This is the debut by US/Canadian black metal duo Wald Krypta, and the press release states that this is “an album that stands in stark contrast to the indulgent misadventures of “modern” black metal bands. Rooted deeply in anti-religion and worship of the power of death and decay, this is a release more akin to something you would find in a collection of tapes traded in 1993 than the vapid, hollow, music that passes as “black metal” in many circles today”. So, there you have it, and I must say I wholeheartedly agree with many of the statements above. It truly does sound as if it is belongs in the genre being released on tape some 25 years ago. Much of the music sounds as if it has been produced through a wall of mud, as if digital and easily available production is still not available, released on a format which fries most of the frequencies. This is being released on cassette and digitally, and I can only assume the hope is that most of the fans will buy this on tape and relive the old days, hailing Wald Krypta as the new Darkthrone. Playing other music either side of this makes one realise just how poor this in so many ways. I love black metal and have a quite substantial collection (even naming a BM album in my Top 10 releases of 2018), but this isn’t something I can ever see myself returning. Life is too short.
Rating: 3/10
Track list:
- Torment
- Nature Enigma
- Cleansing
- Of Blood
- To Die in Honour…
- Our Prevalence
- An Empire Turned to Rust
- Final Deliverance
- Ash of Human Configuration
