Erythrite Throne/Werendia Split
I don’t have a lot of experience with “Split” Records. I bought this album on a whim. It’s not aggressive heavy metal. The opening tracks by Erythrite Throne are actually quite relaxing. The first track sounds both playful and brooding at the same time somehow. Once the vocals kick in you know you’re listening to darker music than you thought. The piano and drums create a wall of sound among the synths and screaming vocals that are are all too typical of a Black Metal affair.
I wouldn’t call it Black Metal though. Melodic dark music isn’t automatically black metal. I cite Cradle of Filth as an example. I saw a meme online that was based on the gag from Family Guy Where Noah confronts the elephant and the penguin about their crazy cross-bred offspring. The meme labeled each creature Black Metal, and Power Metal, and the penguiphant was Cradle of filth. I feel like this kinda blurs the lines between some kind of synth-goth music and Black Metal.
In a lot of ways the Erythrite Throne section of this album reminds me of the slightly dark melodic music from Ultima Underworld or any number of other old RPGs. I really do have a soft spot for synths. One of my friends recently went all out on an old Roland set-up for his retro games. I have to say a good synth with the right sound font can sound amazing.
Let’s back up a bit. I went and actually did some research (shocking) I looked up Erythrite Throne on metal-archives.com. The band is from Toronto, Ontario (excellent!) They’re currently unsigned. I can’t believe music this good isn’t more popular. Music, however, is something that has to sell to get wide recognition. Enough of the bashing capitalism.
The Black Metal and Doom elements play well together. It’s like if synth-pop went Black Metal. If you were listening to this on a jukebox you’d really get a lot for your quarter or dollar rather (I’m getting old.) These tracks all clock in at over 4 minutes. Some of the tracks push 6 or 7 minutes. I really like to go on musical journeys. I would love to go somewhere dark and listen to this music. Last night I fell asleep listening to it.
I keep coming back to Cradle of Filth as my point of reference for genres such as these. They were the first “Black Metal” I was introduced to. I found myself loving the synth sections of the songs that felt dark and spooky. I know it’s all a meme at this point but I don’t care. Boo! It’s Halloween! Spooky scary skeletons and whatnot.
Lamentation of the Strigoi, track four, comes in and lays down a nice simple folkish sound. There are some hints of acoustic guitar that become more prevalent throughout the track as the drums build up. All in all, it’s a really good contribution to the split. It rules. It’s well written and sounds great.
It is now time to visit our friends on the other side of the split. Werendia comes in and the energy definitely changes but stays mellow. There are more vocals to hear. They shriek in the background in mournful agony. Definitely a little more human than Erythrite Throne. This isn’t to say that they’re any better than Erythrite Throne It’s just that this is definitely more “Black Metal” than Erythrite Throne. There are sorrowful electric guitars, but they don’t overpower the mix. Drums play a bigger role on this side of the split.
According to Metal-Archives Werendia hail from Sweden. I think it’s pretty badass that these two collaborated together. They are also unsigned. I wish there was a bigger audience for this kind of thing. Kind of like a Burzumesque affair without people calling you a Nazi for listening to it. One thing I got into all this for is the atmosphere of it all. There is a large chromatic variance of atmospheric black metal the encompasses Depressive black metal all the way to more symphonic affairs such as this split.
Up until I started looking at Black Metal on Bandcamp I had no idea that such a thing existed. I know, I’m the metal head equivalent of an ostrich. I’ve found quite a few of these “Split Albums” and I can’t wait to experience them all. Back to Werendia though. Their presentation is more of a black metal symphony than anything else. They even name and number the pieces accordingly. It all kind of sounds as if MGLA made an ambient album (If they have please don’t crucify me to joyously painfully)
These tracks all stay consistent at around 5 or 6 minutes. The guitars drone in the background like lamenting witnesses watching a funeral procession. I know this kind of music may sound easy to produce but I guarantee you more thought goes into it than you might think.
Picking up the digital discography for both bands is remarkably cheap but I don’t want to go on about it and sound like an ad. Listen, and if you like it support the bands. Here’s a link:
