#Malist karst relict review full#

And although if you squint you can detect progressive elements buried here and there such as the early Enslaved-esque touch of album highlight To Stifle the Fire in the Eyes, complete with acoustic guitar interlude and delicate leads, this is by and large old school, second-wave purity. on first listens, this is black metal 101. Yet it's less of a varied album, seemingly having a similar style from song to song jagged riffs, snarled vocals, blasting drums.

#Malist karst relict review full#

In many ways this is simply more of the same although it's interesting that there are fewer, longer tracks, which helps songs to develop a little better in their own individual way for full hypnotic impact.

If you like your black metal well produced, melodic and melancholic, this is for you.Following up a tremendous debut album in last year's In the Catacombs of Time, Russian one-man-band Malist is back to build on his atmospheric style. And while I could not find a truly memorable song like To Mantle the Rising Sun‘s Shackled Minds, which to this day sticks in my head and makes my head bang, Karst Relict is a good record worth a listen. I would say in the sea of one-man black metal bands, Malist is definitely one of the best. That being said, I like Malist, and I like Karst Relict. If this record misses anything, it’s some grit. If I would dare give any recommendations to Ovfrost, it would be to see whether he can find a session drummer to lay down some filthy, raw black metal drums. Just a bit too clean and sterile – but well programmed and creatively used. I assume that the drum work is programmed, at least it sounds that way. Whether spoken words, pontifical clean vocals or the good old black metal screams, he does all of that very well. Ovfrost puts out good guitar work, and I really like his vocals. The musicianship here is on a high enough level to merit this being a solo-project. Most of the songs are a pleasant experience to listen to, but I could not hum to you a single riff after I am finished with the record. Without a single guitar riff to stand alone and on its own merit, it’s hard for me to grab onto something to remember. The downside to that is, that some of the songs come along a bit samey. The overall approach seems to be to build a thick wall of sound, and in that, both the songwriting and the mixing succeed.

The guitar work consists of multiple layers, and there are plenty of piano parts thrown in for good measure, always utilized in an effective way to enhance the overall feeling. The record definitely leans towards a melodic, post-black direction. With Karst Relict, I feel like there is a progress to Ovfrost as a songwriter, with an even stronger emphasis on melodies and atmosphere. To Mantle the Rising Sun was almost there, with an overall quite melodic approach to black metal but spiced up with some dirty and slightly aggressive riffs. One-man black metal projects are a dime a dozen these days, and while some of them are quite good, rarely does one really amaze me. Ovfrost is already back with a new full-length, called Karst Relict. I first stumbled upon it last year, with the quite impressive release To Mantle the Rising Sun, and now one year later Mr.

Malist is a one-man black metal project from Moscow, Russia, founded by Ovfrost.