The Konsortium Norway

"Raw black metal in itself can be expressively very interesting and make for an intense listening experience, but - perhaps looking at the genre in the perspective of an outsider of sorts - I tend to prefer black metal with elements from other genres in it and I also appreciate black metal with progressive and avant-garde tendencies.

And The Konsortium's eponymous debut album has all of that. Ranging from chaotic but repetitive black metal passages over thrash metal tempo sections to passages of death metal brutality, 'The Konsortium' runs the gamut of extreme metal, and, what is more, The Konsortium have inserted several bursts of technicality and progressiveness into to tracks, which makes the album quite challenging and interesting to listen to at several levels, and also quite dynamic in the sense that you find both very primitive and dirty riffage as well as technically advanced playing on this album (there are some quite experimental, almost jazzy, guitar solos on the album, for instance). Moreover, there ar some quite spacey instrumental breakdowns every now and then, which, of course, also contribute to the dynamics of the album.

What is more, the vocals are not restricted to typical black metal screeching, as there is also more chant-like and sometimes even moaning singing on the album, which also features guest vocal performances by Kvelertak's Erlend Hjelvik.

The pristine and crisp production is more akin to the production of more modern thrash and death metal releases than the more traditional sloppy lo-fi production, but that suits the style of The Konsortium very well.

"The Konsortium" draws on black metal, death metal and thrash metal and wraps the brutality and aggression of those genre in the sophistication of avant-garde music - fans of avant-garde black metal owe to themselves to check out this album.

(review originally posted at metalmusicarchives.com)"