CoC : Arawn - Call of the Cyhyraeth : Review

Arawn - _Call of the Cyhyraeth_
by: Quentin Kalis (3.5 out of 5)

This is the debut demo from the one-man project headed by Bleiddwn-y-Nos. Well, not quite man -- at a mere seventeen years of age, he is still considered a child, although you wouldn't think so. His demo encompasses three songs of not inconsiderable length straight from the Barbarian Wrath mould of Bathory worship, which proceeds at a rather sedate pace, with acoustic passages featuring strongly. He mixes clean (surprisingly decent for black metal) and snarled vocals -- but harsh vocals over acoustic passages simply doesn't work. A lot of the non-acoustic guitar playing incorporates riffs that are more heavy than black in character, and the transitions between the various sections could be smoother. The drumming (drum machine?) is kept to a minimum and is extremely simplistic. It suffices for now, but he will probably need to seek out the services of a full-time drummer in the future.

After being subjected to a deluge of Darkthrone / Cradle of Filth / Dimmu Borgir black, all of which have their merits, it's a pleasure to hear a project whose primary influence is the one who started it all. Good work and great to see that it is not just the isle to the west that can supply the world with Celtic black metal!

The demo can be downloaded from his website, together with an unsurprising choice of cover: "Enter the Eternal Fire".

Contact: http://www.myspace.com/arawnblackmetal

(article published 17/4/2007)

DEMOS
10/7/2007	Q Kalis	4	Arawn - Welsh Black Metal