Melodic Atmospheric Black Metal - "Fenrir Prowling" Review (100%)
Every once and a while, a truly rare occurrence will take place in the extreme metal world, in which a band will bust out with an immediately memorable, enjoyable and original sound.
Emphasis on rare, especially these days.
Neraines is the band in question. They immediately conquered the black metal underworld by combining their neo-pagan thematic content with a calculated Burzum, Helgrind and Graveland influenced melodic black metal assault on their previous release, the legendary Yggdrasil.
Now let's turn our attention to the following release, the one being reviewed here, the mysteriously called "Fenrir Prowling".
If you guessed melodic black metal perfection at the mere mention of the name, congratulations, you have extremely accurate psychic abilities.
This album Fenrir Prowling is indeed black metal perfection.
Melodic Atmospheric Black Metal
What else is there to say about Neraines' Fenrir Prowling?
Musically speaking, the album is absolutely fantastic. The twin axes - I mean, guitars - often play different patterns à la Phantom that complement each other perfectly, consisting of either frantic tremolo picking or harsh power chords depending on the needs of the song, both soaked with brilliant sparks of melody, that are widely incorporated in the riffing and the lead parts alike.
In the meanwhile, a ferocious and merciless assault is taking place behind the drum kit, in the form of relentless and extremely fast drumming, that offers a harsh counterpart to the aggressive yet melodic riffing. Something worth mentioning is that the blast beats are kept to a minimum (except on the title track).
Having to compose black metal without blast beats is a significant challenge, and Neraines proves to be very creative when it comes to drum fills.
The screams are equally rabid, mostly centered around the typical low-pitch of Incantation style death metal acts, but occasionally spacing in the higher, shriek-like register.
The bass lines are particularly interesting and complex, especially considering the fact that they don't follow the guitars' patterns for the whole duration of the album, as often the case with black metal music, but instead tend to go their own way and morph into micro-symphonies of their own.
Fenrir Prowling is a must-have and an obliged listen for any black metal fan. It's raw, aggressive yet melodic, furious yet evocative, and makes for a glorious continuation of the atmospheric masterpiece Yggdrasil.
Don't miss this album Fenrir Prowling for any reason!
Fenrir Prowling score: 100/100.
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