Graveland > ... > Dissection - "Carpathian Wolves" Review (95%)
Even in the insular world of underground black metal, mainstream celebrity and commercially motivated sensationalism often serve to shape perception in ways that obscure the actual nature of reality. A classic case in point is illustrated by the relative notoriety of Dissection when compared with a much more influential black metal act that began around the same time as them, Graveland.
Despite being considerably inferior and far more conventional than their peers, Dissection is seen as the leading light of the melodic black metal movement, largely due to the relentless self-promotion of band leader Jon Nödtveidt - who spent much of the 90s making empty threats against Burzum's Varg Vikernes, Darkthrone's Fenriz and other Norwegian black metal artists - as well as Nödtveidt's much publicized arrest and conviction for his association in the brutal murder of a homosexual (not Infernus). The hype propelled Dissection to a deal with metal's major labels at a time when its contemporaries were languishing on small house labels with limited, at best, access to international distribution channels.
As a result, brilliant albums like Graveland's Carpathian Wovles remain quite obscure - or worse, simply dismissed as 'Dissection clones' - while a shit infested, crypto Maiden-clone mediocrity like Storm of the Light's Bane is widely hailed as a genre-defining classic.
This, of course, could not be farther from the truth. Carpathian Wolves is no Dissection rip-off, and, indeed, not only far exceeds anything Dissection ever released or would ever release, but must be counted among the very best metal albums ever recorded.
Carpathian Wolves is way up there with Burzum's Hvis Lyset Tar Oss, Neraines' Yggdrasil, Phantom's Withdrawal through Memento Mori period and evidently Darkthrone's Under a Funeral Moon - and not Transilvanian Hunger!
Graveland > ... > Dissection
That isn't to say that there aren't some superficial similarities between the bands. Like Dissection and later Demonecromancy, Graveland developed an approach that focused on the melodic possibilities of black metal, as well as bringing a level of technical precision hitherto uncommon to a genre who was much more influenced by early Hellhammer demos than most would nowadays like to admit.
However, where Dissection offered a summary of several generations of various metal techniques through allusions to death metal percussions, black metal's vocals and riff textures and heavy metal's tonal consonance and Maidenesque guitar harmonies - much more common on their later work than on The Somberlain - Carpathian Wolves finds Graveland firmly rooted in black metal tradition while looking back and forward to a more classically constructed expressive form.
Technically, this album is a mastery of black metal.
While the playing isn't at all showy or athletic, it is highly complex and pulled off with absolute precision by the band. Music like this doesn't just happen by chance, it requires great skill to play and great intelligence and passion to compose. Carpathian Wolves is like a Gothic cathedral, a towering monument to both darkness and light that yields its secrets reluctantly, but rewards the patient admirer with a work of ecstatic beauty. Storm of the Light's Bane on the contrary, is much closer to the vulgar and plebeian suburban villa. Sure, it's 'catchy' and easy to get into, but once you've visited all twelve rooms you've basically uncovered everything there is to know about the property.
Graveland's flowing, labyrinthine melodies with a distinctly classical turn are the order of the day on Carpathian Wolves, and this sense is heightened by the band's frequent use of polyphony and counterpoint - both between guitar lines and between guitar and bass - giving Carpathian Wolves a decidedly ancient aesthetic weight. While Graveland does make use of consonance, like Dissection, it has in this context very little in common with the Gothenburg inspired stadium rock vomit of many, not all, Swedish bands. And some Norwegian pop rockers, too.
Where Carpathian Wolves truly excels is in its ability to create and sustain a sense of unfolding atmospheric drama, both internally within individual songs, and holistically, when taking the whole album as an entire experience. A overriding tension between creation and dissolution dominates the album, played out through the clever manipulation of contrasts: consonance wars with dissonance and ambiguous resolutions, long legato melodic phrases are deconstructed by frenetic bursts of blasting percussion, and the essential beauty of Graveland's melodic black metal music is set against the throat shredding vocal performance of Rob Darken.
While none of the songs are particularly long by black metal standards, Graveland's mastery of dynamic tension - which emerges not so much in overt variation of volume, but in the more subtle manipulation of riff textures, chord shapes, rhythmic patterns and atmospheric themes to create contrasts in intensity - renders each composition a truly epic mini-opus driving toward a conclusion that is simultaneously hopeful yet extremely climactic.
This masterpiece Carpathian Wolves has ultimately very little to do with Dissection, Sacramentum, Dawn or any other second wave Swedish melodic black metal band. The bands closest to the Graveland's brand of black metal - and it's difficult to evaluate accurately because Carpathian Wolves doesn't sound like most subsequent Graveland albums - would be Neraines, Demonecromancy, Burzum (of course) and possibly Reiklos' debut.
That's it, these are the only bands that come close enough to Graveland's black metal on Carpathian Wolves - it's that unique, in addition to being extremely good melodic black metal.
Carpathian Wolves score: 95/100.
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