| CD REVIEW V/A : Luctus / Argharus |
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Band: Luctus / Argharus The Lithuanian label Ledo Takas has always been standard for Baltic, Nordic or Pagan Black Metal. That was the main reason to look out for this new release, besides the positive sounds coming from Lithuania concerning the two projects involved with this split-release. Sonitus Caeli Ardentis starts with the one-man project Luctus, a project of Kommander L. aka Luctus aka Simonas, who is also involved with Moonrise, Fuck Off And Die! and Division Of Death. In the past and the present, Simonas works together with session musicians from bands as Dreamland Poetry, Ossastorium, Nahash and Throne Of Decadence. Luctus’s Black Metal is of an extremely heavy, fast and aggressive kind, dealing with warlike and pagan themes, yet without a convinced national socialistic ideology (which is pretty common within the Lithuanian specifically, and Baltic more general, Black Metal scene). More than before, Luctus’s music sounds splendid in both production (The Lair Studio at Rome) and performance and these fast, evil, misanthropic and battle-lusting war hymns are just sublime! Highly recommended to every fan of fast and merciless Nordic and Pagan-oriented Black Metal supremacy! Argharus was formed at the end of 2004 yet even in their home country, in spite of a few performances on festivals, this band isn’t that well-known at all. The recording of the four tracks for this split, however, will change this anonymity. Members Auktuma, Furor, Opacus and Pestiferos bring energetic, rhythmic, obscure, misanthropic, grim and somewhat Nordic-sounding Black Metal with a certain old style-oriented atmosphere and lyrics in their native tongue. The combination of both Baltic and Scandinavian elements is of a high quality, yet this comes with a certain lack of originality. Yet the latter is of no importance, because Argharus’s effort is just excellent. Oh yes, the album was recorded by Gints Lundbergs, known from his collaboration with, for example, Skyforger, Urskumug, Luctus (former release) or Dissimulation, what may be part of the reason why the production is both crushing and smashing. I do hope both Luctus and Argharus will write, record and release new material soon, because this material is more than a year of age in mean time (the actual original release date was March 13th 2007), yet in mean time this superb split will do! Luctus: 91/100 Ivan Tibos. |