Abnabak/Mormânt de Snagov -Triumph of Death Split

Artist: Abnabak/Mormânt de Snagov
Release Title: Triumph of Death Split Album
Year: 2015
Label: Cold Raw Records
Genre: Black Metal/Black Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Abnabak - Coincidentia oppositorum
2. Abnabak - Memento Mori
3. Abnabak - Empire of Suffering (Sargeist cover)
4. Mormânt de Snagov - You're Next
5. Mormânt de Snagov - Antagonism
6. Mormânt de Snagov - Deathcrush (Mayhem cover)

One of the more unusual splits to be found, this split release between Finnish black metallers Mormânt de Snagov and Moroccan one-man black metal project Abnabak is quite a distinct location-based effort. Initially released as a limited CD run through Cold Raw Records on November 20, 2015 with only 120 hand-numbered copies being produced, each band brings two original tracks and a cover for a total of six tracks of music.

First up is the Moroccan Abnabak, whose one-man attack tends to be straight and simple worship of the second-wave Norwegian acts. Built around the swirling and frantic tremolo-picked riff-work and dynamic blasts wrapped around a raw, gravelly edge there’s little reason to believe this is actually a northern African band instead of a more traditionally-located country such is the competence of their attack. Able to generate the same overall mixture here with the sweeping full-throttle tempos and the sprawling mid-range atmosphere-filled melodies that are rampant in that overall section of the world, this here is a truly worthy old-school black metal attack. The closeness of the attack here should give away that they’re not the most original act out there but it’s certainly not a diminishing factor against them and works to the band’s advantage at times with their conviction but some might take offence to this overt and mindless aping of the classic sound. Still, they deliver some solid tracks here and score rather well.

The second band, Finland’s Mormânt De Snagov whose name is in Romanian which means “Grave of Snagov” after a city from Romania, is a more experienced act and it shows here. Though again firmly rooted in the old-school Norwegian style with the tremolo-picked rhythms and overall rather dynamic charges through the differing tempos throughout here, the fact that they’re able to maintain a lot more variance in their rhythms and riff-work which manages to make for a lot more intense and impressive actions within their arrangements alongside the blistering attack at the forefront of the band's sound. There’s not a whole lot really wrong with this band’s side of the split, though it’s actually the kind of tracks they provide here as they only manage one original effort alongside a re-recorded effort and the cover track, and there’s the need for more original work here after what the other side provided. Otherwise, this one was quite an impressive attack.

There’s not a whole lot really wrong with either bands on this release and overall both manage to come off rather well in terms of setting themselves up to be introduced to audiences and manages to get into the appeal of those who prefer competent and overall enjoyable second-wave black metal worshippers.

Score: 88/100

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http://mormantdesnagov.com/merch.html

Nominon/Sabbat (Jap)/Blaspherian - Trident of the Macabre split album

Artist: Nominon/Sabbat (Jap)/Blaspherian
Release Title: Trident of the Macabre split album
Year: 2016
Label: Fallen-Angel Productions
Genre: Swedish Death Metal; Black/Thrash Metal; Death Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Nominon - Release in Death
2. Nominon - Mountain of Hate
3. Nominon - Son of Doom
4. Nominon - Rigor Mortis
5. Sabbat - The Egg of Dapple
6. Sabbat - Mion's Hill (20th Epic Gezol Version)
7. Sabbat - Splatter
8. Sabbat - Harmageddon
9. Blaspherian - Praising Impurity
10. Blaspherian - In the Shadow
11. Blaspherian - Lies of the Cross
12. Blaspherian - The Blessings of Sanctity Rescinded (Live)

The new split release bringing together Swedish deathsters Nominon, Japanese black/thrash maniacs Sabbat and Texas death metal revivalists Blaspherion on one platter is a wholly enjoyable sampling for each of the bands presented. Released March 5, 2016 on Fallen-Angel Productions, this is one of the more impressive and enjoyable splits in existence.

For Nominon, the name of game is straightforward Swedish death metal and they’re not fooling anyone with the opening notes signaling their intention of paying homage to those greats from the start. Deep, churning chainsaw-flavored grooves and that rattling old-school production are in full-effect and not for a second are dropped throughout here as the up-tempo rhythms are at the forefront of their attack and it’s just simple, straightforward efforts. This straightforward attitude might wear on some, but the competence of their attack more than makes up for it.

The Japanese entity Sabbat, known for their productivity and ardent work-ethic, offers a simplistic and slightly rawer take on the old-school black/thrash style as the central riffing is built around simplistic plodding thrash arrangements with plenty of weirdly-accented vocals that adds a wholly appealing dynamic to their sound. They’re ultra-simplistic and even somewhat sloppy in their arrangements, but those weird vocals over the raw rhythms make it a slightly more appealing take with these creating such a different stylistic take compared to the more death metal-oriented groups surrounding them on the split. The rawness and simplicity might be too much for some to take, but they’ve been around this long for a reason.

Lastly, Blaspherian is a rather curious case with their old-school Incantation-worshipping style that comes straight from their playbook. From the tight, swirling riffing and rather brutal attack, there’s a simplistic approach to their attack that’s given all the more life here based on their production style that effectively matches that dirty, droning style so prominent in that approach. It’s all quite obvious and apparent of this influence as the choppy swirling rhythms and propensity for including sprawling sections of extended laid-back tempos, yet this works for their favor by allowing for plenty of easy-access to their sound by being this familiar to their chosen approach.

The fact that all of the bands have some impressive and stylish work representing them is an impressive enough feat here that on the whole this effort serves as an easy introduction to every one of the bands featured and makes for a highly enjoyable and recommended split anyways.

Score: 85/100

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http://fallangels.cafe24.com/product/detail.html?product_no=2809&cate_no=1&display_group=2

Reanimator (Ca)/Soul Collector (Pol) - In Union We Thrash split

Artist: Reanimator (Ca)/Soul Collector (Pol)
Release Title: In Union We Thrash split
Year: 2016
Label: Defense Records
Genre: Retro Thrash Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Soul Collector - It Is Time (Intro)
2. Soul Collector - The Pledge
3. Soul Collector - Never Enough
4. Soul Collector - 1968
5. Reanimator - Peaceful Eradication
6. Reanimator - Beyond That Burning Mask
7. Reanimator - The Abominautor
8. Reanimator - The Mosh Master
9. Reanimator - Rush for the Mosh
10. Reanimator - Tempted by Deviance

Two of the better revivalist thrash-scene efforts, the Canadian Reanimator and the Polish Soul Collector are among the more impressive and engaging acts in this crowded market that keeps growing by the day. This new split release, released April 16th, 2016 on Defense, gathers ten tracks, four new compositions from Soul Collector and six from Reanimator, with four of their better tracks from their last release alongside two new efforts, brings together a lot to like from both bands.

First up is Soul Collector, and they immediately bring out their best work here with a rabid, snarling attack centered on their vicious riff-work and dynamic rhythms for a truly old-school workout. Based on tight, swirling thrash riffing and plenty of crunchy patterns at dizzying full-throttle tempos augmented with plenty of furious drumming propelling the material along incredibly well, there’s so much sonically to enjoy here that this quickly gets infectious and highly enjoyable as this provides epic arrangements and solid tempo changes like a truer old-school thrash act. This shows off the fact that they’re able to offer a tight plodding epic that builds into a ripping full-throttle thrasher, a more mid-tempo crunch style attack or the straightforward thrasher, and it’s quite enjoyable. They’re not the most unique or original act in the genre, which isn’t a big deal since so many bands are content to really play off the same playbook as it each other, but here the infectious energy and tight performances are more than enough to counter that. It’s really a shame there’s only the three true tracks here with them getting the instrumental intro, but it’s not a major gripe against them and they’re easily the best band here.

Next, Reanimator bursts forth with their more chaotic bent on retro thrashing as this one really lets their ripping Bay-Area riffing take center-stage. Tight, vicious and crunchy with just the right blend of chaos-driven anarchy in the arrangements that provides solid framework here to really showcase their intensity, on the whole this here is rather enjoyable and dynamic while really bringing out a more looser sense of reckless energy in their rhythms that’s quite enjoyable for the most part. The main thing here is the fact that there’s only two original  tracks by the group and then slapped on four of their best tracks from the last release which seems a little lazy here. The other group took the time to compose some original material and while they came up with three plus the original, the epic arrangements provided there don’t quite match up to the work here since their shortest track is still longer than anything on this half of the split, and that really tends to make their side feel like it’s going through the motions more than anything. The music is good, but it’s so familiar because of the repeat performances that it lowers the release slightly.

Though this one does seem to come off a little lower than it really should’ve because of the repeated tracks against the original compositions on display, the fact remains that there’s still so much to really like here that this is a no-doubt inquiry for fans of either band as well as revival thrash fanatics of any kind.

Score: 85/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
http://www.defense.8merch.com/soul_collector_reanimator_in_union_we_thrash-id9115

Antiquus Scriptum/Krigere Wolf/Waldschrat/Notre Amertume - The Beginning of the End split album

Artist: Antiquus Scriptum/Krigere Wolf/Waldschrat/Notre Amertume
Release Title: The Beginning of the End split album
Year: 2015
Label: Fallen-Angel Productions
Genre: Viking/Pagan Black Metal; Black/Death Metal; Black/Folk Metal; Atmospheric Black Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Krigere Wolf - War's Ancestral Prophecies
2. Krigere Wolf - Come to Die with Us
3. Krigere Wolf - Supreme Energy of the Universe
4. Waldschrat - Wer Wind sät..
5. Waldschrat - Die Ruhe vor dem Sturm
6. Waldschrat - ...wird Sturm ernten
7. Notre Amertume - Cella Serpentibus
8. Notre Amertume - Tartaros
9. Notre Amertume - Le Sand d'Ouranos
10. Antiquus Scriptum - Primordium / The Skeptic Beholder

Gathering four bands together, this new split effort containing Italian black/death upstarts Krigere Wolf, Austrian black/folk metal newcomers Waldschrat, internationally-based atmospheric black metal group Notre Amertume and a lone track from Portuguese black/Viking metallers Antiquus Scriptum for a wholly enjoyable mixture and variety present. Released January 11, 2015 on Fallen-Angel Productions, this here is as fine a sampler pack ever unleashed for each of these bands and presents most of them in great fashion.

Starting with Krigere Wolf, their pummeling mixture of frantic tremolo-picked black metal with the dexterous tempo-changes and rather pounding rhythms here makes this quite a ferocious beast, making their swirling tremolo patterns at the forefront to create a dynamic and wholly-enjoyable up-tempo assault that rattles along at consistent speeds for maximum impact and devastation while still managing to successfully incorporate the sprawling majestic melodies in the appropriate manners for the perfect augmentation to the ferocity presented elsewhere. This is easily the best band on the split and really has a lot to like with their three blistering tracks.

With Waldschrat, again the omnipresent use of swirling tremolo patterns is at the forefront though instead there’s a far more pronounced blend of folk-influenced arrangements for the riffing. This still carries itself along quite well with plenty of strong and truly ferocious rhythms presented here, but the blasting tendencies are cut in favor of melodic swirling patterns and rather looser-fitting arrangements that are given a raw edge to the overall work with some great harmonic lines throughout which helps this out infinitely more to give another dynamic impact to the music. Some of the longer sprawling sections seem to go on far longer than they really should but overall there’s a lot to like here.

Up next is Notre Amertume and the international project is the clear weak-link in this offering. The simplistic, sluggish nature of their tracks is hardly impressive next to the other works, and their cliched use of celestial-influenced arrangements, plodding drumming and lethargic doom-like sprawling sections predominant in their music isn’t that enjoyable with numerous other bands attempting those elements at far more pronounced and enjoyable mixtures. The main impetus holding them back is the lethargic, lifeless doom-like paces that don’t really give them much room to really express their atmospheric patterns and in the end their three contributions are on the whole eminently skippable. 

Finally, Antiquus Scriptum contributes just a lone track, which is a highly enjoyable one even with all the different elements thrown into it. There’s symphonic keyboards, medieval-sounding horn-blasts, swirling tremolo riffing and more in the near-twenty-minute effort, and it does seem like overkill given the track has no need to go that long and really could’ve been trimmed down into a more digest form. Still, the generally up-tempo pace and convergence of influences makes for an overall fun time here and overall there’s a lot of rather enjoyable work here as there’s at least one or two sections present to appeal to most fans.

Though one of these groups is a clear weak-link and doesn't really leave much of a lasting impression, the fact that the remainder of the bands provide not only incredibly fun and exciting work that this ends up being an undeniably effective introduction to these groups as well as those longing for more bands in each of these styles.

Score: 80/100

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Heervader/Ancestors Blood - Ancestors Blood/Heervader Split

Artist: Ancestors Blood/Heervader
Release Title: Ancestors Blood/Heervader
Year: 2015
Label: Heidens Hart Records
Genre: Ancestors Blood (Pagan Black Metal); Heervader (Pagan Black Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Heervader - Berserkgangr 08:48
2. Heervader - Bloedbroeder van de Aarde 05:14
3. Heervader - Voorwaarts! 06:22
4. Ancestors Blood - Deceiver for Power and Glory 06:06
5. Ancestors Blood - Ritual of the Sacred Dance 07:33
6. Ancestors Blood - Revelation (Beyond Death) 04:43
7. Ancestors Blood - Rise of the Spirit of Ancient Heroes

This split release from these two black metal acts, the Finnish Ancestors Blood and Dutch Heervader, comes off rather well here with two pagan-inspired acts coming together for a truly enjoyable release.

On the Heervader side, this is mostly a nice mid-tempo affair that runs through mostly swirling tremolo rhythms and a raw, simplistic style that makes for bouncy, light pagan tunes. There’s another strong pagan influence here with the strong use of keyboards and acoustic guitars with the lyrics in their native tongue that furthers this all rather nicely alongside the tight use of traditional galloping rhythms and paces that makes the group rather engaging with their melodic tendencies helping to lend a fair bit of easy-going sensibilities to their section by making for pleasingly enjoyable tracks without really wading in the extremes of the genre. ‘Berserkgangr’ begins with spritely acoustic guitar runs before going through a lively mid-tempo series of tremolo-picked runs keeping to bouncy pagan rhythms as the occasional blastbeat works alongside the raw riff-work as interludes of folk instrumentals run alongside the warm tremolo melodies through the final half works for a strong opening. ‘Bloedbroeder van de Aarde’ features simple, thunderous drumming with an extended speech that turns into a bouncy mid-tempo gallop with swirling tremolo patterns and raw riffing through the series of tight rhythms with the light riff-work against the thunderous drumming along through the grand finale makes for another strong effort. ‘Voorwaarts!’ uses a fine acoustic intro with a nice burst into a fiery mid-tempo burst with swirling tremolo patterns and light acoustics mixed together for a fine series of patterns running throughout the sprawling, mid-tempo pace with the riffing continuing alongside the steady drumming with the light pagan patterns throughout the final half for a rather enjoyable conclusion to their side.

On the Ancestors Blood side,this ends up being quite similar overall with a few small added touches here and there. Again, the framework is based on swirling tremolo riffing and pounding, simplified drumming along steady, mid-tempo paces throughout that add a distinguished melodic flair and ambiance to their tracks as the strong framework keeps the tracks running along quite smoothly as should be beneficial from their longer career that yields a more cohesive, competent approach. The one big factor here that differentiates them from the others is a kind of grandiose, majestic keyboard bombast throughout the tracks that adds a grand style along with the raging tremolo riff-work that effectively portays the raw, repetitive arrangements associated with the genre for the big winners of the split. ‘Deceiver for Power and Glory’ features strong swirling tremolo patterns and charging drumming wrapping into a steady buzzing series of riffs with strong ethereal keyboards creating a fine epic soundscape with the extended patterns alongside the thumping drumming with the ethereal patterns coming through the finale for a rather enjoyable offering. The epic ‘Ritual of the Sacred Dance’ features a steady buzzing tremolo pattern steadily running through a fine mid-tempo series of patterns with the ethereal keyboards holding the melodic rhythms through glowing patterns of haunting keyboards washing through the simple rhythms with the fine drumming keeping the atmospherics in check throughout the final half for a strong if overlong effort. Finishing off with live versions of ‘Revelation (Beyond Death)’ and ‘Rise of the Spirit of Ancient Heroes’ where both take an endless droning series of riff-work through the fine mid-tempo riffing that holds the fine melodic rhythms and epic keyboards haunting throughout the originals only drenched in the low-fi reverb to effectively drown-out the actual riffing beyond the singular arrangements here for a fine if entirely unneeded conclusion to their side.

Overall, with the two bands here coming pretty much from the same style and making for a pretty cohesive style, this one gets quite enjoyable here at showcasing these two promising pagan black metal acts. Definitely worthwhile for those who are fans of either act on the release or the generally curious fan of this style looking to try something else out in the style.

Score: 80/100

Heervader:

Ancestors Blood:

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https://heidenshart.bandcamp.com/album/split