Description

Limited 10 with gatefold cover This interesting split between the two Finnish black metal bands works surprisingly well despite the incredible unbalance between the bands. Both are quality groups, but the difference in their styles makes this the most incompatible line-up on a split release ever. Ride For Revenge is a band that could be said to exist for the sole purpose of proving that there is a bass in black metal. Of course there is, on almost every black metal album, and claiming that there isn't is often just a sign of the listeners inability to pick up the instrument from the chaotic and intentionally thin sound. But Ride For Revenge does things in its own way. They've discarded the most metal instrument of them all, guitar, completely. The music is a bit difficult to categorize, but the combination of bass riffs, drums and whisper-growled vocals sprinkled with some atmosphere-building synths is an effective payload. The three tracks here resemble each other perhaps a bit too much, and especially the drumming is monotonous, but in the context of a short 20 minute split, the repetition does not have enough time to turn into a liability. The band builds an effective soundscape, and with the use of simple echoes, manages to make the whole sound cavernous. The vocal style is a serious contender for the opinion-splitter Oscar, and the whole sound is a love-it-or-loathe-it deal. This split is a nice sample of the style, and those seeking more after loving it are kindly advised to seek The King of Snakes full-length for more of the same, although with a lot more variance between the songs. This is an original way of making music, and while such an attempt might well end up being nothing but a curiosity, the three tracks here are enjoyable in small doses… three tracks being very close to the optimum. Torturium hits the listener with two tracks of more conventional black metal. The thin, abrasive sound resembles tearing linoleum floor tiles in half, and the mildly above average tempo combined with traditional shrieked vocals works nicely. The production on both sides of the split is very fitting, and even the Torturium side has an audible and enjoyable bass presence. The bands contribution might perhaps be described as a average black metal, but it is not bad by any stretch; perhaps just more of the typical black metal, and definitely not mediocre. It just doesn't stand out in any particular way among the thousands of black metal bands, and a couple of days after listening to the tracks, it would be next to impossible to name the band based on samples of these tracks. Decent, even good, but not particularly memorable in the way Ride For Revenge's tracks are. It's always interesting to compare the bands on a split, and contemplate the balance between the styles. Here, the two bands are a light year apart, and it's impossible to speak of any kind of balance in the usual sense. The combining factor between the bands is mostly just the geographical reality; they both originate in the town of Lappeenranta. But no matter how different they are, the split is still a good experience. It is suitably short, and the ten-minute samples of their musical output are, in both cases, a perfect dosage. A strange combination of bands, but an enjoyable release in any case. The next time someone says black metal lacks bass, mention this split and leaves the fieldwork to the tone-deaf moron. Track listing: 1. Ride For Revenge – On The Rays Of Victory 2. Ride For Revenge – Justine 3. Ride For Revenge – Remember The Curse 4. Torturium – Blasphemous Contemplation Of The Void 5. Torturium – An Apocryphal Luciferian Code