Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Blood Of The Black Owl - S/T - 2007 - Bindrune Recordings

Track Listing:1. Kills In Timber 2. The Thunderous Hooves Of Two Goats In The Sky 3. Drinking The Blood Of A Lion 4. Like a Coffin Chasing A Womb, His Chariot Becomes A Southern Bloodstorm 5. Uwwalo 6. Hammer Comes Crashing Down 7. A Coven Of Vultures

Is it possible to be extreme without the hyper speed blast beats, pummeling double bass, lightening fast guitar riffs, and throat-piercing vokills? Absolutely, just check out the debut release from Seattle, Washington’s Blood Of The Black Owl. This one-man wrecking crew, headed by Chet Scott takes extreme to all new heights by incorporating the minimalist sounds of early Celtic Frost and Darkthrone, the grimly toned guitars of Obituary, and the ambient textures of Ruhr Hunter to create a devastating blend of blackened doom metal.

Clocking in at around 70 minutes, Blood Of The Black Owl packs a massive wall of sound into the 7 songs within. The first song, Kills In Timber, mixes early Celtic Frost and Panzerfaust-era Darkthrone to create an epic 10 minute hymn that will surely pulsate your speakers into the ground. By adding the massive guitar tone of Obituary, Chet is able to achieve maximum

heaviness. The second song, The Thunderous Hooves Of Two Goats In The Sky, starts off with an evil ambience, as if you are alone in the cold dark woods, surrounded by horrific entities of evil. As the howls fade and the music begins, we are taken on another doomed journey into forever darkness - backed by faint screams and cold keyboard works. The third and longest song on the CD, Drinking The Blood Of A Lion, starts off with a simple acoustic passage and whispering howls, before morphing into buzzing guitars and slow, doom drum beats. At around the 9:00 minute mark, this song opens up to one of the most evil moments on the CD by incorporating hate-filled keyboards to all the blackness. The fourth song, Like A Coffin Chasing A Womb, His Chariot Becomes A Southern Bloodstorm, continues the doom with a bleak acoustic guitars like those found on a Deathspell Omega CD. By the middle of the song, traces of early Type O Negative can be found with just the drums and keyboards taking center stage. The next song, Uwwalo, is unique in that the first half of this near 9:00 song is doom oriented, while the latter half is more ambient in nature. The sixth song, Hammer Comes Crashing Down, is another minimalist masterpiece with occasional screams and yells, as if a lost journeyman in a mountainside forest is being attacked by the beasts of nature. The final song, A Coven Of Vultures, is another 13 minute song, and the second with actual vocals. An ultra heavy doom track with vokills that sound as if they were recorded in a coffin buried 6 feet underground. From the 8 minute mark on, be prepared for an evil blend of ambient doom and eerie instrument work, as Blood Of The Black Owl refuses to let the listener escape with a feeling of calmness.

Although probably not for everyone, Blood Of The Black Owl will definitely catch the attention of fans of black metal, doom metal, and ambient music. By combining these three elements, they have created a new standard in blackened doom metal. So, if you are up for the challenge of escaping to a cold, evil place for 70 minutes, let Blood Of The Black Owl take you there.



Rating: 4.5



--Grim Gaijin