"It seems to me that Enochian Crescent is nowhere near as well-known as
I’ve thought them to be. Could be a simple case of faulty perspective,
yes, but at the very least I believe they should be familiar to far more
people than they are at the moment. A band that can write consistently
good music is hard to find, a black metal band doing the same even
harder and, apparently, there’s a level of seriousness in what they’re
doing; even this is not too common at all. I wouldn’t say their debut
‘Telocvovim’ is necessarily an album you need, but it is one you need to
hear at least once.
When it comes to the music alone, black metal probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind – once you get past the opening track ‘Kun Ihmisliha Itki’, that is. Honestly, when I first listened to this I thought I had the wrong album. In terms of both production and music, that track is as close to raw black metal as this band has ever been or (hopefully) ever will be. After that however, I could easily label the music death metal for the most part if it wasn’t for the band’s lyrics and image. Some ten years ago Old Man’s Child used to be a frequent comparison for precisely this reason. The guitars lead the way with relatively simple riffs that offer the entire scope of both styles and tempos imaginable in this context. We have melodic technicality, down-tempo heaviness, fast palm muted double picking and rhythmically catchy near-rock grooves, but almost none of “standard” black metal (if we’re thinking second wave Norwegian). In any case, all of it does manage to sound like black metal. This obviously has much to do with Wrath’s vocal delivery: varied as it is, the voice he mainly uses is a raw but rather typical high shriek.
As for which bands should be named in this review for the purpose of musical reference, well – just pick any. If we insist on black metal, the largely melodic overall style could lead to Immortal or Dissection, though both are a bit far-fetched otherwise. On the other hand, guitarist and songwriter Victor has often stated that he is heavily influenced by traditional heavy metal; this is very easy to believe, if you take note of the simplicity of rhythms. The guitars sound very natural in this sense and are easy to absorb instantly. Besides that, all I can think of is that ‘Telocvovim’ certainly doesn’t scream “1997!!!”; if anything, the album sounds very contemporary, ahead of its time, even. I hear riffs similar to these on Emperor’s ‘IX Equilibrium’, for example, as well as on many modern blackened death metal albums. Another interesting thing to notice is a slight “gothic” element – the surprisingly subtle use of keyboards, clean guitars and (even!) clean vocals on tracks like ‘Amma I Piad Sa Madriiax’ and ‘A Dream of...’ is just about exactly what Moonspell and others could do and have done. This can, of course, be nothing more than the “1997” of this album, so to speak.
What I enjoy very much is that, even though the music is quite simple, there are some nice little tricks in songwriting to keep things interesting. Also, not all simple music is this memorable. The band knows how to put two riffs together and turn them into an enjoyable passage. At times a tempo change can sound awkward and literally all tracks end more or less abruptly, but we are talking about a debut album, after all. I don’t think anyone would expect perfection. What I don’t like, however, are the guitar solos. Yes, solos. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with solos in black metal as long as they’re done well – here, the playing is unbelievably sloppy and I doubt the actual notes were thought about at all. Sounds like bad improvisation to these ears. Back on the plus side, the drumming is absolutely flawless. Kai Hahto of Rotten Sound and Wintersun fame played on the album, and couldn’t have done a better job. Some nice little tricks from him, too, and a genuinely solid performance. Almost too good, actually: there are times when other band members have problems keeping up with him.
Overall, ‘Telocvovim’ is as solid an album as you’ll ever find. There are no notable mistakes or low points as far as individual songs go, and the music is versatile enough not to require “hits” either. ‘Crescentian’ and ‘A Wolf Among Sheep’ are ones I enjoy for their melodies and “groove”, respectively, but there’s no reason to dislike any of the others. I will say, however, that placing the aforementioned gothic influences in the mid-section and ending the album with simple and effective riff monsters is a very good idea indeed. Giving the listener a good LAST impression, textbook example.
Ever since the release of this album, Enochian Crescent have been dubbed “experimental” and “innovative”, even “progressive” – I honestly don’t see a reason for using words like these. In the context of second wave black metal (not to mention the “mainstream” black metal it evolved to) it is understandable to an extent, but one doesn’t have to know much about other genres to notice where their music comes from. What does set them apart from most other bands is that they have developed a style of their own simply by merging enough different elements together. ‘Telocvovim’ was and is the first showcase of this and as such, very impressive indeed. From the start, the band knew exactly what they’re supposed to be doing. The album is worth a listen to just about any metal fan – whether you’ll like it is a matter of personal taste, but everyone should be able to at least appreciate the effort. A modern classic, if I know of any."
When it comes to the music alone, black metal probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind – once you get past the opening track ‘Kun Ihmisliha Itki’, that is. Honestly, when I first listened to this I thought I had the wrong album. In terms of both production and music, that track is as close to raw black metal as this band has ever been or (hopefully) ever will be. After that however, I could easily label the music death metal for the most part if it wasn’t for the band’s lyrics and image. Some ten years ago Old Man’s Child used to be a frequent comparison for precisely this reason. The guitars lead the way with relatively simple riffs that offer the entire scope of both styles and tempos imaginable in this context. We have melodic technicality, down-tempo heaviness, fast palm muted double picking and rhythmically catchy near-rock grooves, but almost none of “standard” black metal (if we’re thinking second wave Norwegian). In any case, all of it does manage to sound like black metal. This obviously has much to do with Wrath’s vocal delivery: varied as it is, the voice he mainly uses is a raw but rather typical high shriek.
As for which bands should be named in this review for the purpose of musical reference, well – just pick any. If we insist on black metal, the largely melodic overall style could lead to Immortal or Dissection, though both are a bit far-fetched otherwise. On the other hand, guitarist and songwriter Victor has often stated that he is heavily influenced by traditional heavy metal; this is very easy to believe, if you take note of the simplicity of rhythms. The guitars sound very natural in this sense and are easy to absorb instantly. Besides that, all I can think of is that ‘Telocvovim’ certainly doesn’t scream “1997!!!”; if anything, the album sounds very contemporary, ahead of its time, even. I hear riffs similar to these on Emperor’s ‘IX Equilibrium’, for example, as well as on many modern blackened death metal albums. Another interesting thing to notice is a slight “gothic” element – the surprisingly subtle use of keyboards, clean guitars and (even!) clean vocals on tracks like ‘Amma I Piad Sa Madriiax’ and ‘A Dream of...’ is just about exactly what Moonspell and others could do and have done. This can, of course, be nothing more than the “1997” of this album, so to speak.
What I enjoy very much is that, even though the music is quite simple, there are some nice little tricks in songwriting to keep things interesting. Also, not all simple music is this memorable. The band knows how to put two riffs together and turn them into an enjoyable passage. At times a tempo change can sound awkward and literally all tracks end more or less abruptly, but we are talking about a debut album, after all. I don’t think anyone would expect perfection. What I don’t like, however, are the guitar solos. Yes, solos. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with solos in black metal as long as they’re done well – here, the playing is unbelievably sloppy and I doubt the actual notes were thought about at all. Sounds like bad improvisation to these ears. Back on the plus side, the drumming is absolutely flawless. Kai Hahto of Rotten Sound and Wintersun fame played on the album, and couldn’t have done a better job. Some nice little tricks from him, too, and a genuinely solid performance. Almost too good, actually: there are times when other band members have problems keeping up with him.
Overall, ‘Telocvovim’ is as solid an album as you’ll ever find. There are no notable mistakes or low points as far as individual songs go, and the music is versatile enough not to require “hits” either. ‘Crescentian’ and ‘A Wolf Among Sheep’ are ones I enjoy for their melodies and “groove”, respectively, but there’s no reason to dislike any of the others. I will say, however, that placing the aforementioned gothic influences in the mid-section and ending the album with simple and effective riff monsters is a very good idea indeed. Giving the listener a good LAST impression, textbook example.
Ever since the release of this album, Enochian Crescent have been dubbed “experimental” and “innovative”, even “progressive” – I honestly don’t see a reason for using words like these. In the context of second wave black metal (not to mention the “mainstream” black metal it evolved to) it is understandable to an extent, but one doesn’t have to know much about other genres to notice where their music comes from. What does set them apart from most other bands is that they have developed a style of their own simply by merging enough different elements together. ‘Telocvovim’ was and is the first showcase of this and as such, very impressive indeed. From the start, the band knew exactly what they’re supposed to be doing. The album is worth a listen to just about any metal fan – whether you’ll like it is a matter of personal taste, but everyone should be able to at least appreciate the effort. A modern classic, if I know of any."
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