CoC : Bealiah - Dark : Review

Bealiah - _Dark_
(THT, 2000)
by: Alex Cantwell (6 out of 10)

From the violent landscape of religious battles and social unrest, Jakarta, Indonesia, come the black metal force of Bealiah. The man behind Bealiah seems to have three tricks up his sleeve, because Bealiah takes on three different sounds: their first demo and _Weeping at the Crimson Moon_ are primal, melancholic black metal, their EP is comprised of ambient/darkwave symphonic compositions, and then they have the sound which makes up tracks 1 to 4 on _Dark_ (tracks 5 to 8 were taken from the _Weeping at the Crimson Moon_ sessions). Those four tracks have a more rockin' feel to them, very strongly influenced by early Celtic Frost, but with the chaotic touch and simplicity of early Mayhem. You see, Bealiah have decided to forego progression for the sake of just playing raw, harsh black metal with less than great guitar sound and equally "sonically challenged" production. One who still unfurls the metal freak flag with every passing day in the spirit of old-school black metal would appreciate this band. Tracks 5 to 8 were taken from a previous recording session, and have a different sound and musicality altogether. With these tracks the band (uh, I mean the man) stretches out into the more atmospheric leanings of black metal, while not losing any rage or musical brutality whatsoever.

Contact: THT, P.O. Box 1496, JKB 11014, Jakarta, Indonesia

(article published 20/11/2000)