Aspaarn – Oblations in Atrocity Review

By Dear Hollow

Shockingly, raw black metal isn’t really known for its accessibility. Its cult utilizes the most discordant of black metal’s already discordant approaches, but its worshipers may notice the range of barbed noise to cloaks of fuzz that populate lo-fi productions. Switzerland’s one-man raw black show Aspaarn utilizes both clarity and opacity alike to cast shadows of a dark wilderness worthy of its cover, with just enough reverb to lend a ghostly presence wandering amid the thickets and pines. While the stereotype lands in moonlit purple castles and catacombs of dust and shadows, there’s a distinctly wild and uncharted feeling about Aspaarn.

The phrase “raw black” doesn’t always wrap up neatly in a Nattens Madrigal-shaped box, and Aspaarn’s sound reflects this complexity. While reveling in that classic barbed clarity of Ildjarn, its ghostly haze recalls the likes of Revenant Marquis, adding to the disorientation. It ultimately ends up sounding a bit like Kryatjurr of Desert Ahd or El-Ahrairah: classically bleak and morbid black metal chord progressions wildly transfigured into a psychedelic and otherworldly visage. Composed of multi-instrumentalist Solaris Lupus, also of the likeminded Lord Valtgryftåke and Svartokunnighet, the Aspaarn project’s fourth full-length Oblations in Atrocity oscillates between second-wave frigid rawness and atmospheric wherewithal that never forsakes its teeth.

In spite of the genre of choice, Aspaarn’s instrumental attack is surprisingly clear, and Lupus’ grasp on songwriting is very firm. Layers of tremolo and bass lead the attack, with the inherent dissonance and minor keys giving Oblations in Atrocity a disorienting feeling (“Duty in Hecatomb,” “Boundless Hunger”), further emphasized by shifting tempos and rhythms, often taking a mad waltz reminiscent of Grave Pilgrim. Drums anchor this sound with precision and reliability, but a sharper trash-can-lid snare graces it a nimbleness that adds a distinct insanity to it as well (“The Order of Fear,” “Memories in Suffering”). Chord progressions are the backbone of every track and are directly rooted in classic Darkthrone’s permafrost soil, allowing its morbid and morose atmosphere to shine in the best possible way. The balance between clarity and opacity is key, as rawness and noise can tend to overwhelm basic musical movement, but Aspaarn’s deft hand manages to keep it surprisingly restrained.

While clarity adds that kvlt intensity and relentless attack, the tools guiding opacity in Oblations in Atrocity give it its supernatural lean. Vocals are most obvious right off the bat, with Lupus’ shrieks and roars cloaked in a thick veil of reverb, giving it a far more haunting feeling than many raw black metal stereotypes. When clean vocals are utilized, they take on a choral quality, nearly liturgical, driving home the album’s blasphemous atmosphere (“Silence of the Gods,” “All Reaching Misery”). One thing that puts Aspaarn in distinction is its ability to sound atmospheric without an overreliance on synths or keys, like genre greats Paysage d’Hiver or Lunar Aurora. In fact, there are very few obvious occurrences of “ambient” vestiges apart from the closer, which just drives home the second-wave worship that pervades Oblations in Atrocity.

For all the balance and atmospheric prowess Aspaarn offers with Oblations in Atrocity, it remains raw black metal, a particularly divisive and unfriendly take on an already divisive and unfriendly style. The vocals, while contributing to the otherworldly and supernatural feel in ways I saw as a clear highlight, are quite loud and can overwhelm the sound. The jarring tempo and rhythm changes, guided by the feral drumming, are an acquired taste but ultimately guide the labyrinthine panic and uncharted wilderness that course through the album. The first half of closer “All Reaching Misery” feels painfully directionless until the atmospheric passages give them purpose. What can I say, it’s raw black metal. Ultimately, Aspaarn has created an album that won’t change your mind about the style, but offers treats and bounties aplenty for those who like their music more with a generous side of pain.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 10 | Format Reviewed: PCM
Label: Self-Released
Website: töö kvlt för v
Releases Worldwide: February 15th, 2025

#2025 #30 #Aspaarn #AtmosphericBlackMetal #BlackMetal #Darkthrone #ElAhrairah #Feb25 #GravePilgrim #Ildjarn #KryatjurrOfDesertAhd #LordValtgryftåke #LunarAurora #OblationsInAtrocity #PaysageDHiver #RawBlackMetal #RevenantMarquis #Review #Reviews #SelfReleased #Svartokunnighet #SwissMetal #Ulver

But first they must catch you

Ahhh I'm so proud of this piece!! :D

Prints are now available: https://artofmaquenda.etsy.com/listing/1711250095/but-first-they-must-catch-you-print

#watershipdown #rabbit #art #mastoart #animalart #elahrairah

O Zorn! – Vermillion Haze Review

By GardensTale

Like many older millennials, a big part of my childhood was watching the same 10 or so movies on VHS tape. Some of those tapes were not necessarily great for kids, though my parents were diligent in keeping most horror away from my sister and me. The most adult kids’ movie in our collection was Watership Down, based on the 1972 book by Richard Adams, it was a harrowing tale of a band of rabbits looking for a new warren and running afoul of a fascist dictatorship. Most of this movie’s scenes are burned into my memory, and one of them is the return of the heavily wounded Captain Holly, the sole survivor of the old warren’s destruction and escapee from the fascists. ‘All dead!’ he cries as he crests a ridge, shaking and bleeding. ‘O Zorn!’ Zorn means destruction or calamity in Lapine, the rabbit language, and so I was hoping for a Watership Down-themed raze.1

Thus picking up Vermillion Haze sight unseen, I was a little disappointed to find neither raze nor rabbits, as O Zorn! doesn’t use more than the name from Adams’ tale and plays a fairly straightforward style with elements of stoner and post-metal. Texturally the band has some similarities with a simplified Mastodon, not in the least due to the somewhat nasal drawl of the vocals. The big differences are the structure and pacing. Shying away from progressive leanings, the music is staunch in its adherence to verse-chorus constructions and the tempo sticks to a Goldilocks zone where it never feels either hurried or overly slow. O Zorn! has existed since 2010, but it took until 2020 for their debut to take shape, and Vermillion Haze, too, has all the markings of a band that fine-tunes its music until it’s completely confident in its quality.

And indeed, there are few obvious flaws to be found. The vocal style is the most divisive element, though it’s fairly familiar in this style of metal, and the riffs are sturdy with enough life to keep the music buoyant, and enough hooks to make it memorable. But at the risk of sounding prog-obsessed, much of Vermillion Haze is a little too simplistic. Almost everything adheres to rigorous 4 or 8-part structures, musical phrases repeated with scant variations, before moving on to the next. Verse to chorus to bridge to chorus. The ambulatory performances underline the unexciting nature of the songwriting, with few flourishes or standout moments. If there’s a variation, the next iteration has the same one. It’s a very safe record, in short, and rarely do I feel like I need to hear more than one verse and one chorus to get the gist of the song.

As is natural, the best tracks become those that break up the monotony, like “I See Through You” and “I Got Mine,” both of which grow in intensity throughout and avoid too many repeating patterns. On the other side of the coin, the lethargic “Slow Mood” and overlong closer “Ricochet” are the worst combinations of repetitive and predictable, making for inoffensive but rather tiring listens. This issue isn’t immediately apparent, however. The riffs and hooks are solid enough that first contact with the record is rather enjoyable, even if it’s not terribly exciting, and there is enough shake-up from track to track. There is every chance O Zorn! is falling victim to a dichotomy between reviewers and casual listeners. To review something properly, we have to listen to it often, but some albums aren’t made for that, thriving most under less rigorous circumstances. I have the distinct feeling Vermillion Haze is one of those.

Whatever the case, Vermillion Haze has left me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, it’s a solid album without many immediate shortcomings, that I surmise is most suited for occasional listening sessions or background music. On the other hand, I have little desire to spin it again, and I don’t see that changing in the future. O Zorn! is a solid band, but doesn’t do itself any favors playing it too safe and too predictable.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Seeing Red Records
Websites: ozorn.bandcamp.com | ozornrocks.com | facebook.com/ozornrocks
Releases Worldwide: March 15th, 2024

#25 #2024 #AmericanMetal #ElAhrairah #Mar24 #Mastodon #OZorn_ #PostMetal #Review #Reviews #SeeingRedRecords #StonerMetal #VermillionHaze

“There is not a day or night but a doe offers her life for her kittens, or some honest captain of Owsla his life for his Chief Rabbit’s. Sometimes it is taken, sometimes it is not. But there is no bargain, for here, what is, is what must be.”

-Watership down by Richard Adams

Prints:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1527275745/

#Art #digitalart #Mastoart #watershipdown #blackrabbitofinle #vultureculture #natureart #ArtofMaquenda #fox #fanart #elahrairah

The Black Rabbit of Inle and El-Ahrairah stickers have arrived! Patrons signing up this month (July) will receive this sticker in the mail. Sign up at  https://www.patreon.com/dobescrusher

#mastoart #artistsonmastodon #furryart #furryartist #watershipdown #stickers #stickerclub #stickerdesign #elahrairah #theblackrabbitofinle #rabbits #rabbit

I recently re-read Watership Down for the furry bookclub I'm hosting and got absolutely obsessed again just like I did as a kid. It's a beautiful fantasy novel and I just had to make some fanart. This piece will also be a sticker for my patrons next month (July).

Sign up at https://www.patreon.com/dobescrusher

#artistsonmastodon #watershipdown #theblackrabbitofinle #elahrairah #rabbits #furry #anthro #furryart #furryartist #rabbit #fantasyart #stickerclub #stickerdesign