Voices

From The Human Forest Create A Fuge Of Imaginary Rain

Written by: EW on 09/03/2013 14:57:30

The sad demise of Britain's greatest black metal export, Akercocke, was one mourned by many more than myself but from the ashes has slowly risen Voices, a band featuring two members of the be suited ones and no lack of influence from the nuances of the parent band's acclaimed song structures. Spread across the 55 minutes of winding landscapes in "From The Human Forest Create A Fuge Of Imaginary Rain" is a kaleidoscopic palette of brutality resting on a backbone of David Gray's thunderous drum abuse combined with a cold discordant guitar performance low on the benefits of melody but high on angular dexterity.

In some respects the sound of Voices will bear similarities to those with an ear for Akercocke: "Eyes Become Black" and "Unawareness of Human Emotion", as just two examples, verge between screams, clean male and heavenly female vocals as powerful kick drums and piano chords sit awkwardly together in a framework that is based on disparate segments of song combined to make one. "Fragmented Illustrations Of Anger" is angry for sure, as verse passages sounding akin to the uncomfortable guitar tone of Blut Aus Nord lead directly into trigger happy blasts often without the listener having any idea of what might come next. Moments of outright black metal are surprisingly few far and between as the production has robbed any sense of atmosphere from the torrent of blasts, leaving it to intermittent riffs in "This Too Shall Pass", "Endless" and "Creating the Museum of Rape" to most concisely tie the band to any such stylistic blueprint.

For all the swirling aggression and sense of brutality that appears to be the sole requisite of a good album for a worrying number of extreme metal 'fans' today, "From The Human Forest…" sounds like a band not yet sure of their identity or quite how each song should flow. Whether it is the sedate chords of "Endless" that would for sure be totally drowned out by Gray's blasting in the live setting, the abrupt changes of direction in "Dnepropetrovsk" that after a while resemble pieces of a jigsaw not fitting squarely, or the over-calculated precision of the production, this album shows signs of promise not yet fully realised. This is not a need to panic though - for my money Akercocke took some time to find a style was ultimately triumphant and glorious. Voices may yet get there one day.

5

Download: Eyes Become Black, Sexual Isolation
For The Fans Of: Akercocke, Blut Aus Nord, Eastern Front
Listen: Facebook

Release date: 11.03.2013
Candlelight Records

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