Ophidian Forest: Votive

Ophidian Forest is an international black metal band which formed in 2006. Members include Otrebor (drums), Amalgamoth (vocals, keyboards, lyrics) and D. (guitars, bass, banjo, bowed psaltery, cello). D. recently replaced Zaragil, an original member. An interesting side note is the band members have never met, at least that was the case previously. Just goes to show how the internet has provided new ways for bands to create their music

So what do these members from the United States and The Netherlands bring to the table? If you said black metal you would be partially correct but there is more here than meets the eye, or…. um ear in this case. Sure this is heavy stuff with dense walls of sound filled with droning distortion and growled vocals. Take the first track “Nerthus�, a foray into dark riffs, swirling synths and an impenetrable wave of intensity. Some of the guitar turns out to be quite trippy and coupled with some lighter moments and keyboard dominated change ups there is also a progressive factor at play. The vocals are even more intense on “Baduhenna� as they slowly get buried beneath the music. It’s a pretty neat muffled effect to go along with the cool drones of guitar and synth. At one point the music stops and a low bass sound evolves. It's these unexpected twists that should appeal to the more progressive minded listener. The synths and keys are even more dominant on “Sandraudiga�, another good track. Cool keyboards and a dense heaviness with evil vocals make “Vagdavercustis� equal parts black metal and symphonic rock.

Votive is an interesting album and one I am still digging into. If you are okay with extreme vocals I think Votive will have a lot to offer. An Aural Music release.

Track Listing:
1. Nerthus
2. Baduhenna
3. Sandraudiga
4. Vagdavercustis
5. Nehalennia
6. Viradectis
7. Hella

Added: September 19th 2019
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Label's Official Site
Hits: 852
Language: english

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