The Black – Alongside Death (2009)

The Black was originally one of many side projects from Jon Nödtveidt (R.I.P) from Dissection fame, I remember getting their first release from Necropolis Records 15 years ago, and I was extremely psyched about it. At that time that’s what black metal was supposed to sound like.

The band has reformed with two members of Tyrant and Vinterland at the helm along with original drummer “The Black”. And it seems that time stood still for this band, since their sound is very old school. I’m like both Tyrant’s and Vinterland’s music and was very disappointed to hear this release, since it lacks any novelty in it.

If you are an old school Black Metal fan you will completely enjoy this release, since it’s raw and grim. It also features a very dense atmosphere that many bands of this day’s don’t know how to create, or need the extreme help of synth/keyboard arrangements to do so.

The guitar work has that ‘low-fi’ sound and it achieves its purpose while the drumming sounds crystal clear in the background putting the songs together. The base guitar is unexpectedly good and very fundamental for some tracks (like Death Throes), something that is not common in many Black Metal releases.

The reason I’m disappointed with the album is that I was expecting something more like Vinterland or even Tyrant, but instead the band members focused on a more raw and basic sound reviving the old school feeling. The vocals clearly capture the early BM sound and are the best thing for me in this album.

I’m glad that bands that made an impact years ago are coming back and releasing quality albums (like Nazxul), but I do expect a bit of evolution in the musicians song writing abilities. This album is very good for purists of the genre, but if you expect something fresher then go and check out Azaghal’s new album or even Nazxul’s latest release.

Release: 2009

Country: Sweden