Search - Virus :: Carheart

Black Cars And Night Dogs

Jamie McMullin | Winnipeg, Canada | 02/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is very noir, very dark and full of much atonality. If you liked their previous project, Ved Buens Ende, you will probably like this as it is much of the same. There are some differences though: The black metal sound is hidden much deeper now competing with swans-esque dissonance and a sort of art-rocky atmosphere; The beats are slower and more jazz-orientated and the music is just much clearer and calmer.



Some people have complained that the sound is too garage-like, and I can definitely see the argument. The 'vibe' that the album strives for isn't some basement recording that say, Darkthrone or 1349 want, this music is raw but not to the point of convolution. A very clear recording would better suit the album, well, maybe next time.



Another complaint is that Carl-Michael plays guitar instead of drums, which makes for weaker drums and guitars than is the norm for the band. I don't fully agree myself, the drumming is nothing fancy or virtuous, it's simple, aggressive and a lot of metal is used, opposed to leather or bass. It suits the music, and it does have a dark, playful edge to it at all times. The guitar is pefect and I don't think anyone in the scene could do it better. Carl-Michael doesn't want technical mayhem or punishing, deep and heavy riffs. He wants to break away from the black metal archetype that has imprisoned him in the past, I think this album is a beautiful and strong departure.



The strongest songs on the album vary from person to person. My personal favourites are Carheart, Road, Gun Meets Mother and Hustler. Each one offers a very different sound from the other and combined, really show how diverse and amazing this album is. The other songs (aside from the instrumental tracks) are grounded in very similar soil.



I would title this post black metal. It's strange, dark and playful all at once. Fans of Swans, Thinking Plague, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum can get into this as well as fans of the Norwegian metal scene. This tries to unite the best of both worlds and in the end creates something genuinely dark and menacing. Avoiding the pretension of post/art rock scene and the predictable, adolescent energy of the extreme metal scene, it was the album of the month for me, without a doubt."