Well, the joy of ‘excitement’ and ‘happiness’ is a rare and specific experience to me, but when Mister Sina Winter let me know that a new From The Vastland album was about to be released, I went through those strange stages of emotion, of arousal, and of impatience. …so glad I did put my concerns about affective sensation and vivid ebullience aside, because I have always been sort of a ‘fan’ of what From The Vastland did came with before. Check out, beneath, some more (links to) reviews I did for this combo in the past.
So, Sina Winter (song-writing and poetry [dealing with occult and demonic stories and legends from ancient Persia], guitars and vocals, mix and mastering) did record another album, once again assisted by musicians from Norway: Tjalve (bass) (¹) and Spektre (drums) (²). Sina was born and raised in Iran, but moved over to Norway about a decade ago. It did increase, and support, his passion, and goal, to create somehow Nordic-styled elegance, with each release being more ‘in-depth’ into the roots of pure (Scandinavian) Black Metal.
(¹) also currently or formerly in e.g. 1349, Horizon Ablaze, Pantheon I, Svartelder or Den Saakaldte
(²) also currently or formerly in e.g. Horizon Ablaze, Svartelder, Gaahls Wyrd, Den Saakaldte or Harm
Anyway, this newest recording was released (again) via the German label The Crawling Chaos Records (or just: Crawling Chaos) and clocks forty-three minutes. The seven-tracker sees the (un)light on both compact-disc and vinyl, with visual artwork done by main spirit Sina as well. And damn yeah, it does go on in the vein of the past, with an eminent continuation of the ‘known’ Nordic-styled grandeur. Tenebrous Shadow goes on within areas of Nineties-oriented super-elegance, yet still without fading away into some cheap copycat’ish nonsense.
This does not mean that From The Vastland renew the scene, bringing something new, something original, something renovating… …maybe rejuvenizing or regenerative; but that’s a subjective accessory. Fact is that this act’s known Second Wave oriented (and therefor timeless) approach returns through Tenebrous Shadow, and it sounds oh so f*ckin’ fine…
This 8th full-length comes with a monumental production, creating a sound that devastates and overwhelms. When it comes to (most kinds of) Black Metal in general, I think (I admit; what follows next isn’t but a personal opinion) that the result must have a decent portion of decency, yet without any exaggerated or over-produced and surgically chastity. In this album’s case, the result is very immaculate when it comes to the mix, yet still coming with a sharp-edged sound. Great! Crafted too is that mixture of all ingredients: drums and percussions, acoustic and electric guitars, voices, and bass guitars. All of them do play their role within this soundtrack, none of them overruling the other, none of them being inferior to the rest.
Most parts are intense and vivid, with an overall tempo that breathes energy and dynamism. It is quite fast-paced in general, with a couple of empowered accelerations (once in a while even touching a mercilessly blasting willpower). Some excerpts, then again, do decelerate, slowing down (yet without forgetting the characteristic vigor); the title track, for example, is such monolithic doom-epic. Besides, on this album too, once again, there are a few acoustic intermezzos that seamlessly fit into the concept.
Tenebrous Shadow offers a neat interplay of epicism and conviction, of brutality and harmony, of mystique and tradition. The melodious tracks, prominently worn by harmonic (tremolo) leads as core, express a content of compelling finesse, assisted by the loud, forceful throat-preaching of Sina. His voice has a severe timbre for sure. Besides, narrating, grunting and whispering pass by as well. These ‘leading’ elements (directing guitars and pleading screams) are meticulously bolstered by ingeniously interacting bass and rhythm guitars (as said, the magnificent mix gives these ‘backing’ strings a most important presentation!), fortifying the grim and haunting atmosphere, and magnifying the technically complex yet tradition-based structures. The molestation of cymbals, drums and toms sounds otherworldly because of its alienated balance of virulent performance and the tactically well-executed style.
Those who could appreciate albums like Chamrosh, Taurvi or The Haft Khan (amongst others) will not be disappointed (at all) by this newest From The Vastland epos! It’s a sledge-hammering encounter covered in a gentle package!
https://www.fromthevastland.no/
https://fromthevastland.bandcamp.com/album/tenebrous-shadow
https://thecrawlingchaosrecords.bandcamp.com/album/tenebrous-shadow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqkAVVUQcek
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/vastland
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/vastland-0
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/vastland-1
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/vastland-2
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/vastland-3
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/vastland-4