written at a time when I was listening to a lot of black metal (not a wide variety of bands but a handful of bands constantly). Also not exactly my best review either, even if my opinions make sense. My feelings towards this album haven't changed since I wrote it, but I'm still not sure what I was doing here. Meh, since then I've been writing reviews for stuff I know a lot better - Heavy Metal.
---- "I got a lot of really good ideas, problem is, most of them suck." - George Carlin
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| Damnated Churchburner Posts: 4943 |
Written by Doc G. on 13.10.2008 at 23:35 believe it or not, that comment wasn't personal. i was just saying that if you would listen to a lot more black metal, you'd realize how pathetic this album really is.
---- Blessed is he that murders Christ in himself and in his fellow men. Written by TheBigRossowski on 10.02.2009 at 16:01
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by Damnated on 14.10.2008 at 14:17 Okay it isn't good. I would say mediocre at best but the way you make it sem is that it is even worse than the two latest pieces of crap produced by Keep of Kallesin.
---- 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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| Damnated Churchburner Posts: 4943 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 14.10.2008 at 15:02 hehe. this is worse . at least KoK has a sexy vocalist 
---- Blessed is he that murders Christ in himself and in his fellow men. Written by TheBigRossowski on 10.02.2009 at 16:01
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| Doc G. Full Grown Hoser Staff Posts: 9718 |
Written by Damnated on 14.10.2008 at 14:17 Personal or not it is true enough. If I was to re-write this review Id probably drop the overall score down to around 6.9 (simply because I probably rated it a 7.5 when anything below an 8 was considered a low mark). Songwriting is pretty bad, but I'm still massively impressed by the drumming and I do enjoy the sound of the drums (production wise). The drumming is probably the one reason I still listen to it every so often. There are a few tracks on the album that are memorable, but the tracks like the title track, was a bit overkill if you ask me. Released as perhaps a 3 or 4 song EP or something with just the best tracks on it it probably would have deserved a higher rating.
---- "I got a lot of really good ideas, problem is, most of them suck." - George Carlin
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| Damnated Churchburner Posts: 4943 |
Written by Doc G. on 14.10.2008 at 22:58 if you want to hear good drumming in black metal, listen to Ordo Ad Chao. mwaha.
---- Blessed is he that murders Christ in himself and in his fellow men. Written by TheBigRossowski on 10.02.2009 at 16:01
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| Doc G. Full Grown Hoser Staff Posts: 9718 |
Written by Damnated on 15.10.2008 at 01:39 Oh no, no please dude, not this again (though we should be proud, I think we had the longest ongoing argument in MS history). In seriousness though I have learned to appreciate that album a little more (as you may have noticed in a few posts around here), I dont consider it anything amazing and I doubt I will ever love it to the same degree you or Nervel do. Yes the drumming is actually very good on it, I just wasn't into the fact that it seemed all over the place at times and didn't always match the rest of the band. Also I find it enjoyable when listening to it when I listen to the album almost as one continuous song, rather than trying to find that one track to blow me away (which probably what my problem was before). Its an interesting album, its raw but not the same raw sound as a lot of bands, it has kind of a moldy type sound to it. So long story short its gone from "utter crap" to "occasional listen" for me. While comparing those 2 albums I would say Ordo Ad Chao takes a lot more getting used to, but has a far more unique sound.
---- "I got a lot of really good ideas, problem is, most of them suck." - George Carlin
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