SULPHUR – Thorns in Existence
- Posted on 01-10-2010
Progressive Black Metal is the "in" thing to do right now, it seems. This release sounds like Enslaved plus Zyklon and a bit of Dimmu Borgir. It took me a quite a few spins to get into it, but once I did, the magic was soon gone. This is another example of talented musicians lacking focus and a vision.
The production is a bit thin (albeit intentionally, it is the progressive thing to do), but fitting, the synthesizers are subtle and seldom, just the way I can tolerate them. The guitars are very tight and all in all, from the professional perspective, there is nothing to critizise. But Black Metal is not only a style of music, but a way of life. The music lives through its content, its message. Some bands are the bearers of such a message, other’s are not. The fitting contrast here is Enslaved. There seems to be an inner urge driving them on, which manifests itself in stylistic and conceptual continuity.
Sulphur, on the other hand, lack vision, therefore focus, which is why their album sounds like just another amalgam of the bandmembers favorite bands, which in turn begs the question: Why not listen to these bands in the first place?