| CD REVIEW Hellsaw |
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Band: Hellsaw The Austrian formation Hellsaw was formed in 2002 by Svart (d) and Aries (v, b, g) (ex-Sanguis), but in mean time, Hellsaw have become a ‘real’ band, both live as well as in the studio. After the release of two interesting but not that well-known studio albums, and several live gigs in Europe (among which an appearance at the Under The Black Sun festival), the band signed to Napalm Records, which now releases Hellsaw’s third full length, simply called Cold. And indeed, cold it is, this album! Austria houses many splendid grim Black-bands and this one certainly belongs to the elite! Cold (46:52 minutes) stands for enormously sinister, nihilistic and misanthropic old school Black Metal with an underground sound (yet the mix sort of sucks, it’s too ‘hollow’ - recording done with Victor Santura from Dark Fortress at the Hellhouse studio) and a suicidal atmosphere. Besides, the whole exhales an epic spirit, which adds a Nordic touch to the energetic hymns. The tempo is very different and several tracks contain nice tempo-changes. Some tracks (or parts) are pounding and rhythmic, some are rather slow and haunting, a few are grim and oppressing, and others are brutal and fast. Yet one element stays the same: coldness! The sound, well it’s a pity (and believe me: there’s no such a beautiful noise as the ‘true’ Black Metal Underground-sound à la Grieghallen or Octinomos Studio), but except for this, Cold can be considered one of Austria’s strongest releases in years. Cold is highly recommended to all fans of, well, Cold Black Metal! 90/100 Ivan Tibos. |