By:
Daniel Jackson
Album Type: Full Length
(Tribute)
Date Released: 26/02/2016
Label: Cyclone Empire
“Home of Once Brave” and “Twilight of the Gods” are both faithful
renditions, and performed about as well as you could hope. The added heft of a
modern production helps, but the execution is what really sets these covers
apart, retaining a lot of what made the songs so great in the first place, and exuding
a deep passion for the source material to boot.
They’re deeply affected and influenced by the subject at hand, and
they’re got a strong enough grasp to really do the material justice. In that
sense, a band succeeding more than they fail on a tribute album of this kind is
quite the accomplishment.
‘Blot - Ilt - Taut’ LP//DD track listing:
1.
A Fine Day to Die
2.
Song to Hall Up High
3.
Home of Once Brave
4.
The Return of Darkness and Evil
5.
Woman of Dark Desires
6.
Twilight of the Gods
7.
Blood Fire Death
Ereb Altor is:
Ragnar
| Vocals, Guitars, Bass
Mats
| Vocals, Bass, Guitars, Keyboards
Mikael
| Bass, Vocals
Tord
| Drums
The Review:
To
say that Bathory are one of the most influential
heavy metal bands in history is to state the obvious, but I’m doing it anyway.
Whether you’re talking about the impact those first four Bathory
albums had on bands like Mayhem or Darkthrone, or the important role albums like “Hammerheart” and “Twilight of the Gods” plays in the sounds of Primordial,
Falkenbach, and so on; a big part of Bathory’s
legacy resides in the incredible bands they’ve helped shape.
One
of the best of those bands is Ereb Altor, whose work
falls under that restrained but powerful Viking metal sound that Bathory pioneered in the early 90s. Dating back to their
very first album, and even at the first proper metal song on their debut, ‘By Honour’, Quorthon’s ghost looms
large over Ereb Altor’s whole career to date. That this
album is a full album of Bathory covers not only
stands to reason, but also seemed inevitable.
The
only minor surprise is that two songs from Bathory’s first three
albums make an appearance, although when you consider there’s usually at least
one darker song on each of the last few albums, it’s not completely out of
character. Unfortunately, those are also the songs that are the least effective
on ‘Blot - Ilt - Taut’. “Return of Darkness and Evil” is slowed
down somewhat and given a disciplined death metal treatment. It leaves the song
feeling more like an Unleashed song rather
than a Bathory song, and as a result some of that
wild, primal energy is lost.
With
“Woman of Dark Desires”, the song is
completely reimagined, keeping only the base arrangement and turning it into an
almost goth metal song, more like early Moonspell than even
their own trademark song. They earn points for trying something outside the
box, and the song is fine on its own, but as a tribute to Bathory
it feels out of place. Where the album really shines is in the covers of the ‘Blood Fire Death’, ‘Hammerheart’, and ‘Twilight of the Gods’ material. In their original compositions, Ereb Altor do a great job of updating the mid period Bathory formula, so the transition to simply performing Bathory songs is as natural as could be. The clear
highlights of the album are the one-two combo of “Song To Hall Up High” and “Home
of Once Brave”, along with “Twilight
of the Gods”.
“Song To Hall Up High” get’s a slight
facelift, becoming a full-fledged metal song here as opposed to the acoustic
based original. The song loses none of its atmosphere, and it takes on an
additional doom metal dirge quality in the process. “Home of Once Brave” and “Twilight
of the Gods” are both faithful renditions, and performed about as well as
you could hope. The added heft of a modern production helps, but the execution
is what really sets these covers apart, retaining a lot of what made the songs
so great in the first place, and exuding a deep passion for the source material
to boot.
Covering
legendary music is always a dangerous bridge to cross, and so many bands end up
falling through creaky wood before they’re even halfway there. In Ereb Altor’s case, ‘Blot
- Ilt - Taut’ reminds us of those pitfalls on a couple of occasions, but
more often than not comes up with an ideal tribute. They’re deeply affected and
influenced by the subject at hand, and they’re got a strong enough grasp to
really do the material justice. In that sense, a band succeeding more than they
fail on a tribute album of this kind is quite the accomplishment.
You
can pick up a copy here.
Band info:
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