Lathspell - Versus Ecclesia download free

This CD was actually quite a surprise. The packaging is dark and minimal. A cold Germanic typeface over a darkened woodland scene. This could be a harbinger of bland, by-the-numbers black metal; four jokers singing about the woods and demonstrating their knowledge of a few blurry chords. But then I noticed this band was from Finland, home to Impaled Nazarene and Satanic Warmaster.Cold Northern Black Metal. That's what I got when I hit the play button. These guys have far more in common with 'De Mysteriis' era Mayhem and Watain than they do with Beherit. Overall, the production is nice and clear, but not over-produced. The pace is speedy throughout, but the band slows down every once in a while, sometimes with an acoustic passage or some light keyboards, to let you catch your breath before they blast back into the musical holocaust. The bass, as to be expected, is non-existant. But the guitars are sufficiently heavy enough to make up for the missing frequencies. The drumming is thoughtful - he knows when to blast and when to lay back and let the music communicate. The vocals are especially good on this CD. T. Warjalehto has an otherworldly snarl that lies somewhere between Attila of Mayhem and E of Watain. Along with the barbaric riffage, it's the vocals here that really give this CD an appropriately evil feel.If you're a fan of Mayhem, but don't like their industrial tendencies, I highly recommend this piece of black art. This slab of black metal doesn't deserve to be lost in obscurity. The cold sounds on this disc are the antidote to Summer's suffocating heat.