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CARPATHIAN FOREST :
STRANGE OLD BREW
Carpathian Forest are pioneers of the Norwegian Black Metal scene. Even though their debut album "Black Shining Leather" did not come out until '97, the band has been known in the underground since '91, when they released their demo "Bloodlust and Perversion". Due to the bands late start in spitting out CDs, many of their contemporaries, such as Mayhem and Darkthrone, have now far surpassed them in the fame and fortune department, while C.F. has remained a "cult band". This motley crew of corpse painted metal warriors now features Tchort (ex Emperor and Satyricon) on guitar and Mr. Kobro (from In The Woods) on drums. Carpathian Forest are head and shoulders above most of the flood of Black Metal crap, that seems to be spewing from every band of twelve year olds, that can find a spiked arm band, and a tin of makeup. They combine speed, aggression, and pure evilness, with a solid groove straight from the early days of Celtic Frost. The end result is nothing short of spectacular. 12 tracks of super heavy evilness, that you can actually remember! These dark, violence-inducing tunes, will easily find a way to infect your brain after only one or two spins, and you'll find that you can even hum these in your head, unlike the four minute, walls of unchanging sound, that are put out by other band-wagon-jumping wanna-bees. So, if you think Cradle Of Filth are sellouts, "Strange Old Brew" is the CD your lookin' for.
RATING = 8.666 Black-Metal (Released 2001)
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CARPATHIAN FOREST :
DEFENDING THE THRONE OF EVIL
Back once more is this legendary Black-Metal outfit. Long time member Nordavind quit in 2001, leaving founder/vocalist/guitarist Nattefrost in full control. There is not really much difference compared to past efforts, although we do have a few moments where symphonic keyboards can be heard. There is still that classic "Carpathian sound", a mix of Mayhem and old Celtic Frost. Each song slices and dices, wallows in a gritty sounding production (which is a good thing), and manages to form swirling, memorable dense melodies. Some points of interest are "The Old House On The Hill", which is less of a song, and more of an experimental piece, reminiscent of Celtic Frost's "Danse Macabre", and the last cut, "Cold Murderous Music", which is all a bunch of techno sounding weirdness! The rest of the disc however, will have you bangin' your head in dark approval. No matter what anyone tells you, they have NOT turned into another Cradle Of Filth clone.
RATING = 8.5 Black-Metal (Released 2003)
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CARPATHIAN FOREST :
SKJEND HANS LIK
This is not a new album proper; "Skjend Hans Lik" is basically an extended EP. The band's now legendary 1992 demo "Bloodlust & Perversion" has been circulating in the tape/CDR trading community for years, and it has been released on various crappy sounding bootlegs, and often incomplete. The band therefore decided to make this five-track, essential piece of Norwegian Black Metal history available in the best quality possible! Also included to fill out the package is an alternative mix of "Skjend Hans Lik" (from "Defending The Throne Of Evil"), one killer "unreleased" track called "Humiliation Chant", the "Rohypnol Pre-production-666" version of "Spill The Blood Of The Lamb" (from "Defending The Throne Of Evil"), "Martyr / Sacrificulum" (from "Strange Old Brew"), performed "Drunk and Alive", and finally an amazing, yet too damn short (2:07), live video clip of the band for your PC! What you really notice when listening to this disc is how much the band has changed over the last 12 years. The earlier recordings owing most of their sound to Hellhammer and early Celtic Frost, while the newer material is more in line with modern Black Metal such as Darkthrone, Satyricon, and Mayhem. Plus, you could also argue that there is a small hint of Cradle Of Filth or Dimmu Borgir to be heard. The five demo tracks consist of three "real" songs, and 2 tracks that are best described as odd, creepy experimental soundscapes. The production on these oldies has the band sounding like they were in a different room than where the recording equipment was located. This was probably just due to a lack of money at the time, but the ruff, sort of muffled sound further strengthens the Hellhammer comparison. The production on the newer tracks is razor sharp in comparison, and for basically being extras pulled from the vaults, these smoke. Unless it's brand new, there is no reason why an awesome track such as "Humiliation Chant" was not on a previous release. If you're a fan, you know you need this for the historical value alone, and the added goodies make this a great package, and an essential purchase for most Black Metal enthusiasts.
RATING = 8 Black-Metal (Released 2004)
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