One of the most redeeming factors of Black Metal is the sheer amount of sub-genres it contains. It seems that for anyone's personal tastes, is a Black Metal sub-genre catering to the qualities you look for. One man Australian band, Arcane Necrosis occupies the Atmospheric/Ambient sect of the genre, infusing classic 90's Black Metal riffs with sweeping melodic, yet melancholic soundscapes. Arcane Necrosis's self titled debut demo is a stunning release, showing that just because music is brutal and unrelenting, doesn't mean it can't be beautiful too.
Following suit of most other bands in the atmospheric/ambient genre, Arcane Necrosis's approach is more based on emotions and creating a depressing mood rather than suffocating the listener through sheer power of blast beats and tremolo picked guitars. Keyboards play a very prominent role in the music, more often than not, outweighing guitars as the main instrument. Through the use of spacey synths or mellow choral chants, songs like
From the Forest Depths or
Beyond The Vast Cold strike at the very core of the listener, awakening buried, lost emotions. Clean guitar interludes are also quite numerous on the album, giving a more melancholic feel every time the guitar is strummed. Its in these sections which provide the most beautiful melodies, with intertwining harmonies uniting to create something greater than the sum of its part. When the distorted guitars do get the limelight, the listener will straight away notice the varying styles in which its being played. Some riffs bear resemblance to the cold guitar tones of the 90's, while some gain influence from Viking Black Metal. While the first half of the album features more straight up Black Metal influences, the second half displays these elements in addition to elements of other extreme genres, such as thrash and power metal. These additions greatly broaden Arcane Necrosis's sound, giving it a much more majestic, epic feel.
The drumming on the record is the average Black Metal fare, with high tempos and blazing double bass beats. Although an average drummer, Nagoth proves to be an excellent multi-instrumentalist, playing each instrument with enough skill and knowledge to perfectly achieve the the level of technicality required for him to create his musical beast. Unfortunately though, if there was any instrument not up to par with the rest it would be bass playing, which is rarely if not even heard. Vocally Nagoth's mid-ranged rasp is a great asset to the project. It adds perfectly to the emotive performance of the instruments and most definitely deserves mention with some of the great Black Metal vocalists. The vocals lurk in the background, mostly overshadowed by the music, but this does not count against them, but is a positive point, with the heavily reverbed vocals contributing much to the depressing mood of the songs
While Arcane Necrosis remains fairly unknown at the moment, if they (Nagoth) keep producing such quality Black Metal, its only a matter of time before they become a household metal name. From guitars, to atmospherics, to vocals, everything on this album reeks of class and ability. It contains elements for anyone and everyone to enjoy, regardless of personal tastes in Black Metal. Check it out today, or check it out tomorrow, but eventually this band will be huge, so better to jump on the bandwagon sooner than later.
