From the moment the first song begins in a flurry a raw, black atmospheres, the emotion and power that went into every meticulously crafted riff and every ounce of atmosphere hits you like a windstorm of cold hatred. It's hard to believe that a single man was able to produce eight incredible songs of pure reassurance that true Scandinavian black metal can be both hateful and emotional. Satanic Warmaster manages to create an onslaught of raw black metal with an interesting array of sounds and the occasional yet much-needed supply at symphonic keys.
Carelian Satanist Madness may not seem like anything innovative to a music fan. Hell, most metalheads won't see what's so special about this. In reality, this album is nothing particularly groundbreaking or incredibly dynamic. Black metal fans will most likely recognize this as a reflection of a loathing of everything pure and holy set to music. In 41 minutes, a single Finn was able to convey his hatred of Christ and his passion for the blood cults. This is black metal, plain and simple. No fancy tracks or experimental ideas, just cut-to-the-bone, freezing black metal. Further description of Satanic Warmaster and the history can of course be found on the artist info page.
Many of you may wonder what exactly "Carelian" is. I myself was quite curious. Upon further investigation, I uncovered that it is actually a land of great European history. "Karelia" as it is actually called, is a land divided between Russia and Finland. In the 13th century, Sweden and the Novgorod Republic fought bitterly over it. In the 18th and again in the early 20th centuries Karelia fell further to Russia, although it has always been considered partly Finland as well. The precise history of it is extremely complicated and involves much political negotiations. To this day, it is the Republic of Karelia and lies directly on the border between Russia and Finland.
Now that we know where the music came from we can better understand the meaning. Such feuding over land and territory, through war and violence, would undoubtedly fuel incomparable hatred and emotion within one. The perfect embodiment of this would be
The Vampyric Tyrant, easily my favorite song on the album. It's moving melodies and incredible symphonic overtones make it an enjoyable listen as well as a symbolic tale. The title track
Carelian Satanist Madness is an epic black metal track full of memorable vocals, melodies, and rhythms.
My Kingdom of Darkness is indeed a darker, torturous song reminiscent of classic Darkthrone.
True Blackness, though opening with some odd vocals, proceeds to be another shameless romp in pagan faeryland. The closing track,
Bessed Be, the Grim Art! is very unusual. The song consists of an eerie pipe organ making sad melodies as Nazgul shrieks, seemingly the graves of his forefathers.
Honestly - if you're a black metal fan, you owe it to yourself to investigate this. I would've provided uploads, since that is obviously impossible now, I'll be more than happy to provide samples through some other means. Though not revolutionary, this is black metal artfully crafted to please the burning flame of your blackened soul. Infernal hails, and may the dark god above bring forth this nightmare.
Recommended tracks:
The Vampyric Tyrant
Carelian Satanist Madness
My Kingdom of Darkness
Final Rating - 4/5
Enjoy, and thank you for making my wretched time worth while.
This Message Edited On 09.10.05
