Tenebrae In Perpetuum / Krohm - Split

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\r\n  This is a split CD from Italian band Tenebrae\r\nIn Perpetuum and the also Italian -but based in the USA- one-man band named\r\nKrohm.  Contrary to everything that I’ve\r\nlistened to on the black metal field lately, those two bands offer us an anachronistic\r\nperspective.  This means no more\r\ntriggered drums and compressed guitars! \r\nWithout the strings producing this distinctive high-pitched peaky sound,\r\nit’s not black metal.  The Italians took\r\nme back mentally to the mid-90s, when as a young man I was enjoying the\r\nmasterpieces that were released since the beginning of that decade.  From this angle I will describe the release.\r\n

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\r\n  Both bands play in a similar way, as far as\r\nsound and song writing goes.  Slow\r\nagonizing black metal, chaotic howling vocals and guitars painting a misty landscape\r\non the Italians’ musical canvas.  Tenebrae\r\nIn Perpetuum use slightly slower tempos, keyboards and many acoustic breaks.  Krohm on the other hand, rely on the tremble\r\nguitars, creating a melodic and depressive feeling with tempos varying from\r\nslow to mid and a lot of double basses.  Don’t\r\nexpect hyper fast rhythms, not even those black ‘n’ roll tempos that are so “in”\r\nthis day and age.  Both bands have a doomy\r\nfeel, reminding me of Agalloch at times.\r\n

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\r\n  To sum up, I have to say that Krohm had more\r\nof an impact on me and I found their songs tidier and better written.  The sample is small but the tunes are lengthy\r\nand the forty three minutes of this CD won’t leave you unsatisfied.  This album is raw, with a fine atmosphere and\r\nhonest intentions that will be appreciated by anyone who knows what the “underground”\r\nis all about.  Remember the times when\r\nblack and white covers were cool?  When bands\r\nrecorded their music in their basements and productions didn’t sound all\r\nplastic and alike?  If so then give this\r\nsplit CD a chance because the music is not bad at all. \r\n

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\r\nPS.  Doesn’t matter that much but the grade is the\r\naverage of both bands.  Krohm’s side is\r\nslightly better and improves the general picture.  I guess that’s the good thing about split\r\nreleases. \r\n

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\r\nPS.1  Tenebrae In Perpetuum don’t even keep a\r\nMySpace page and I think they’re split up right now.  How underground is that!\r\n

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