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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
New Direction for 1349, June 16, 2009
After four long years Black Metal titans 1349 return with their fourth album.
`Invocation' begins with the tormented screams of the damned. A minute and a half later this gives way to creepy atmospherics & unsettling echoes which drone on undisturbed for a further minute until the distant approach of a single drum beat can be heard. As the drum beat reaches full volume it's joined by guitars which form a catchy mid tempo intro. A few moments pass and this dies away. The band returns and the main body of the song is revealed. Invocation is built around a single riff similar to one of the slow sections found in the later tracks on Hellfire. For the first track of a 1349 album this is a big U-Turn, but the question is, - is it a success? I'd have to say yes. The atmosphere created on this track is quite chilling;- the vocals are dry and grim, the sound of flames crackling can be made out and throughout the composition the initial drum beat can be heard which sounds like two bones being slammed together. Invocation shows the band doing something new & catching their fans off guard and it works.
7/10
`Serpentine Sibilance' The first thing that hits you is Archaon's guitar tone- dense, crushing and just the right amount of polish by Tom Gabriel Fisher. Unfortunately the same can't be said for the drums which throughout the album often sound slightly muffled or not quite sharp enough. Track 2 begins with a huge riff reminiscent to the opening of Nathicana from the Hellfire album, yet much slower. It soon turns out perhaps disappointingly for some; the slowed tempos are maintained until the final minute of the song when it speeds up. That being said this is one of the albums most successful tracks. Memorable slow riffs comprise the first half and the end section hints towards the type of super fast battery Frost is known for.
8/10
On `Horns' the full range of musical genres on ROTBF begin to reveal themselves. This track is quite simply dark ambient noise with no trace of traditional instruments or vocals. `Horns' sounds like a horror film or a videogame score. Particularly, it recalls the music from the later levels of the videogame Doom3 in which the player character is sent into hell. The music that id software created for those levels actually sounds exactly like Horns. I'm of two minds about track 3;- part of me can appreciate the band wanting to do something fresh and change direction a little, and while I do like this type of music, it's not what I listen to BM for. In the past 1349 have always been the purveyors of the purest BM, but here they are dropping the ball for the first time.
6/10
`Maggot Fetus... Teeth like Thorns' is the final track on ROTBF that could be deemed straight forward BM. The song begins with a simple almost punk riff and after four bars is joined by the rest of the band. `Maggot Fetus...' churns along mid tempo until 1:10 when blastbeats appear and for the most part remain until the song ends. Although fast, in no way does Maggot Fetus... reach the inhuman speeds seen on the first 3 albums. Amidst the carnage at 1:55 Archaon lays down a basic solo which does its job and is followed by fills then blastbeats. There is some notable variation in Ravn's vocals in this song. On occasion they approach clean while the rest are delivered in the standard BM style. In the later stages Archaon provides a wandering solo which neatly underpins Ravn's vocal refrain- `the sickening stench of death' to chaotic effect. But the overreliance on the songs initial and rather simplistic riff leaves the track feeling one dimensional and not as satisfying as it could have been. Short comings aside, `Maggot Fetus...' remains one of the stronger offerings.
7/10
`Misanthropy' begins with the sound of a film projector running as what no one thought would ever be heard on a 1349 album,- a Piano(!) starts up and lends a solemn introduction to more dark ambient noise. This time joined by some muted guitar strumming. This type of music works well when used in conjunction with moving images on the big screen but alone and in the context of a BM album does not hold my interest and instead comes across as pretentious.
4/10
`Uncreation' Along with `Serpentine Sibilance' and `Maggot Fetus...' this is one of the better tracks on ROTBF and held my full attention despite being the longest at 6:59. For the most part this is a slow paced song built around a haunting riff and simple drum beat. During the chorus the drums switch to double bass while Ravn's vocals are more relaxed than usual and almost spoken while retaining the same ghoulish tone. At 5:38 the drums speed up and Archaon delivers a lengthy solo which brings the song to its end. `Uncreation' can be cited as the most successful showcase of the bands new direction as it retains the song structure & vocals of traditional BM, but pairs this with a slowed pace and less manic guitar work.
7/10
`Set the Controls for the Heat of the Sun' A prog rock cover may seem like an odd inclusion, but this song which originally appeared on Pink Floyd's second album- A Saucerful of Secrets/1968 actually lends itself quite well to the bands new sound. Bass guitar, not usually a prominent feature in BM is used for the main riff while Ravn's vocals are whispered throughout and rendered largely incompressible via industrial styled filters. At 1:31 Frost sets the kick drums in motion which later exit and soon start up again remaining throughout the middle of the track. When juxtaposed with the minimal guitars and distorted vocals the bass drums take on a hypnotic quality while the vocals themselves sound like echoes being carried through subway tunnels. The result is both creepy and unsettling.
7/10
`Solitude' Track eight is another ambient track.
For me it felt like filler material and a throwaway effort.
3/10
`At the Gate...' essentially consists of four chords continually repeating while being underpinned by the slowest drum beat of the album. At 2:22 the vocals begin and in a similar style to `Uncreation' are almost spoken, yet sound quite unique. Aside from using a different style, Ravn's vocals are somewhat distorted and feature multiple overdubs. The spoken track being the highest in the mix, with the more brutal voices mixed down. At 4:07 the primary vocals end and as the four chords begin to die away the drum beat is joined by guitar feedback and growls. The final minute is the drums with ghostly guitar sounds and ambient noise. For the last track of the album it's quite a let down, and while I can appreciate the band wanting to create dark atmospheric music, ultimately this track is a bore and goes nowhere.
4/10
Revelations of the Black Flame represents a huge shift in direction for the band. On their first three albums their aim seemed to be to create the fastest, most brutal and well constructed BM possible. On their third album- Hellfire/2005 they seemed to reach their apex of their craft and it did leave the listener wondering where they could go next. ROTBF shows the band becoming more introspective and turning their attention away from continuous blasting in favor of slower tempos and hellish soundscapes. This move will undoubtedly result in them shedding a lot of their hardcore fan base and one does question whether this change of direction was done just for the sake of it,- to be controversial, or because this is actually where their interests now lie.
ROTBF is both satisfying and intriguing but at the same time frustrating and disappointing, probably more disappointing than anything else. The slower paced songs work for the most part, but really needed to be accompanied by some lethal blasts of hyper speed battery. Similarly the first dark ambient track `Horns' is welcome, but as the album progresses and more ambient tracks pile up, they tend to nullify any momentum that was building and the album feels directionless.
I really want to embrace this album as I have all of the bands previous work, but when we get right down to it- ROTBF is distinctly lacking in comparison. There's not much speed, not much brutality and most of the album is forgettable. There's no way the band could have built their current fan base and reputation off three albums in this vein. After a few tracks all I wanted was for the band to step on the gas and kick [...] my speakers, but it never happens. ROTBF is certainly not without its merits, but for 1349 it's a disappointment. As a side note- the artwork is great. I rate this album- 6/10 or 3/5 stars.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
NOT the same 1349., August 21, 2009
1349's previous releases are masterpieces, intensity and pure HELL pressed into a shiny, plastic disc. "Liberation", "Hellfire", and "Beyond the Apocalypse" challenge the listener to take a step to the next level of brutality: a deeper, faster, more discordant, more dissonant, more punishing brand of highly technical Black Metal than had EVER appeared in the genre before.
This brutality has seemingly been thrown out the window, replaced by ambient noise, empty song structure, a lack of cohesion, and even a shoddy attempt at a Pink Floyd classic. So, since Ravn and Frost and the gang have thrown out the brutal, I, too, have done some throwing. "Revelations of the Black Flame" is the first CD (case and all) that I have ever flung out the window of a moving vehicle. Let it rot on the roadside!
This release is abysmal, and NOT in that euphoric METAL way. RotBF is a disappointment beyond any typical disappointment. I kept expecting the HEAVY to come and it never did. I kept thinking, "OK, maybe the album is just warming up to some brutality, that 1349 capital-B Brutality." But then, the album restarted! It was over, the CD was returned to its case, and the whole lot was chucked out of the window. If this album reflects the "new direction" of 1349, I will no longer buy their records. As the old saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Do NOT buy this album if you expect anything near the fury that this band once unleashed upon the globe. It is NOT BRUTAL. It was a waste of my time and money and has now been sacrificed to the Metal Gods. Try again, 1349.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A change of pace...good..but not great., July 2, 2009
I'm going to get to the point with this. I didn't like it when I first heard it. The more I listen to it the more I like it. I was put off at first because I loved 1349's first 3 records due to their unforgiving brutality. ROTBF does have hints of old but it's also a lot different. I really like the change in tempo and the mood created with a lot of the songs, reminds me of Glorior Belli / Deathspell Omega. One thing I don't care for is the on and on ambient droning feeling of a couple of the songs, simply because I don't care for ambient or drone types of music. This is good but not great. I have very high hopes for the next album so we'll see what happens.
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