There are some things that just cannot be stopped and black metal is one of those forces. Much of the black metal I’ve listened to in the last year has sounded remarkably similar, hence why I’ve tried to review so little of it after July 2007. It wasn’t hard to tell albums apart but it was getting increasingly difficult to find truly distinguishing characteristics amongst my CDs. While the Scandinavian scene is busy producing cookie cutter bands, the US black metal scene has been chugging along quite nicely. Especially prominent is the still growing ambient black metal scene. Much of this music is coming from the Midwest — the Bible Belt, no surprises here — and is blowing the pants off of the Scandinavians right now. My current new CD is In The Falling Snow by Illinois one-man bleak-fest I Shalt Become.
I Shalt Become is a band of questionable band status; since it’s a one-man outfit an infinite hiatus without disbanding is common. Neither their Myspace nor Metal Archives gives much of a hint on what the band is up to these days. When reading over other reviews of this CD, what’s most prominent is the many references and comparisons to NSBM bands such as Drudkh or Burzum or Graveland. I can see the valid references to Drudkh or Burzum, but Graveland? Not so much. The mid period Burzum influence is immediately noticeable, from the sheer bleakness of the soundscape to the “lyrics” of groans and screams. Physical instrumentation has taken a backseat to programmed drums and samples, this is expected in ambient black metal. The album In The Falling Snow is a tad under 35 minutes and flows over 10 tracks. One review I read said the tracks stretched into “nearly epic proportions”, but don’t let this fool you. Only the second track Burning actually passes the 6 minute mark, the title track is the only other track to surpass 5 minutes. I wouldn’t call this epic by any means. Given the number of tracks, it’s an average of 3:50 per track, fairly on par for short LPs. But I digress.
Over the span of ten tracks, I played the album three times through without noticing it had actually looped. Normally, I’d be a bit ticked off since I’d be able to tell the album doesn’t cleanly flow together but this one does. The outro flows seamlessly into the intro and all tracks segue into each other nicely. As I stated, the drums are programmed and there are samples here and there. This is bleak and depressing music so don’t expect dual guitar lines or hyper tempo drumming. Their American peers such as Leviathan, Lurker of Chalice, Nightbringer all have similar misanthropic and downright dreary albums. This is the stuff I love. Bands like I Shalt Become may be blips on the global BM radar but these guys end up influencing someone and that’s what makes this album so good. Their reach may not extend past US soil but the incestuous nature of the USBM scene will ensure their music gets out. Each track is infused with fuzzy feedback and has a crusty feel to it, lending to the dirty and depressing feeling portrayed by S. Holliman (that has to be a stage moniker). It’s very hard for me to pick out a truly standout track as I don’t think it’s really possible, this isn’t a track-for-track album, it’s about a soundscape of solitude and utter despair. I’m not saying a favorite couldn’t be picked out, I just think it’d be a poor choice to do so since each song is intertwined with the others.
From what I gather, this album was released in January 2008 but there has been some confusion as to whether In The Falling Snow is an I Shalt Become album or a Birkenau demo/bootleg (Holliman’s other “defunct” project). Either way, it’s a stellar and depressing album released on No Colours Records but they may no longer be in stock. Finding any of I Shalt Become’s releases is difficult enough so hopefully NCR still has some in stock because I highly suggest you buy it if possible. You will not be disappointed when all you want is something depressing on a rainy, death hallowed night.
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