Ambient and Chaotic Black Metal - 88%
Written by aentuzg on March 24th, 2006


Marblebog/Draugurz- Split '05

Here we have two great names of the underground ambient black metal scene, Draugurz from Brazil and Marblebog from Hungary. The release itself, from Paluster Productions (Hun), is a pro CD-R limited to 55 copies, and truly does look really "pro"--very deep artwork and quality CD press.

About each track...


1 - Draugurz - Heidenlaerm
"Chaos" was the first impression that I had of this track, weird guitar riffs followed by insane screams (pretty different than Gaurhoth's vocals in any other Draugurz track), but then, a few minutes in, you can begin to perceive the essence and harmony of this great work, everything is in the right place, and keyboards were very well used (not a very common occurence in standard black metal bands with keyboards). A Highlight Track, to be sure. I might add that I've never heard anything that I can compare to this track.

2 - Draugurz - Hatestorm
The title explains the track very well. It's a raw hatestorm, raging directly in your face. Raw riffs, violent tempo and agonized screams (I must mention how good they are). Thenm suddenly, the storm takes a rest... a very beautiful melancholic riff introduces the other part of the song (which ressembles more closely the older Draugurz releases, like the rehearsal '03 tape). Complete with a very memorable keyboard riff and even a pretty solo in the end, this track deserves much attention. I recommend reading the lyrics while listening to it (to better understand the music's atmosphere). A very memorable track. Even though my first impression of it wasn't the best, it really grew on me in time (that's why I say it deserves much attention).

3 - Marblebog - Intro
I don't know if it's me, but this intro isn't very easy to understand. It's a synthesizer plus some other sound or instrument that I don't recognize, though if I had to compare it to something, I would say it's like a part of a movie-soundtrack, a soundtrack for a soul-journey.

4 - Marblebog - A Silent Hermit
Melancholy in that way only Marblebog can bring us. Very interesting tempo changes from mid to slow and slow to mid, with riffs that shows us a lot of inspiration and that never fall into realm of "boring melancholic standard." And about the vocals...ah...the vocals...something that I've never before heard, and probably never will hear again is a vocal that sounds like this, something like an animal screaming inside a burning forest. Marblebog has a very great identity in my opinion, not just because these unique vocals, but as a whole. The riffs are always memorable and very well-made. Sadly, this is the only "complete song" from Marblebog on this release, but it's still enough to make a great side of this split.


5 - Marblebog - In the Valley

A guitar instrumental, an interesting wash of notes that reminds me a bit of Burzum's atmosphere. A good track to close this release.


It's a very good release, and if you have the rare chance of catch one of these 55 copies, don't think twice, do it! Even if you haven't this luck, don't worry too much, as I read that this will see a tape version in the near future.
The only bad point of this release is that I expected more full songs, especially on the Marblebog side (which, as I already mentioned, has only one "real-track" and 2 instrumentals). But anyway, this is a very well- spent 27 minutes, highly recommended to fans of ambient black metal, not only on this split, but on all of the releases of these great bands.


[ Discography ] 

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Label: Paluster Rex | Item Code: Various | Country: Brazil / Hungary | Year: 2005 | Genre: Black Metal

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