Customer Reviews

Revelations of the Black Flame

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

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.

This album remember the classic band of black metal from Norway, good rif, supreme blast beat, this band remember the great band of black metal.

Ok first off this disc is different. If you are looking then you prolly know what 1349 does. This is not the same. It is slow, atmospheric, and is supposed to create a haunting sound. One review said that one of the noise tracks would have worked well as a soundtrack but not without a picture. I disagree. Whn I listened to this record the second time I went to my room put it on my stereo, turned off the lights, turned up the volume and just listened. To me the album is not a track by track cd but one where you have to listen from start to finish. It is not black metal that most people think of but it is a great effort. Maybe not the same as the other 1349 records but its still good in its own way

A really amazing Vinyl. Turn off all the lights and listen it. This record will change you. It's very well written, it's at a little of a slow pace but that doesn't matter when coming to 1349. I completely recommend this to anyone who's into atmospheric BM.

the people that gave this 1 star are either close minded and need there music spoon fed to them or HATE change and progression. this album is amazing. it is an atmospheric black metal album very similar to bands like ABRUPTUM and BURZUM. this album just sounds evil. i like what they did here, they experimented and tried something completely differnet and it payed off! they could be like marduk and keep releasing the same hyper blasting tremelo picking album over and over, but they decided to try the atmospheric side ov things which i respect a great deal. i cannot explain how amazing it is to listen to this album in the dark with a few candles lit and maybe an incense burning... you get a real dark almost hellish feeling it is something that needs to be experienced. please please try if your a fan ov atmospheric albums! this sounds like your going through the gates itself and is worth every cent.

First of all, I am a huge BM fan and I loved all of this band's previous releases. Hellfire was so intense and brutal that I thought any future release would be just as good... but wow. This is a pile of crap.

I don't know what 1349 was thinking when they released this nonsense album. Revelations of the Black Flame is completely drained of all the amazing qualities that Hellfire had. I think they were trying to attempt ambient black metal but it just came out very bad. They were meant to be heavy and aggressive and I am glad that their newest release is much better. Let's try to pretend that this album never happened.

while i respect 1349 for trying something different, a fan of 1349 may be disapointed with "revelations" very few blastbeats, not much speed. ambient, distortion. however, songs like "serpentine sibilance" and "uncreation" can be blasted at high decibals and sound good. i like this record and with the bonus cd of live classic 1349,you still get some brutal metal. ps the cd always sounds better than the mp3

If you think that 1349 is simply a band that plays a certain style of metal--you don't know what it is they're doing. They are a cult band with a VERY obvious point to make as they partake of their own spiritual journey

If you don't know what the term "Revelations of the Black Flame" is supposed to mean, then you simply aren't in touch with what 1349 is doing. Speaking as a student of religion at large, there's generally two parts to LHP work. An embrace of chaos, and a rejection of the light, and this is a process of slow expulsion. After the flame dies, the ashes of life must be given time to weep as the embers slowly fade. Only after one has descended into complete darkness can one emerge enlightened. This album is the beginning of that stage. You'll understand this much better if you listen to this in absolute darkness. As you descend you find things that will seem beautiful to you and to no other, when your mind isn't allowed to focus on any object and is allowed to roam where the music pulls it.

This album isn't a height of their musical prowess; their virtuosity is duly recorded in all their previous albums. But this one is definitely a spiritual height. If you like Leviathan's "Massive Conspiracy Against All Life," this album shares more in common with that gorgeous piece of misanthropy than any of their own previous works. It's slow, very slow, and weaves a path of darkness that extinguishes hope. What more could you ask for from a BM album? The only thing I didn't like was in the final track, "At the Gate," where one of the two vocals has a halloweenish flavor. Not enough to destroy the track, but it's annoying.

As I've stated to some of my friends; if you want BM like it was played by early Mayhem and Immortal, what's stopping you from picking up a guitar and doing it yourself? Don't expect other people to do it for you, weakling, and don't cry that someone else isn't giving you what you want. Until you realize that this music is about the 'self' and not about what other people want, you're still sheep.

2008: In the small woodland village of Boverbru(in the Toten region of Norway)something dark and very sinister was created...."Revelations Of The Black Flame". This album literally drips with a dark heavy atmosphere, and totally delivers when the Black Metal onslaught begins! The limited edition version of this album (which I highly recommend over the regular edition)comes with a limited edition picture sleeve that contains artwork only found on this edition plus the best part is it contains 2 discs the first being the new studio album and the 2nd disc is a group of Live recordings titled: "Works Of Fire - Forces Of Hell Live In Stockholm 2005" 1349 Fans will not want to miss out on this! The new album is a bit different than thier last album "Hellfire" in the sense that rather than just be a straight forward Black Metal album this time they have combined background atmosphere and instrumental pieces to add to the over all vision of what this album is going for... a dark,nihilistic,well put together Black Metal album! The recording is done very well and each instrument can be heard without losing the raw sound that has made 1349 the great Band that They are. Ravn's vocals are really solid like on previous albums and Archaon's guitar work is very fast and complex. I really enjoyed Seidemann's Bass work on this album if you listen very close it is very complex and precise rather than just following the basic chords (as most bands do) His fills are in perfect timing with Drummer Frost's playing. Frost is amazing (He ALWAYS is!)on this album (although he slows things down a bit to do more intricate work on a few songs...which is GREAT!) but when He lets loose His drumming is so fast and complex it is a wonder His kit doesn't burst into flames!! If I could really compare the sound of this album to anything else I have heard it would probably be a combination of 1349's signature sound mixed with Blut Aus Nords "The work Which transforms God"/"Mystical Beast Of Rebellion"(since it has that Blut Aus Nord industrial/atmospheric Black Metal sound). The album has 9 tracks total My personal favorites being track #4 "Maggot fetus..Teeth Like Thorns", track #7 "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" (GREAT Pink Floyd cover from Thier 1968 album "A Saucerful Of Secrets"), and track #9 "At The Gate". The Bonus disc in this limited edition set is a live 2005 show there are 6 tracks in total which include Fan favorites like: track #1 "Hellfire", track #2 "Chasing Dragons", and track #4 "I Am Abomination". All in all this is a GREAT release from 1349 from start to finish there is something for every Black Metal Fan. Even if You like 1349's more straight ahead approach like on previous albums and are not really into the whole atmospheric thing of the new album You still can't go wrong with the bonus live disc. I have listened to this album SEVERAL times since I purchased it and I really like it ALOT!! and I HIGHLY recommend it to 1349 Fans and all Fans of GREAT Black Metal! GREAT BAND!!!GREAT ALBUM!!!GREAT COVER ART TOO!

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.