Review Summary: More than a forgotten historical artifact of Cascadian Black Metal, Threnos help to pioneer the genre with excellent riffs but stumble when they try to catch their breath.
Often forgotten in place of the giants of the Cascadian Black Metal Scene, Threnos is one of the bands credited with developing the niche sub-genre. It's understandable why they're forgotten: the band only recorded one demo in 2004 before splitting up to form more notable groups such as Fauna and Echtra. These groups would go on to perfect the atmospheric approach the scene was known for, but
By Blood and By Earth is where a
very rough patchwork was formed. Experimenting with quiet post-rock influences amidst cacophonic black metal riffs, Threnos failed to create a properly absorbing experience but still produced an impressive bundle of riffage, especially considering this was just a demo.
The opening pair of shorter tracks, "The Call" and "Sparks Borne on the Wind," lead the charge with the riffs that would come to define the Cascadian scene. The tracks are fast and furious, but there's enough of a vibrant pulse and melody hidden under all the distortion to give these tracks an almost triumphant feel versus the suffocating coldness of Norwegian bands. This is where Threnos gets it right. The riffs all have this undeniable warmth and power to them that nail what the Cascadian scene was meant to do: celebrate the region's cold beauty in a harsh but pleasing manner. They never have to resort to slowing down their tremolo picking to achieve this goal, giving the majority of the album a howling and powerful pace that's easy to get pulled into without being reviled.
Things get complicated when they do slow down.
By Blood and By Earth hints at the post-rock and ambient influences that would permeate future releases, but unfortunately it's these flirtations with quieter sections where the demo sometimes falters. "The Return" is especially guilty of this, featuring two quieter sections that are just simplistic note patterns repeated ad infinitum. It would be forgivable if they were more condensed and written into the song better, but the second time it happens it lasts about two and a half minutes and doesn't do enough to justify this length inside a 13-minute track laden with otherwise excellent riffs. It doesn't help that most of these sections are so similar to each other sonically, the exception being the opening of "Adrift" which uses an unamplified guitar that slowly and logically builds for four minutes until an atmospheric black metal riff kicks in. When such riffs work to build off of the more reserved sections, the post-rock works, such as the entire second half of the title track. More often than not, though, these moments are just roadblocks to the next great riff.
Chalk it up to being a demo, but it's hard to deny that Threnos ironically works best when they aren't toying with the ideas that their musical descendants would perfect. As far as the most fundamental tenets of the genre go, namely transforming the harshest moments with tinges of warmth,
By Blood and By Earth succeeds. Don't go in expecting more than a rough package of some wonderful riffs and you'll easily pull some enjoyment out of this demo.
