Wold - L.O.T.M.P.

I am pretty picky when it comes to black metal. Like most genre's there tends to be over-saturation along with rehashed ideas. Wold was given to me by a friend and I became hooked.

As far as I know, this noisy black metal act is from Canada and has unleashed some of the most simplistic and black metal that stands on its own.

I ordered a tape version from discogs earlier this year and remember this item taking forever to reach me. When i received it, I was very impressed.

 The tape version comes in a dvd style case with artwork much different than the original cd copy. There appears to only be 100 of these made (received 26/100).

The album starts with drums and synths on "Invocation Of Fire" until noise and some guitar riffs playing really low in the mix. Around 2:30, vocals and audible guitar comes in and is very primitive. No tremolo picking, but just basic bar chords until the track fades away.

"Invocation Of Water" starts with an erratic drum beat and the onslaught continues. More slow chords along with fast drums and static. There doesn't seem to be any synths in this one.

"Invocation of Earth" starts with feedback and now with much more intricate riffing. More audible vocals as well. I can hear a lot of bass in this track as well. A definite much faster paced song with some memorable riffage at the end.

"Invocation of Air" starts with vocals and the music fades in to the listeners ear. There is a constant drone of synth in the background while more primitive guitar plays. This track has really one chord progression and goes on and on until the song is over.

"Tending Thy Grounds" is one of my more favorable tracks from the synths that sound like something from a choir and stays with the song until its over. Fast picking, fast drumming. Raw black metal. Everything about this track is great.

The title track "L.O.T.M.P." is an almost 7 minute track is industrial drumming with minimal synths seething through your speakers. Reminds me of a marching beat. Simple and and to the point.

"Be It On Be It Within" is more of what you'd expect if you made it this far. Hypnotic synths loud in the mix with noisy drums and slow guitar riffs and raspy vocals.

"The Lost Speech" has some of the fastest snare drumming on this album. Synths sneak is quietly but the vocals do not. More catchy riffs to remind you that this is black metal and not something else.

"Lug-Dunum" is a harshly mixed track with everything we have talked about already.

"Invocation of the Eye" is a more desperate track. I am getting a lot of Judas Iscariot vibes here. Very bleak and continues for 3 minutes.

"Children of the Proud Fields" is my all time favorite track on this. Its really what sold me on this act. Chorus synths and drumming for almost 10 minutes with no vocals or noise. Very atmospheric and all the sounds mess together well over and over. I get myself lost in this track.

"Irminions" sounds like something the Posh Isolation label would put out. Gritty synths with other instruments for 10 minutes. Very abrasive yet beautiful.

"Weeping Goddess" is the most black metal song on this album and the last. Haunting synths with noise, vocals and drums. Another jammer.

I have mixed feelings with this album listening to it now. As you can see, I easily ran out of things to say without coming off redundant. There appears to be a lot of fillers and some songs almost sound exactly the same. However, the songs I do like are much better than a lot of contemporary acts out there and can hang with most second wave black metal easily.

I would recommend getting this if you are looking for some refreshing black metal that's not in Norway or France.

I enjoy this more on tape than on mp3 format as the dubbing gave the tracks more hiss and the songs were slightly slower. Another reason I wont review releases not on physical format. Someone else can do that.

Check out their releases on: http://www.discogs.com/artist/540398-Wold