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NORTH BLACK
Tornekrone Tordenvaer

Depressive Illusions (2014)
Rating: 7/10

Like so many other alleged depressive black metal acts, I find Russia’s North Black more uplifting than dreary. And if you’re looking for consistency within this genre, then look no further than Asmodey, the individual behind North Black.

North Black has previously released eight full-length albums since forming in 2004, but what is even more impressive about the back catalogue is that four of these records were recorded in 2008! However, I guess it’s no shock that Tornekrone Tordenvaer is only the second release since 2009’s Depression Dead Mind, although it comes just a year after the 2013 Kjent opus.

So, what can we expect from North Black? Well, vocally Asmodey sounds like one of the zombies from the popular television series The Walking Dead in that his words are mere gurgled rasps over the gothic soundscapes, which sprawl in the distance like untouched tundra.

This latest release offers five tracks – most of which are of reasonable length – beginning with the wretched chimes of ‘Mislykkes Ikke I Morket’, which has a numbing quality about its gothic grandeur.

There’s nothing overtly innovative about this kind of remote metal; the guitars act as mere grey waves of haze on the horizon, while in-between a clicky drum provides a weak backbone, whereas the effects of sinister echoes and gloomy passages strike fear to more extent. It’s debatable as to whether North Black are depressive because so much of it acts like some film soundtrack, clearly attempting realms of the sinister but always engaging.

The ten-minute ‘Bow Creature Timber’ becomes the real introduction of this record; it creaks and moans like some unearthly entity emerging from its hole, sending chilly waves up the spine before the guitars begin their icy rage and the synths masterfully awaken. Asmodey is unmistakably a master of his dark art, the tinkling synths playing nicely alongside those steady drum jogs, which are of course contrasted by his stark crow-like squawks.

I have to admit that despite the sparse nature of these types of records, I long for some injection of the unpredictable, otherwise these projects become something akin to background music. I like the insertion of the gothic-styled keys on this one, which a sense of foreboding and horror.

It is a shame the drums are programmed rather than raw and live, although with a track like ‘Lust Ikke Fornuftig A Vente’ I’d suggest not having such drums at all. This is another ten-minute statement that rolls out like luminescent fog swallowing a river. The air of the predictable emerges again with the plodding drum tap and those grey-veiled guitars, but by the time closer ‘I Svart Hull Ingen Drommer’ has emerged like a wisp of spectral mist, I’m still prone to this infection, finding myself wrapped up in this work in the same way an admirer of a certain piece of unappealing art becomes engulfed by something which not many others can see, feel, or hear.

Tornekrone Tordenvaer can be a rather gloomy passage of music, but only in the sense of its rather naff drum sound and basic guitar rasp. If you do fancy a dip in these icy waters, however, then North Black’s umpteenth journey into the stark side is a good place to start if any.

Neil Arnold

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