Avsky - Scorn
Avsky is a two man black metal band from Sweden that performs in a style not unlike other raw, depressive, groove inspired acts such as Dodsferd, Darkthrone, and even Xasthur. Originally, Avsky was a one man band with only two albums under his belt and perfectly happy with a raw, punk crusted sound. With Scorn, however, fans will see that Avsky has mixed in slow, depressive tempos with their black metal madness, making their music sound almost twice as good and dirty (also thanks to the addition of another member). The black metal imagery of the members has been toned down a bit as they don the mysterious hood trend instead of corpsepaint along with two letter names, but it's still the Avsky that fans know and love. Just like the previous album, Malignant, the music is a torrent of hate and misanthropy towards the human race marked by razor sharp riffs, automatic battery, and tortured vocals.
The album is only six tracks, but most of them are lengthy; well past the five minute length. A lot of the music is repetitive and simple; many riffs are repeated over and over again, but fortunately they are catchy and enjoyable. The opening track, "As The Mountains Collapse," starts off with a raw, three good riffs very similar to how Malignant started off with "Fuck Your Values, Fuck Your Beliefs," and one could say it is almost a carbon copy of the former. But, the good thing about either track is that it was groovy, it was infectious, so fans shouldn't mind hearing a few repeated song structures just for that sake. Other tracks like "Dead End" are more depressive inspired with moments of long, drawn out chords over screamed vocals and doom metal drumming, though more often than not the song breaks back into a faster tempo, re-paving the way to black metal fury.
"The Beyond" is interesting because it's not like any of the other tracks. It's a short instrumental (by Avsky time standards, at least) and features about five notes being picked in sequence over and over with a few others and very simple, ominous drumming. It's more a funeral doom metal track than anything else; very haunting, and a nice surprise compared to all the other Avsky albums where the music was just pure punk crusted black metal. This is a good sign that Avsky is willing to change up their style a bit and not just perform the same riffs or structure over and over again for about 99% of the album. The title track brings things back to the black metal fold with a blistering guitar note and raw, crunching riffs that are very close to the first track, and echoing, evil rasps to really bring out the disgust of the artists. Again, like the others, the style doesn't really let up or change for most of the song. Finally, the closing track, "The Sickness WIthin," offers a lengthy drum introduction before breaking into the black metal riffs that are slow and depressive, mixed with the punk groove that was heard on the earlier song. It is a great mix of what Avsky does best and a thankful choice to end the album for the slight break in monotony.
For those who are looking for innovative black metal, Avsky is not that. There's probably about ten other black metal bands out there that perform the same raw, groovy black metal with similar vocals and misanthropic themes. However, the good thing about Avsky is they play their genre very well with conviction and fury. There may be many other bands out there who perform the same kind of music, but it isn't always done as well. It is no surprise Avsky stayed with Moribund Records for their association with raw, filthy black and death metal. Fans may miss the corpsepaint, but they'll still embrace the music.
The album is only six tracks, but most of them are lengthy; well past the five minute length. A lot of the music is repetitive and simple; many riffs are repeated over and over again, but fortunately they are catchy and enjoyable. The opening track, "As The Mountains Collapse," starts off with a raw, three good riffs very similar to how Malignant started off with "Fuck Your Values, Fuck Your Beliefs," and one could say it is almost a carbon copy of the former. But, the good thing about either track is that it was groovy, it was infectious, so fans shouldn't mind hearing a few repeated song structures just for that sake. Other tracks like "Dead End" are more depressive inspired with moments of long, drawn out chords over screamed vocals and doom metal drumming, though more often than not the song breaks back into a faster tempo, re-paving the way to black metal fury.
"The Beyond" is interesting because it's not like any of the other tracks. It's a short instrumental (by Avsky time standards, at least) and features about five notes being picked in sequence over and over with a few others and very simple, ominous drumming. It's more a funeral doom metal track than anything else; very haunting, and a nice surprise compared to all the other Avsky albums where the music was just pure punk crusted black metal. This is a good sign that Avsky is willing to change up their style a bit and not just perform the same riffs or structure over and over again for about 99% of the album. The title track brings things back to the black metal fold with a blistering guitar note and raw, crunching riffs that are very close to the first track, and echoing, evil rasps to really bring out the disgust of the artists. Again, like the others, the style doesn't really let up or change for most of the song. Finally, the closing track, "The Sickness WIthin," offers a lengthy drum introduction before breaking into the black metal riffs that are slow and depressive, mixed with the punk groove that was heard on the earlier song. It is a great mix of what Avsky does best and a thankful choice to end the album for the slight break in monotony.
For those who are looking for innovative black metal, Avsky is not that. There's probably about ten other black metal bands out there that perform the same raw, groovy black metal with similar vocals and misanthropic themes. However, the good thing about Avsky is they play their genre very well with conviction and fury. There may be many other bands out there who perform the same kind of music, but it isn't always done as well. It is no surprise Avsky stayed with Moribund Records for their association with raw, filthy black and death metal. Fans may miss the corpsepaint, but they'll still embrace the music.
- As The Mountains Collapse
- No Compassion, No Regrets
- Dead End
- They Beyond
- Scorn
- The Sickness Within
Moribund Cult Records
Reviewer: Colin McNamara
May 25, 2010
May 25, 2010
Next review:
Kkoagulaa - Aurum Nostrum Non Est Aurum Vulgi
Share this:
