SLAGMARK „Eradication”

Music: Technical Black/Death Metal
Website: audiostreet.net/slagmark
Country: Norway

Cool songs: Aeon of Horus, Da Hedningen Tok Sverdet Fatt, The Glacier Battle, The Absence

The bands history started in 1998 as the final line up consolidated and the idea on the music also became final, and obvious for the musicians. Deciding to play a technical black metal, with some slight death metal connotations was a great idea. Black metal is not so technical music, as death metal, although this technical prefix indicates, that the band plays more sublime, thought over and detailed black metal music, than other black groups.

Eradication is SLAGMARKs first full-length album. And as for a first long play, the band did a great job. To record something catchy, especially in terms of black metal, is extremely difficult, as most of such bands copy own ideas over and over again. But in case of this group the situation is totally different. Eradication is an interesting album, especially thanks to the inconvenient approach towards the black metal. At the beginning, the compositions seem to be similar to DIMMU BORGIR (especially the melodic sections), but deprived of all that symphonic stuff, which the veterans of black melt torture the listeners with. Further, the technical level of recordings is not so good, the album sounds like a demo tape, but thanks to this operation, it gained a fantastic raw and cheeky character. The compositions are varied, the ideas do not overlap or repeat, everything works properly, like in a excellent machinery. The guitars smoothly cooperate with the drums (which are a bit too silent, but again, thanks to this, the album has got that unrepeatable sound), and there is also one fantastic thing, which glues those instrument together – the vocal – that hoarse growl is like a huge dose of an energy drink in the morning, wakes up immediately. It sticky consistence perfectly fills the space between the melodic parts. Finally, the melody – the biggest strength of this album is its cohesive and comprehensible melody, a strong demarcation line, which allows the musicians to tread the previously chosen path, straight into the chamber of pure sound.

This album is very, very good. The compositions do not repeat, everything is comprehensible and it is audible, that a lot of effort has been put into this record. The slight shortcomings, like the parts which are not loud enough, are only a small details, which do not destroy the overall impression, they still allow to listen to this album with pleasure, and that is the way it should be. Fantastic job.

note: 9/10

Tracklist

1. Aeon of Horus
2. Erase Christianity
3. Da Hedningen Tok Sverdet Fatt
4. Art of War
5. Death Comes Forth
6. The Glacier Battle
7. Death's Mask
8. Slavery by the Book
9. The Absence
10. Total War (Part I)
11. Total War (Part II)

Total playing time 48:15

Line-up

Markspist – guitars, vocals
Geir – guitars
Beist – bass
Olve Krognes – drums