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I received a request from Replenish Records to review a couple of their releases. This new full-length from Alda will be the first of two. Alda are a crushingly epic Black Metal/Post-Rock band from Tacoma, Washington. In the band's own words they claim Pantheist-Animism, environmentalism, the Cascadian bio-region, primitivist practices and general heathenry, music and being an animal in urbanity as direct influences. That sentence seems to do a pretty good job of summing up the band's ideology. I would just like to say, thank you.
The truth is, I don't really have a great frame of reference when it comes to music like this. I never listened to Black Metal before bands like Weakling and Wolves In The Throne Room first started playing. I have studied the history and I have read all the books and in my opinion, the first two or three waves were generally awful and overrated. Celtic Frost were talentless. Bathory was talentless. Venom was basically KISS without the groupies or connections. I am most certainly aware of the Burzums and the Mayhems and the Emperors and all that bullshit neo-fascist garbage. Shit, I have seen plenty of so-called "Anarchists" proudly wearing their t-shirts over the years. Those bands don't matter to me. None of that matters anymore.
When talking about modern Black Metal, we need only look to the trees. This is music created out of necessity. The cities are swollen and dying and in turn laying waste to the last threads of natural land we have on this rock. Alda are the sound of Mother Nature fighting back. Imagine the ground opening wide, swallowing whole these crystal castles. Picture strong roots, rising up, reclaiming the jungles, concrete or otherwise. The oceans are boiling, the sky is growing darker with each passing day. There is little left for us to do but fight.
Anyway, This is an excellent record. I don't see why you wouldn't like this if you have ever been a fan of modern, progressive Black Metal, Crust, Post-Metal and/or Apocalyptic Folk. Wolves In The Throne Room, Ash Borer, Embers, Oroku, Mammifer, Alcest... Yes, I am going to listen to it again. That will make this the 12th time today.
Bandcamp Link
If a band ever knew how to exploit my weak spots, I think it might be Tel Fyr. These Canadians have succeeded in masterfully crafting a crushingly beautiful amalgam of Folk influenced, Blackened Screamo with some pristine ambient passages bringing to mind the collective sounds of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Terzij De Horde, the Pentangle and Celeste. Imagine Fell Voices and Deafheaven getting shit-faced with June Of 44 and unrepentantly drunk dialing Sam Shalabi in the middle of the night. Tense, almost claustrophobic buildups blend seamlessly with that oppressive weight of distortion and grinding power leaving me on edge and feeling serene all at the same time. I was planning on writing an entire treatise regarding the pros & cons of Black Metal's influence on today's D.I.Y. Punk scene. Instead, I got stoned, put this record on again, got off my HIGH horse and figured it was more interesting and important to just support personal taste and influence as something that shouldn't be fucked with and that doesn't need to be mercilessly dissected. Anyway, Tel Fyr have taken all the great parts of Black Metal and combined them with the best parts of Screamy Hardcore, Folk and instrumental lullabies. I wish they would have included their lyrics on their Bandcamp page. I would like to know what a Straight Edge Black Metal "Skramz" band has to say... Hint Hint.
Embers are a powerful Psyche/Black Metal/Crust band from Oakland. They play songs totally suited for bong loads after dark or more appropriately a nice night by the fire of a burning cop car with other black clad friends reading page after page of Anarchist Literature. The members of Embers have served time in other rather popular Bay Area Punk bands such as Lesser Of Two, Fields Of Shit and Abandon. There are two links here, one for the Embers Blogspot and one for their Bandcamp page. I have known these men and women for years. They are wonderful people with strong, unwavering beliefs. They are friends, even though we haven't seen each other in a long time. You should check out their blog, leave a message, find their songs and liberate yourself. Anarchy is simple, it begins with you. By the way, Steve, I am no prude.
Embers Blogspot
Embers At Bandcamp
