REVISIONIST

Thus far the zenith of the kind of experimental black metal encamped between the kvlt and indie, "Revisionist" ups the ante for epic/symphonic black via its particular influences and kind of experimentation. First and foremost, this is a post-black album, but rather than simply be another band who blackens Neurosis or crystalises Godspeed into metal, they instead plumb the possibilities that shoegaze brings to post music. Combine with some of the best of more standard post-metal, including some powerful riffs at times indebted to Emperor and their classic symph black, and you have a uniquely awesome, genre-elastic album. The whole record is sheerly forceful and grand, with never a dull moment, but "Mint Divine", and "Enemy Victorian"'s ending, stick out, they the purest statements of shoegaze influence on the entire album, as well as "False Pass", an epic track that then adds some delicious noise to the mix. By far some of the best post-metal in years, perfect for fans of post and epic metal, and the one album that metalheads unhappy with the Pitchfork blessed side of black metal should listen to anyways - it's worth every second and every penny.

Old meets old...and a bass to die for

Sannhet means truth or truthfulness in both Swedish and Norwegian. I guess these guys needed something with a Scandinavian flavour; after all the black metal they occasionally dip their toes in stems from the far north. As it happens I too come from Scandinavia. I eat snow and dill in equal quantities and often use my days watching trees lose their foliage and wither away in the sweeping winds. That's Scandinavia for ya....at least during the colder months. To any black metal fan that's about all Scandinavia is. Well we do get summers up here - sunshine, bikinis, badly produced pop music and big bellied German tourists all frequent our lands. Sannhet though seems enamoured with the music of frostbites and chess coloured war-paint. On 'Revisionist' all of this gets funnelled into the vast open country of America and effectively moves away from the shrieking aesthetics of say early Ulver or Darkthrone.

Nah Sannhet seems to have sucked up a fair few sonic fingerprints from the American countryside, be that from the towering brutes of Isis or the Texan purveyors of post rock Explosions in the Sky. Bombastic bone-crunchingly heavy riffs with hints of a guttural force normally found in death metal, Sannhet employs some of the same geriatrics I've heard through the last couple of decades - starting out with Neurosis' genesis wonder 'Souls at Zero'. Now music doesn't always have to be cutting edge for me to enjoy it. On the contrary, I often find deliberately progressive music unnecessarily contrived. The one problem with this album though remains it's inability to shake it's style. Post rock or indeed post metal has been oversaturated with Godspeed crescendos and Neurosian build-ups - almost to the point of nausea. Even when these usual suspect are blended into a hefty mix of contemporary electronics and what to these ears genuinely sound like early 1980s post punk, I still mostly hear a hundred other bands who've done this thing before...and slightly better.

Hang on a minute....why does this album then continue to travel back into my stereo? I guess it's the Joy Division touch. -Lunging through in the bass playing - like an insisting poodle screwing your shin. The first couple of times I listened to 'Revisionist' it reminded of something I couldn't quite put my finger on. It continued to do so until one day after my morning juice séance. I popped on 'Unknown Pleasures' as I was walking out to the mighty water-closet where shampoo and toothpaste reside peacefully amongst each other - and then by the flick of the switch during 'Day of the Lords' and your's truly sitting comfortably on the can, I suddenly remembered that elusive bass from Sannhet. 'Eureka' I cried with happy tears in my eyes and a lovely smirk on my face that only really materialises during poops of heaven.

What does this album sound like then? What if Joy Division were American and had formed 20 years later with the intent of giving Godspeed, Isis and Neurosis a run for their money? You're close buddy - just cut out the dangerous frailty of one Ian Curtis and you're halfway there. Recommended to people with green shoes.