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I got this a ways back, like maybe a year ago, and it has not left my take-along CD wallet since. So I guess I have to say I like this album quite a lot. This is a debut for Hallstatt, a very underground BM act from Spain, and seeing as I am a big fan of minimalist pagan Black Metal from Iberia, it should be no surprise that I like this disc.

Hallstatt, (really just one guy), play very raw Black Metal in the general vein of old Darkthrone: no real blastbeats, no technicality or musicianship – just raw, evil riffs and a guitar tone that hurts to play too loud. No bass in the mix, just high-end, atonal riffs. The croaking vocals are a dead ringer for "Under A Funeral Moon" – era Darkthrone, with some Atilla Csihar thrown in. What I like about this is the atmosphere, and oddly, the amount of melody in the works. These riffs may be atonal and evil, but they have some very good hooks buried in them, and in the hypnotic, trancelike droning they remind me of Berserk – my fave BM band from Spain.

Hallstatt certainly didn't make a splash with this CD. But then BM bands never want that anyway do they? But I think this is a very cool little CD from the raw side of the pond, and I hope this band will continue and put out some more of this stuff, because I haven't been able to keep it out of my player for a long time now. Recommended for fans of the style, but all fans of polished extreme metal should stay well away. Hallstatt is too raw for you.