1349
Demonoir


4.0
excellent

Review

by Hawks USER (166 Reviews)
April 21st, 2010 | 72 replies


Release Date: 2010 | Tracklist

Review Summary: 1349 return to form with their most recent assault on the ears, Demonoir.

Well if you know 1349 then you probably know what to expect from them: lightning fast, technical riffs, insane blast beats, and ear-piercing vocals that will probably make your head want to explode. However, 1349 threw all of their fans a curveball with their last album, Revelations of the Black Flame. It saw a departure from the original sound of the band and went for a more dark ambient sound. Fans of the band have nothing to worry about though because on their most recent release, Demonoir, they return to the form of techincal, off-the-wall black metal that we all know and love. Demonoir is 1349's fifth full length album and they're as great as they've ever been on this album.

Let's start off with the vocals. Ravn, the band's vocalist, sounds like he could very well be possessed by Satan himself. His guttural vocals are very unique for a black metal band because he doesn't have the high pitched shriek like a lot of vocalists do in the black metal scene. Let's just say that if he were to join a death metal band, he definitely wouldn't be out of place at all. Don't get me wrong though, he can hit the high notes, it's just not his tone of choice.

Now for the instrumental aspect of this album. Lightning fast riffs combined with the technical drumming from Frost equal the sound of hell coming through your speakers or headphones. For people who think that black metal can't be technical and it's just the same repetitive riffs over and over again, you have another thing coming. 1349 is one of the most technical bands in the black metal scene. There's a whole lot going on at once and it will probably take you a few listen to actually hear everything that's going on from the guitars, to the bass (if you can hear it), to the drums. 1349 could give some death metal bands a run for their money in terms of technicality.

If you're a fan of the last album, Revelations of the Black Flame, then there's still some reason for you to want to get this album. The intro and outro, as well as five other tracks, are little ambient interludes that resemble what the band tried to do on the last album. They're pretty pointless though and pretty much everyone who listens to this album will probably just end up skipping and forgetting all about them because they do absolutely nothing for this album. However, you might like them if you want a little taste of the album before this, but I highly doubt that.

Overall 1349 have added another solid album into their catelogue. There's nothing new here that black metal fans haven't heard before. It's all been done at one point or another, but I think we all know the saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Well this definitely applies to 1349, with the exception of the last album. They obviously realized their mistake and decided to go back to what made them one of the most well known Norwegian black metal bands and also one of the best. Fans of the band will be pleased by this album and if you've never heard anything from them then there's no reason why you can't start with this. Any fan of blackened death metal should give this album a few spins.



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user ratings (123)
3.3
great


Comments:Add a Comment 
Hawks
April 21st 2010


87064 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Album is streaming here: http://stereogum.com/342612/stream-1349-demonoir/franchises/haunting-the-chapel/



First review in about a million years. Wanted to get back into it a little bit even though I suck. Tell me what you guys think.

bloozclooz
April 21st 2010


1770 Comments


so, it's standard super sped up second wave BM?

ffs
April 21st 2010


6220 Comments


good review. never listened to these guys

Hawks
April 21st 2010


87064 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Yes bloozclooz pretty much. And ffs if you're into black metal then it's definitely worth your time.

Crysis
Emeritus
April 21st 2010


17625 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Well if you know 1349 then you probably know what to expect from them. That would be lightning fast, technical riffs, insane blast beats, and ear-piercing vocals that will probably make your head want to explode


If I were you I'd word it like this:



If you know 1349 then you probably know what to expect from them: lightning fast but technical riffs, insane blast beats, and ear-piercing vocals that will make your head want to explode.



let's just say be prepared to "get your face melted off", as Jack Black would say in the great movie School of Rock.


Totally unnecessary.



but I think we all know the saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it.", well that kind of applies to 1349, not counting the last album.


Grammar here is wrong, should be something like:



but I think we all know the saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." With the exception of their last album, this is definitely the case for 1349.



Other than that, and the fact that it's nice to italicize album names, the review is good. Nice work, now I don't have to bother reviewing this.









Hawks
April 21st 2010


87064 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Thanks a lot dude. I'll fix that stuff up right now.

Hawks
April 21st 2010


87064 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Fixed.

Tyler
Emeritus
April 21st 2010


7927 Comments


This is a long comment, split into two (or three) so bear with me.

I agree with Crysis, sometimes you over-explain (which isn't to say remove detail, but get rid of some of the words.

That album saw a departure from the original sound of the band and went for a more dark ambient sound

You could just say
It saw a departure from the band's original sound towards dark ambient

Just try to avoid redundancies. You don't have to explicitly state "that album" if you're talking about it in the next sentence, and try to avoid using the same word multiple times in a sentence (sound). Some more suggestions (not re-writes, but ways you can simplify your writing).

Take this, for example
Let's start off with the vocals. Ravn is the vocalist for this band and the way this man sounds, he could very well be possessed by Satan himself.

It's extremely awkward to narrate your reviews like this, "Let's start out with the vocals. He is their vocalist". You could simply say "Ravn, the band's vocalist, sounds as though he could be possessed by Satan himself" (though I'm really not sure what you're implying here.

He is a pretty unique vocalist for a black metal band because he doesn't have the high pitched shriek like a lot of vocalists do in the black metal scene. Ravn goes for a more guttural sound.

"His guttural technique is unique for the genre because he avoids the high pitched shriek most black metal vocalists use"

Tyler
Emeritus
April 21st 2010


7927 Comments


As for the instrumental aspect of this album, let's just say be prepared to "get your face melted off", as Jack Black would say in the great movie School of Rock.

As Crysis said, this is completely pointless. Again, avoid narrating your review structure.

Lightning fast riffs combined with the technical blast beats from Frost equal the sound of hell coming through your speakers or headphones.

This is both vague and awkward. First, "technical blast beats" doesn't make sense. Second, it's just oddly phrased. "The sound of hell", for example, reads oddly.

If you're somebody who thinks that black metal can't be technical and it's just the same repetitive riffs over and over again, you have another thing coming. 1349 is one of the most, if not the most techincal band in the black metal scene today, and they definitely make it work for them

This entire chunk could be significantly shorter. I'd personally avoid saying things like "IF YOU THINK" because then you're working off of an assumption. I'd probably suggest shortening this passage to something as simple as"1349 is one of the most technical bands in black metal." You can still talk about how they rival death metal bands if you like, but I'd approach it more bluntly. Be more confident and concise in your words.

If you're a fan of the last album, Revelations of the Black Flame, then there's still some reason for you to want to get this album. The intro and outro, as well as five other tracks, are little ambient interludes that resemble what the band tried to do on the last album. They're pretty pointless though and pretty much everyone who listens to this album will probably just end up skipping and forgetting all about them because they do absolutely nothing for this album. However, you might like them if you want a little taste of the album before this, but I highly doubt that.

This entire paragraph is a contradiction. "If you like that, which you probably don't, you should check out these songs you'll probably skip". And you're still being too wordy. It shouldn't take this many sentences to say this.

Tyler
Emeritus
April 21st 2010


7927 Comments


To be honest, there's nothing new here that black metal fans haven't heard before. It's all been done at one point or another, but I think we all know the saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it.", well that kind of applies to 1349, not counting the last album.

You don't need the "to be honest". This paragraph is also redundant. The first and second sentences say the same thing.

Fans of the band will be pleased by this album and if you've never heard anything from this band then there's no reason why you can't start with this album.

You used band and album twice in this sentence, which is too long as it is.

Definitely a good one to get somebody into the band. Any fan of black metal, death metal, or blackened death metal should give this album some listens because it's worth it.

First sentence is a sentence fragment and ultimately not needed at all. Second bit is wordy. "Fans of blackened death metal should give the album a spin" or something. When you say "because it's worth it" it sounds like you're not sure of what you're saying. These reviews are a way for you to be confident in your ideas and opinions. Your writing reads like you're nervous about what you have to say. Don't be.

The only suggestion I can really give is for you to read your reviews out loud. Only then will you realize instances of redundancy and wordiness.

Hawks
April 21st 2010


87064 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Holy hell thanks Coke. I tried to apply all of what you just said to the review.

couch
April 21st 2010


311 Comments


yea dawg

bloozclooz
April 21st 2010


1770 Comments


personally hyper speed second wave is a bore. it's worse than brain drill to me.

i prefer BM with an actual groove to it. like dark funeral

Hawks
April 21st 2010


87064 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

yea dawg


Well it's nice to see that everyone is probably going to enjoy this a hell of a lot more than their last album.

personally hyper speed second wave is a bore. it's worse than brain drill to me.



i prefer BM with an actual groove to it. like dark funeral


There's really not a huge difference between this band and Dark Funeral. I really like both bands, but 1349 is definitely more popular around Sputnik.



Tyler
Emeritus
April 21st 2010


7927 Comments


I sincerely hope you were joking there bloozclooz.

TheSpirit
Emeritus
April 21st 2010


30304 Comments


lol dark funeral

Crysis
Emeritus
April 21st 2010


17625 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Cocaine have you given this a listen yet?

bloozclooz
April 21st 2010


1770 Comments


I sincerely hope you were joking there bloozclooz.

it's impossible not to notice your detest for most tech death. (origin, brain drill).

i just haven't clicked with most BM bands l've tried. only ones i actually like are: Naglfar, Dark Fortress, and Frost Like Ashes.

that being said, i'll probably DL this in a bit

couch
April 21st 2010


311 Comments


this shit has amazing riffs esp song number 6

Crysis
Emeritus
April 21st 2010


17625 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0



it's impossible not to notice your detest for most tech death. (origin, brain drill).


Did I miss something or did we start talking about tech death?



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