CODE

What we have here is a band based both in England and Norway. It is a sort avant-black metal supergroup, with people from Dodheimsgard, Ved Buens Ende, and with such former members such as the singer in Arcturus. But to be honest, he's not really missed. Because Kvohst is here! Kvohst, British Black Metal singer, who was in Dodheimsgard for starters in their fantastic album "Supervillain Outcast"- really truly blows this out of the water. And I mean really. He displays here a fantastic range, a range I didn't hear from him before- and really does make the album for me. That is, not to say the music in itself isn't good- but with Kvohst the music truly meshes into something quite incredible in this album- some of the most memorable, beautiful, and simply catchy melodies that this album dishes out. It is Kvohst that serves it so nicely that I can't imagine the album without him.

So what do we have here? This is music firmly planted in the black metal school, and while I won't say that this album is insanely eclectic, it offers at times extremely powerful riffs and at other times some really interesting chord progressions and songwriting. But again, it's truly Kvohst's vocals that bring it all together. He will usually will go through banshee vocals to growling and finally to this croon, which bizarrely enough can at times remind of Morrisey. This does bring a very different element, a more melodic, though at the same times still very distilling. Kvohst usually also adds vocal harmonies to the recording and the sound is so full and well done that it can get quite beautiful. I feel as if the first song "Smother the Crones" is really a song that shows off the bands sound the best. A huge blasting beginning, impressive banshee vocals, and lastly, an absolutely epic chorus which wins me over with Kvohst's vocals.

With that, may I add that Vicotnik's bass is just superb. Usually he displays these fluid melodic bass lines that are a joy by themselves. But seriously the musicianship here is fantastic all around.

I find I want to keep this one short. Absolute must if you're a fan of the avant-black metal scene, but also perhaps worth checking out even if you're not, as the powerful melodies may win you over.

The band features among others the prolific black metal musicians Kvohst (Mathew McNerney) on vocals who has also been involved with Void and Dødheimsgard and Viper (Yusaf "Vicotnik" Parvez) on bass and backing vocals who is known for his involvement in Ved Buens Ende and Dødheimsgard. As far as I understand Code is mostly guitarist Aort´s (Andy McIvor) baby though.

There are 8 tracks on the 53:54 minute long album. The songs are aggressive yet with a sense for melody and memorability which is mostly due to Kvohst´s diverse vocal delivery. His clean singing is intense and emotional in a dark and slightly monotone fashion while his raspy delivery sounds caustic and aggressive. There are some faster paced sections on the album but the tempo is mostly kept in mid-pace. This is certainly not your ultra fast blast beating kind of black metal album. Those who enjoy some of the above mentioned acts and their more twisted and experimental take on the black metal genre will probably find lots to like here. Maybe some will find it disrespectful if I say this but Code sounds a bit like Dødheimsgard lite to me (The "Supervillain Outcast (2007)" album. Without the samples though).

I would like to give a special mention to Viper´s bass playing on the album, because it´s something of a rarety that you can actually hear the bass in black metal. In this case it´s even very prominant and it´s greatly enjoyable to listen to some of Viper´s killer basslines. We´re not talking technical stuff but rather some melodic and clever lines that enhance the listening experience. The music on the album isn´t overtly experimental and you´ll find many pretty straight forward parts. There´s a will to create original music and experiment with conventions here that I find honourable though. Another great feature on the album are Kvohst´s lyrics. As always they are quite bizarre and dark and they suit the music very well. If I have to make one complaint it´s probably that the songs are at times a bit too lengthy for their own good, but it´s a minor complaint.

The production is professional and suits the music well.

Nouveau Gloaming is a good album by Code and while my rating isn´t a full 4 but rather a 3.5 - 4 star rating, the album is quite the enjoyable journey and it´s definitely recommendable to fans of Dødheimsgard, Void, Ved Buens Ende and Virus.