In the Woods... "Heart of the Ages" CD
[Candlelight]
This is the first in a series of reissues from this creative Norwegian band, this being their 1995 debut, originally on Misanthropy Records. With this record the band is generally found in a state of doomy and atmospheric metal, with the speed and shrieking vocals of black metal making a few appearances. The vocals are usually sung in a moderately dramatic and monotone manner, with some spoken passages and aggressive screaming accenting that delivery. The style of the singing is admittedly not the greatest (and I actually hate the screaming), nor the most appropriate for the excellent music, but I can certainly live with it. Most of these tracks are quite long, running from three or seven minutes to as many as 15, but a great number of moods are shifted about, with keyboards, clean/acoustic guitars, and spacey effects tastefully employed at times as additional layers of texture and experimentation. As far as riffs and songwriting go, this is excellent, emotional work... just check out the plodding tempos with acoustic guitars and dissonant chord progressions kicking off the epic "...In the Woods". Some of the riffs seem to have influenced contemporary greats such as Agalloch, notably the distant melodic lead lines, but I wouldn't compare such bands too closely... perhaps by general degree of innovation more so than actual sound. The recording isn't bad at all. It's somewhat raw in the guitar department (the distorted guitars that is), but the drums sound natural, the bass peeks through the mix, the vocals sound okay, and the general atmosphere of the music is conveyed nicely. I think the layout is the same as the original pressing. There are a few somewhat bleak yet somewhat calm landscape photos, the lyrics are handwritten in sort of decorative text that can be hard to read (especially the quotes at the bottom of each page), etc. Lyrically the record is fairly unique, tending to deal with abstract passages referencing nature and spirituality, etc. This record is a "classic" in the sense that it was the debut full-length from a band that went on to bigger and better things, but I think the sub-par vocal performance really holds the force of the music down with this effort, and by no means would I call it essential. There are still some mandatory tracks herein though, notably the title piece and the destructiveness of "The Divinity of Wisdom". (6/10)
Running time - 59:07, Tracks: 7
[Notable tracks: Heart of the Ages, ...In the Woods, The Divinity of Wisdom]
Candlelight USA - http://www.candlelightrecords.co.uk

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