As I've said before (and will undoubtedly say again), I'm not the biggest Black Metal fan, but I keep searching for that gateway band that will clue me in as to why there are so many practioners of the style. This time it is a demo from a one-man band by the name of Avertia. Hailing from Norway, the land of Black and cold, Avertia's sole member, Kristoffer Georg, has unleashed Folkloremelodium, a 3-song sonic assault of ridiculously fast blast beats (maybe he plays that fast to keep warm?), mournful screams and surprisingly melodic riffing.

There are a couple of distinct musical approaches taken by Georg on Folkloremelodium. The opening track, "De syv praktfulle hav" and much of the 10+ minute, epic title track "Folkloremelodium" stick to the aforementioned blast beats and screams, typical of Black Metal in general. I used the term "epic" to describe "Folkloremelodium" because the song features some very melodic guitar lines and changes pace a few times, both of which made the song quite compelling. The other musical style is very serene guitar work over minimal background accompaniment. Track 2, "Ferd i måneskinn" is made up entirely of this style, while it resurfaces at the end of the 10 minute "Folkloremelodium." It isn't the most exciting thing you'll ever hear. At just over 2 minutes, "Ferd i måneskinn" by itself, is pretty dull, but when used to link the tracks before and after, it is effective.

I'm still not sold on Black Metal, but I think Avertia has some interesting things happening on Folkloremelodium, in spite of the weak production (it is a demo, after all). It will be interesting to see if Georg can produce a full-length with the same spark.