http://caraneir.bandcamp.com/
The last review was definitely a wake up call, since I felt really good for finally posting something here. Also, the submission stack keeps piling up and growing, a fact which I am really thankful for, so I am really eager to spread the word about all you girls and boys who keep sending me material, despite the blog moving at the slowest pace thus far. I have the best readers and I love you all.
I have already seen this band on several other websites and blogs, so this might come as old news to some of you. In case you are unfamiliar, "Cara Neir" is a two-man project coming from Dallas, Texas, formed way back in 2008. Garry and Chris started writing the music for this particular release in early 2010, namely March, and slowly progressed to the completion of the album which came in July 2011. "Stagnant Perceptions" officially came out on November 11 2011 and it was self-released by the band.
For a duo, these guys managed to unleash a really vicious monster onto our senses. This eleven track critter comes roaring with sounds of black metal and crust, with some splashes of hardcore and post rockish screamo. From start to finish, throughout all 45 minutes of music, it is constant mayhem, chaos, extremely fast playing and just an overtly rushing sound, paused only by a minimal addition of slower grim intersections which give a brief atmospheric feel to everything. Truth be told, "Natures With No Plagues" is not a blog famous for its black metal reviews and I am quite young, so to speak, when it comes to the genre, so my knowledge of this particular field might not come as well suited. But on a personal note, as everything on this blog actually is, the thing that really managed to set "Cara Neir" apart from other similar bands is cleanness of the recordings and the overall high production of the release. Usually there is a dose of crunchiness, crackling and general dirtiness of black metal/crust bands, yet here everything is really clean and precise. Don't get me wrong, I loved this kind of "approach" very much, considering it a total merit and bravo-ing the band, but I presume that a lot of listeners of this genre might be repulsed by this. But, to not stray away into discussing tastes and a definition of being true or whatever, I'll continue with my own thoughts. This type of production really aided the band, specifically because their style of song composition is quite interesting and deserves to be heard in such a fashion. There are certain riffs and melody shifts which are somehow so precise and complex that they border on being called technical or even adding a certain "math" tag on their list of genres. As a whole, the songs are melded together really well and your entire experience with this release comes in a single breath. Literally every time I was listening to "Stagnant Perceptions" it seemed as if it was just one song and, for a 45 minute release, this is quite intriguing. Also, it is really cool to note that all those genres do get their time under the spotlight and, despite the melding of tracks mentioned above, songs have attributes which set them apart from one another. This might be due to a number of songs which feature guest appearances, so you get to hear backing vocals from Rachel in tracks 1, 4, 5, 8 and 11, as well as those from Dorian on songs 3, 4 and 5. He also contributes with guitar playing in songs "Dethroned and Leprous" and "The Bridge of Despise". There is just a ton of things going on in all eleven songs and I really consider it to be foolish to try and describe their flow. It is just a release which you definitely have to check out for yourselves to get a proper opinion. I, for one, loved everything I heard.
The above posted bandcamp link provides a download link for "Stagnant Perceptions" and you can also buy their cd, which is by the way limited to 50 copies. I don't know what is currently going on with the band, but for all of you who have a facebook page, check them out on theirs and find out, located here. All in all, definitely check them out, I promise you will enjoy their music!
No comments:
Post a Comment