Vetala - Retarded Necro Demential Hole
From the necro raw lo-fi recordings of Sarcófago, to the folkish sounds of Taake or the symphonic creations of Emperor, black metal has come a long way. It has evolved as a genre, it has taken to its sphere elements that, in the beginning one would never imagine having a place in such a “hermetic” genre. Abruptum (“Obscuritatem Advoco Amplectère Me”), Diabolos Rising (“666”) or Mysticum (“In The Streams Of Inferno”) have given, throughout the years, more and more layers to the genre, thinking outside that (almost) conservative and very rooted in strict guidelines, box.
Ever since its first official recording (let us not go down that path, please) black metal has proven to be, in my opinion, the genre within the bigger genre that is heavy metal, to prove its ability, not only to evolve but to, as I said previously: “appropriate” itself of elements from different musical realities.
After so many examples of that gift, black metal has gone full circle, and returned to its primitive, raw, necro and shapeless spectre. Yes, raw lo-fi black metal has been, for the past years, a growing force. The Netherlands (The Throat Records), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Black Plague Circle), the USA (Perverse Homage) and Portugal (Black Circle) are in the forefront of the sub-genre of raw black metal.
Today I will tell you a bit more about one of the most significant bands in this spectrum of black metal in my country and, why not, the global scene, and their latest endeavour. Vetala plays raw black metal. Part of the Black Circle alongside Mons Veneris, Decrepitude, Irae and Rainha Cólera.
I first heard of Vetala in 2011, when their “Satanic Morbid Metal” full length came out. I ordered it without hearing one sample! The aesthetic gave me this LLN (Les Legions Noires, for those that are unaware of the French Black Metal Circle) scent and that, in my book, is top class black metal.
“Retarded Necro Demential Hole” came out on the 25th of December and on that day I placed my order. 4 tracks. 4 untitled tracks. 4 untitled tracks of raw black metal. No… 4 tracks of raw black metal and some devilish odours of experimentation.
As soon as the 1st song starts, the drum sound really hits me as awful, even below awful, maybe. The vocals are, as always, spot on, and the guitar melody “drives” you through the song: leading it and building a structure around it. You have slower moments, and slower does not mean that they have mellowed their sound in any way! Haunting, slower pase (I sense Defuntos in this particular one).
2nd song. 00:50. THIS IS VETALA! The drums, the guitar melody and the vocals all combined to form one massive beast of Raw black metal! Almost 16 minutes long, this song grabs you by the throat from start to finish. Again: slower parts that lead to more aggressive straight forward black metal. The way the vocals were performed, the way the vocals were recorded, the melodies and sounds in the background… it crafts this little Ghoul that grows in the course of the song. Moments of nonsense, instrumental nonsense, vocal nonsense, that sum up the craziness that is Vetala. At some point this song in particular resembles a jam, in the rehearsal room. How black metal can that be? 15:30 onward… someone started messing around with the synthetizers and it ended up in a Vetala song? Nonetheless an excellent piece of music it is.
3rd piece of art. Straighforward, black metal. Chilling atmosphere. Some vocals in the background helped build momentum and add that bit of evilness to the already haunting melodic construction. Again, slower moments that take not one bit of darkness and heaviness to the song. In fact, they add more and more layers to those moments where the guitar is in total control.. A small guitar solo? Uhm, yes, indeed.
The 4th and last song of the album might be the most melodic of all four. In this one I do sense, even more, much of the work made by the french bands of the 90s. I see no problem, whatsoever whit bands that try to emulate the eternal sound of decadence, drug abuse, depression and general hate, the LLN so well transported into music. For me, this time and place in the 90s will always be MY image of what black metal truly is, with all due respect to the Nordic bands, obviously.
Four songs. Four untitled songs. Four moments of pure rawness and necro melodies. Do I dare say that the spirit of the LLN is alive in Vetala? The raw, punkish approach to black metal alongside those slower and more depressive moments summed up in a very diversified set of songs. Experimentation will always have its place in Vetala’s work, which is a sign that black metal will always find a way to reinvent itself as the Infernal Beast he is. If you are into this more primitive, sort of back to the roots black metal, and are not yet aware of this band, please do listen to them, I bet you will not be disapointed with the quality of their works.
As a final evaluation, and ignoring the fact that I see this band as one of the most relevant from this line of black metal, I grade it with a 4/5. Raw, necro, haunting, schizo… Vetala.
Ever since its first official recording (let us not go down that path, please) black metal has proven to be, in my opinion, the genre within the bigger genre that is heavy metal, to prove its ability, not only to evolve but to, as I said previously: “appropriate” itself of elements from different musical realities.
After so many examples of that gift, black metal has gone full circle, and returned to its primitive, raw, necro and shapeless spectre. Yes, raw lo-fi black metal has been, for the past years, a growing force. The Netherlands (The Throat Records), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Black Plague Circle), the USA (Perverse Homage) and Portugal (Black Circle) are in the forefront of the sub-genre of raw black metal.
Today I will tell you a bit more about one of the most significant bands in this spectrum of black metal in my country and, why not, the global scene, and their latest endeavour. Vetala plays raw black metal. Part of the Black Circle alongside Mons Veneris, Decrepitude, Irae and Rainha Cólera.
I first heard of Vetala in 2011, when their “Satanic Morbid Metal” full length came out. I ordered it without hearing one sample! The aesthetic gave me this LLN (Les Legions Noires, for those that are unaware of the French Black Metal Circle) scent and that, in my book, is top class black metal.
“Retarded Necro Demential Hole” came out on the 25th of December and on that day I placed my order. 4 tracks. 4 untitled tracks. 4 untitled tracks of raw black metal. No… 4 tracks of raw black metal and some devilish odours of experimentation.
As soon as the 1st song starts, the drum sound really hits me as awful, even below awful, maybe. The vocals are, as always, spot on, and the guitar melody “drives” you through the song: leading it and building a structure around it. You have slower moments, and slower does not mean that they have mellowed their sound in any way! Haunting, slower pase (I sense Defuntos in this particular one).
2nd song. 00:50. THIS IS VETALA! The drums, the guitar melody and the vocals all combined to form one massive beast of Raw black metal! Almost 16 minutes long, this song grabs you by the throat from start to finish. Again: slower parts that lead to more aggressive straight forward black metal. The way the vocals were performed, the way the vocals were recorded, the melodies and sounds in the background… it crafts this little Ghoul that grows in the course of the song. Moments of nonsense, instrumental nonsense, vocal nonsense, that sum up the craziness that is Vetala. At some point this song in particular resembles a jam, in the rehearsal room. How black metal can that be? 15:30 onward… someone started messing around with the synthetizers and it ended up in a Vetala song? Nonetheless an excellent piece of music it is.
3rd piece of art. Straighforward, black metal. Chilling atmosphere. Some vocals in the background helped build momentum and add that bit of evilness to the already haunting melodic construction. Again, slower moments that take not one bit of darkness and heaviness to the song. In fact, they add more and more layers to those moments where the guitar is in total control.. A small guitar solo? Uhm, yes, indeed.
The 4th and last song of the album might be the most melodic of all four. In this one I do sense, even more, much of the work made by the french bands of the 90s. I see no problem, whatsoever whit bands that try to emulate the eternal sound of decadence, drug abuse, depression and general hate, the LLN so well transported into music. For me, this time and place in the 90s will always be MY image of what black metal truly is, with all due respect to the Nordic bands, obviously.
Four songs. Four untitled songs. Four moments of pure rawness and necro melodies. Do I dare say that the spirit of the LLN is alive in Vetala? The raw, punkish approach to black metal alongside those slower and more depressive moments summed up in a very diversified set of songs. Experimentation will always have its place in Vetala’s work, which is a sign that black metal will always find a way to reinvent itself as the Infernal Beast he is. If you are into this more primitive, sort of back to the roots black metal, and are not yet aware of this band, please do listen to them, I bet you will not be disapointed with the quality of their works.
As a final evaluation, and ignoring the fact that I see this band as one of the most relevant from this line of black metal, I grade it with a 4/5. Raw, necro, haunting, schizo… Vetala.
1. Untitled
2. Untitled
3. Untitled
4. Untitled
2. Untitled
3. Untitled
4. Untitled
