Alkmorhilyion - Droves

This was originally limited to 10 CDr copies. Apparently I can make a shit ton of noise, call it black metal burn a few CDs and bandcamp will send out emails to people telling them to check it out. The whole thing is bizarre and I just don't know what the internet is doing anymore. This is Alkmorhilyion's first demo and to reason why the band would put out anything else is an affront to logic and reason which not even Plato would argue in favor of and we all know how much he loves to argue. There is, however, no argument here. Droves is awful. It's the cliche scissor to the eardrum, brick to the head, I'd rather dip myself in acid and have a friend pour me down the drain kind of release which makes black metal such a difficult endeavor to rummage around within. For every ten releases you're guaranteed twenty percent of them will sound like this if you sample them at random. With main man Kuranes involved in a million other projects, those looking for a crapmine to hammer through, look no further. While it's possible a band like Enbilulugugal or Tactical Gorefare might produce something of note, it's more likely that they will produce something that smells like a yeast infection.

So what does Droves sound like? Opening track "Upthrust Circuits" is two minutes too long of harsh and extremely raw black metal. Though there is a semblance of melody added with some plucked twangy guitars underneath the horrific mass of noise up front, there is nothing here that should be listened to. I fully believe the drums are programmed. The kick drum has the tone of someone listening to gangster rap in their Escalade with all the windows closed, the bass turned up extremely high and the rest of the spectrum turned far far down. Second track "Emptied" is a bit better in reality but it's basically a scratchy, harsh mix of something that sounds like it would be interested if it was recorded with just a little more effort. It's harsh and angry and might appeal to fans of Grind more than fans of Black Metal. Final track, "It's Name Was a Salutation," is a damning seven minutes long with a slow crusty intro, heavily distorted vocals and piss poor recording. While it's a little creepy, it's also really annoying for most of the track. Even some slight variations do little to interest me. There is ton of electronic feedback noises rounding out the track.

I could see this having a much better impact on a format that wasn't sent to me digitally. In essence, something that is this raw should be presented in a way that compliments the music. A 7" or tape of this might appeal more from an aesthetic point of view. As it stands now though... I just don't really find a bandcamp promoted link to download the album as a method of dissemination which benefits Alkmorhilyion's 'style.' Help is needed here. I understand the desire to do raw and noise-splattered black metal. There still has to be songs and something to hold it all together.