I was previously under the impression that the UK was not the best source of decent black metal bands, but The Infernal Sea, a band that hails from East Anglia in England, are definitely worth a second glance. Their latest offering The Crypt Sessions really delivers and it’s a nice noisy piece, and everything a black metal release should be.
Although the introduction doesn’t add too much in the way of ambience, things get going with the first full length track which begins almost immediately with wonderfully punctuated harsh vocals. The instrumentation is fantastic and it’s an overall well-rounded beginning to the release. Similarly, The Circle Closes is a wonderful slice of noise and the guitars in particular are great – nice and heavy, with just the right amount of melody that juxtaposes perfectly with the screamed vocals.
Closing track Into The Unknown is a 15 minute epic. Songs of this length often run the risk of dragging, but it’s not really the case with this one. It explores many different sounds and ideas, and really keeps the pace going whilst making sure everything seems interesting. Sure, maybe the 7 minutes of sheer noise and distortion at the end does feel a little like they’re stalling for time a bit, it actually works pretty well before abruptly finishing.
An all-round fantastic example of black metal done very well. Can’t wait for more!
8/10
I would like a truthful review (positive or negative, it makes no difference) on Rhetoric’s album “Thoughts And Perspectives” released April 19th, 2013. We aren’t really ‘metal’ and/or that ‘weird’ but for most hardcore coming out its quite original. Tell us what you think! Thanks for your time.
– Felix