Basilisk is:
Vintyr - Everything
Blackened Royalty
-Released 2003 on Eternal Darkness productions
-Total length: 13:21
Basilisk, Vintyr's one man band, released its first demo in 2003, called Blackened Royalty. While not very long the songs make up with their quality. The production is perfect. The guitars are gritty and raw, yet also distinct enough to make out the riffs most of the time. The drums are really just a blur of cymbals. The snare can also be heard pretty well but the toms and bass are non existant. The bass guitar is also completely low in the mix and virtually not there. While the instruments are well suited with their production Vintyrs voice is what makes Basilisk work. It is a high pitched scream that has the perfect effect on it. I am not sure whether it is a chorus effect mixed with reverb but it creates a slimy and slippery quality that is simply awesome. One would be hard pressed to find better vocals.
The songs themselves are short. Around 2 to 3 minutes each they are basic, and I have found that structure really does not matter when listening to this demo. Perhaps there is structure and maybe there is not, it does not matter, there is no emphasis on it. The riffs are basic tremelo. The drums pound away. No real doomy breaks or depressive synths a la Xasthur and co., just straight up raw black metal the way it should be. The music is simply a platform for Vintyr's kick arse vocals that are really high in the mix. The vocals really shine on Slaughter the Christian Tribe, in which there are some clean vocals near the end, the only ones where one can decipher what he says on the whole cd.
While most songs really sound the same the heavy as fukk production along with the brief running time make the demo easy to enjoy. Very essential for anyone interested in black metal. A must have for fans of the more raw side of things.
Pros
- Great production
- Orgasmic vocals
- Fitting riffing
Cons
- Short
- Somewhat repetitive
NOTE: The review is short because the cd is only 13 minutes. There is only so much that can be said about such a (sadly) short demo.
