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Review: Brònach - Bloodshed
Brònach
Bloodshed

Label: Independent
Year released: 2006
Duration: 66:22
Tracks: 10
Genre: Black Metal

Rating: 4.25/5

Review online: October 19, 2006
Reviewed by: Ulysses
Readers Rating
for:
Bloodshed

Rated 1.5/5 (30%) (2 Votes)
Review

Brònach are a promising project from the mountainous regions of British Columbia, Canada, that plays Black Metal in a distinctive vein. Not quite Pagan Metal, yet not quite Satanic, Brònach seems to situate itself in the center of these themes that gives Black Metal its certain recognizable ends. Brònach acts more as a waypoint between the two and present a Black Metal album that would attract listeners from both parties. The album kicks off with "Segregation at Swordpoint", a track that opens with eerie, atmospheric keyboard melodies. Soon to follow are the corrosive riffs that are delivered at a mid-tempo speed. The vocals that accompany the riffs are quite good, and judging from this being a demo, they are very reminiscent of Varg's tormented shriek. There are also clean vocals present in the album, most notably in "Brònach I" – A doomy track that uses clean vocals in a choir effect to create a certain melancholy; it's also one of the best tracks on the album, very reminiscent of Reverend Bizarre with a Black Metal edge. The rest of the album delivers some hard hitting riffs, blasphemous vokills, and creative drumming.

One of the faults in this release is that even though the drums are quite good and synchronized to the riffs, they are quite obviously mechanical and sometimes are a minor nuisance, most particularly in the song "Total War", in which the drums are used first as an opener. Still, it's a furious track that contains hyper-speed riffs that indulges the listener into the bleak imagery of battle and carnage. The album's title track "Bloodshed", is an enjoyable track with possessed vocals with some clean ones popping in and out at random intervals in the song, the clean vocals in this track do not sound as strong as they did in the "Brònach I" track, and they get somewhat odd at the end as well. Nonetheless, the track contains an admirable amount of superb, speedy riffs and a rapid and catchy solo. The album also contains three covers, (including Beholding the Daughters of the Firmament, which is the Burzum song "Erblicket die T&ounl;chter des Firmaments" translated to English). They are all very well done covers, and not typical mangling of the Burzum/Darkthrone classic tracks. All in all, this album is a extraordinary effort from a young local artist from British Columbia.

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