• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Since I was of the opinion that Geimhre's previous demo "Codagh" was rather marred by a production job that sounded as if it was recorded in a flooded wind-tunnel, their bassist was kind enough to send me a copy of this most recent tape to show how far they've come since then. Well, consider me impressed. "For The Blood Of Hinterland" is a hugely epic piece of music, and this time the songs are given a good raw mix without any excess noise or pitch-warbling obfuscating the sonic textures.

So overall, this is 8 tracks of sharp, mostly midpaced and slow black metal with an obvious influence from Absurd and Graveland, but far more gloomy than either of those bands. That particular quality sometimes reminds me of "suicidal" bands like Shining, Xasthur and the like, although obviously it retains a triumphant, warlike quality over any moping angst. They do speed up every now and then though, so overall the whole thing is well balanced between battle-march pace and a more vicious assault.

Overall, this demo is perfect for any fan of raw, well played NSBM and will equally appeal to fans of traditional second-wave black metal. It's abrasive without being unlistenable and epic without being ponderous, which is a difficult balance to sustain, and my hat is off to them for that. With their new CD "Mollachd" freshly unleashed through Vinland Winds, this band should start making some serious waves before long. Hail!