1349 „Revelations of the Black Flame”

Music: Black Metal/Dark Ambient
Website: legion1349.com
Country: Norway
Duration: 44:53 (9 songs)
Cool Songs: Maggot Fetus…Teeth Like Thorns, Uncreation, Invocation

It's been almost four years since Norwegian 1349 released their third studio blast “Hellfire.” Such break between records is usually considered a smart move. It gives the band some time to grow up and find new inspiration. Nevertheless I can't help myself, I think that if 1349, named after the year of Black Death in Norway, didn't wait for so long, they would have ended up in a more intelligible position.

With the new album “Revelations of the Black Flame” 1349 abandoned everything that made them one of the best bands of black metal scene. That necessarily doesn't have to be a false step, of course, and I'm never the one to judge a band for changing its direction and experimenting. But how much is too much? If the intention of the album was to evoke the atmosphere, then okay, they succeeded. But I think that still there should be some music left. The album offers some interesting moments, but it's nearly a gigantic task to get to them past all the instrumental and atmospheric parts. If their duration was reduced to its quarter, they would still do their job, and there could be more place for Ravn's vocals, that would definitely be beneficial to the album, if they were present more frequently. Yet there are still some unambiguously strong tracks. The fourth song “Maggot Fetus…Teeth Like Thorns” is fast as hell, though bizarrely named. It could be considered an old 1349 song for its raw sound, if it were not for to my mind too dimmed drumming. As well as “Uncreation” with its 'prelude' “Misanthropy.” This is how the whole album should sound like – a beautiful compromise between black metal and dark ambient. It's just a pity that a minute before the end of the song there appears a guitar solo out of nowhere and kind of ruins the atmosphere. We can also hear a Pink Floyd cover “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” right afterwards. Not really surprising, since Pink Floyd have been a great influence for the band, but also not really useful. I wouldn't notice if it suddenly disappeared.

“Revelations of the Black Flame” won't leave you cold. It's an album you'll become fond of or you'll hate. I'm sure there are people to which this album will be appealing, but unfortunately I don't belong to them, since I don't really understand it. And that's also why I can't recommend it.

note: 4,5/10

Tracklist

1. Invocation
2. Serpentine Sibilance
3. Horns
4. Maggot Fetus…Teeth Like Thorns
5. Misanthropy
6. Uncreation
7. Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
8. Solitude
9. At the Gate…

Line-up

Ravn – vocals, drums
Archaon – guitar
Seidemann – bass
Frost – drums