Look into the
Palantir!
This trio from the
Canadian capital of Ottawa plays a very old school sort of metal and
they do it quite well. Led by a cool dude from Manitoba called
Andrew, Antero, Aragorn or something, they're inspired by all the
right things. Their music fits the 80s revival that we're living
nowadays but it's not as cheesy as other Canadian stuff such as
Cauldron. It's sure is sloppy but I like my cheeseburgers with a lot
of melted cheese so I'm totally fine with that sort of metal.
I remember getting
their latest demo at a Natur gig in Montréal (live review here!), it was enjoyable but
pretty fucking raw so I decided to wait a bit to cover them. Now with
their first EP (now released by both Heavy Chains and Dying Victims
after an indie tape release) is still raw on the edges but the
production is pretty much perfect for their brand of ultra
traditional heavy metal mixed with the oldest black metal influences
you can find. Think of Venom at its dirtiest, old funny Anvil and
Bathory at its formative stage and you're on the right track. Instead
of the evil approach of Cronos, Barrow Wight (formidable name)
explores the Lord of the Rings lore and even if it's perhaps an
overdone subject, it's always a very cool one.
It's gritty but
quite melodic too, songs like “Rock into Mordor” (haha!) has a
nice sing-along chorus and sweet, simple guitar playing. The band
just fucking rocks the Middle-Earth with groovy riffs, semi harsh
vocals with a very greasy bacon vibe, it's not quite excellent but it
does the job. Nothing is tight because nothing needs to be, it's a
crusade against modernity and the saccharine elements it brought to
the genre. Fuck modern Septicflesh and its sterilized approach, this
is fun, raw and metal as hell.
The five songs,
twelve minutes extended play is short and it's easy to just press the
repeat button, it starts with this noisy evil intro and extends to
this nasty “Anvil of Mordor” affair. The songwriting remains
simple, perhaps not yet well refined yet but their goal is clear and
quite achieved for a first professional release. Don't expect to be
blown away by anything here but it's entertaining and you'll spend a
good time with the Wight. The drums are nice, the bass is loud but
could be pushed to higher grounds and there's a certain will to push
the boundaries of their agenda further in their sound and I'm sure it
will be explored.
Garnished by a cool
drawing from Ian Miller, an authority in fantasy art (Lord of the
Rings, Dungeons and Dragons...), Barrow Wight doesn't mess around and
release a promising, catchy and metal to the bones EP. Not the most
original thing around but check if they care, that's not the point and
it shouldn't be enforced!
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