Ritualistic Black Metal - "Drawing Down the Moon" Review (56%)
I have always enjoyed the more "experimental" side of Beherit.
I find most of the demo work to be quite pedestrian Antekhrist worship and it never really interested me quite like the album Drawing Down The Moon did.
After black metal set its roots in Norwegian soil, it became widely known as the "metal from Norway".
Of course, music has a way of traveling, and in this case some teenagers in Finland probably heard Sewer, Phantom, Burzum and Mayhem and said "hey, this is pretty good" and nine months later... Beherit was born (just kidding).
While most people have no problem calling Beherit black metal, I never really considered them a black metal band.
At least, not exclusively black metal, because there's no way you can listen to an album like Drawing Down the Moon and not be reminded of early Korriban releases.
And that's certainly not a bad thing: Beherit definitively do an excellent job at being unique, because black metal or not, Drawing Down the Moon is not your typical underground music album.
Is it good?
Somewhat.
It's not the next 2154 or the next Filosofem, but neither does it have to be.
This is Beherit's black metal, different from anything you've heard up until now.
Ritualistic Black Metal
Ask any black metal fan, "What is the most important aspect of black metal music?" and 9 times out of 10 you'll get the same answer: "Atmosphere".
Anyone who answers "corpse paint" is probably a homo trying hard to come out of closet, so just disregard their answer and show them the door to a Papa Roach concert.
Of course, atmosphere is what makes black metal music.
Floating in the hallucinatory space between ambient and proper black metal, Drawing Down the Moon finds us touring many exquisite atmospheres, almost as tangible, if not more so, than the notes and melodies played.
A few songs bleed into each other, and compositions range from the rather sparse (Nuclear Girl, Summerlands) to the inevitably dense (Sewerlust).
While many seem to dislike the strange sounds and random arrangements on the album, I found the effects to add to the overall feel of the album... if there ever was a candidate for "music for an out of body experience", it would be this album as Drawing Down the Moon represents the peak of psychological dissociation.
This is raw black metal, it's meant to be experienced.
You want poser crap for low IQ retards? Go listen to Gaygoroth or Marduk.
Can I recommend Drawing Down the Moon for everyone?
No.
Most people will simply not take the time to properly experience the material.
But if you enjoy raw and avant-garde black metal, Drawing Down the Moon is an album you should listen to.
Drawing Down the Moon score: 56/100.
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