Donn The Philosophy - Horns Curve Into Broken Circles
When considering a title like 'Donn The Philosophy' and the rather intricate track titles, many would think that the Black Metal outlet from the UK would has a dark, esoteric sound that is raw but mixed with avant-garde moments in the vein of groups from Deathspell Omega to Blut Aus Nord. However, Donn takes Black Metal in a very traditional route, opting for a raw minimalistic style that is with lo-fi production, fast paced guitar that sounds like a buzz saw and a crashing of cymbals mixed with percussive bursts on top of raw, guttural snarls. The best way to describe it would be a combination between much older Deathspell Omega and Funeral Mist meets Kult Ov Azazel. As interesting as the band may seem, the sound betrays what it seems to deliver to promise. After the opening "Naamah" which is quite avant-garde with its dark ambiance and recording samples, the music explodes with quick rhythms of cold, crisp Black Metal that would suit Dark Throne more with "Malkuth Transforms Into Lilith." Rather than sound contemplative, though, the band shifts from being dark and atmospheric into a full charged battalion of music right out of Hell. The music is so ferocious and raw that it will flatten those who were expecting a mix of fast and slow passages combined with more atmospheric moments. The third and fourth track are quite similar, which will certainly please old-school Black Metal fans, but at the same time it doesn't do much to add variety to the music with its minimalistic tone.
On "With Black..." is where things start to get interesting. Suddenly the band shifts gears, slowing down slightly, and even at the end throwing in some raw, yet haunting effects of just the vocals roaring over and over (here there is some definitey Funeral Mist relation). This small, but defiant change is all that is needed to probably rope back in the disbelievers. It's a new kind of raw and certainly not peaceful, but equally disturbing and doesn't feel out of place on the album. "Horns Curved...",' the title track, is a bit slower and more similar to the opening track, but features vocals but almost in a raw, disturbing fashion like whispers in the mist, bringing back that dark, twisted ambiance that has been missing from the album so far. The two final tracks are in a league of their own as fans will notice a drastic change in production- bleaker than the others. Possibly demos (though not known for sure), the sound quality is pretty horrible, making the music almost on par with Drone Black bands like Gnaw Their Tongues; though not as terrifying and minus the horror samples. The fast pace of the music pretty much blots out the vocals and the drums just feel like a rush in the background, but at least something can be heard as opposed to nothing. Overall, a solid Black Metal release for those who like old-school with a few new touches, but it could have included a little more variation.
On "With Black..." is where things start to get interesting. Suddenly the band shifts gears, slowing down slightly, and even at the end throwing in some raw, yet haunting effects of just the vocals roaring over and over (here there is some definitey Funeral Mist relation). This small, but defiant change is all that is needed to probably rope back in the disbelievers. It's a new kind of raw and certainly not peaceful, but equally disturbing and doesn't feel out of place on the album. "Horns Curved...",' the title track, is a bit slower and more similar to the opening track, but features vocals but almost in a raw, disturbing fashion like whispers in the mist, bringing back that dark, twisted ambiance that has been missing from the album so far. The two final tracks are in a league of their own as fans will notice a drastic change in production- bleaker than the others. Possibly demos (though not known for sure), the sound quality is pretty horrible, making the music almost on par with Drone Black bands like Gnaw Their Tongues; though not as terrifying and minus the horror samples. The fast pace of the music pretty much blots out the vocals and the drums just feel like a rush in the background, but at least something can be heard as opposed to nothing. Overall, a solid Black Metal release for those who like old-school with a few new touches, but it could have included a little more variation.
- Naamah
- Malkuth Transforms Into Lilith
- Rotten Blood And Dead Semen As The Foundation Of Creation
- Revolt Against Solar Singularity
- Kinetike
- With Black I Absorb, Violet Contemplate, Red I Summon The Strength To Act
- Horns Curve Into Broken Circles
- Saver Speaks
- Manipulator Of Men
