Tjolgtjar

Artist: 
Album Title: 
I Am A Wolf
Release Date: 
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Review Type: 

Within the Black Metal scene, there have always been lots of sick-minded entities. I am not referring to ‘fans’ of the genre (though it can help to be slightly ‘different’ in order to ‘understand’ and ‘undergo’ these lovely tunes of hate and / or despair), but I am talking about many musicians. One of them is, without any doubt, the sole member of Tjolgtjar, JR Preston. The guy is or was involved with tens of other crazy acts, like Roadkill Sodomizer, MMFHL, Xexyz (which was another solo-project of him), Enbilulugugal (I recently reviewed the re-issue of Noizemongers For GoatSerpent, by the way; see update March 5th 2014), or Blood Cult. With the very productive project Tjolgtjar, which was formed at the end of last century, JR Preston did release more than ten full lengths, as well as several hands full of compilations and splits, varying from schizophrenic madness to psychopathic absurdity, and everything in between. Throughout the years, Tjolgtjar’s ‘style’ evolved from raw Black Noise Metal towards a rather weird and distinctive fusion of different music(k)al styles, but one thing remains the same: all of it is beyond normality.

Anyway, I Am A Wolf is a compilation, originally released in May 2011 via Dipsomaniac Records, and now re-issued (with a slightly changed track list) via Minnesotan Winter Solace Productions. It does contain material from the very recent past (more Rock-oriented frenzy) as well as from a not that recent past. A constant is, besides the ugliness, the grim, uncompromising approach, and this gets translated in each single track by means of well-structured chaos and diversified extremities. What about, for example, the addition of stuff from any possible angle, from esoteric sounds to shamanistic hypnosis, and from apocalyptic noise to post-modern expressions? One might mock the lack of coherence, but that has to do with the compiled variety, and I am sure there are listeners that get sick by this stuff. But imagine throwing over with this soundtrack on the background?... Don’t you wish you had a stomach disease right now?...

82/100