Netherbird Monument Black Colossal
by Alissa Ordabai
Staff Writer
An ability to stick to a pattern is what Netherbird showcase best on their sophomore full-length release. They keep their melodies simple, harmonies – streamlined, arrangements – heavy with gothic atmospherics, and texture – flat. The latter makes the biggest impact on the drums, which at times deliver a sound so programmed and electronic, you get a mild shock when you realise this isn’t a drum machine after all.
But despite the record’s demo quality, frequent compositional predictability and a penchant for crummy atmospherics, Netherbird are still capable of thinking outside the box, at times delivering pieces of such moving beauty that you forgive them their recurrent clichés and bombast.
One such track is “Across the Chasm” – full of melodic ingenuity and brilliant development of form, occasionally slipping in an expertly crafted polyphonic passage just to show off the band’s splendid grip on texture this time around. Dramatic and convincing, it conveys a Tolkien-esque epic mood, with music itself – not the effects – creating a superbly imagined atmosphere, full of depth, range and courage that suddenly propel the band into a wholly different league.
Regrettably, “Across the Chasm” is the final track, leaving you to wonder what else Netherbird are capable of when they decide to abandon their usual devices. A gift for melodic variety and dramatic depth is undeniably there, but more often than not is obscured by ostentatious arrangements and continual overuse of compositional clichés. A fresh overview is needed to release this avian creature from its self-imposed creative captivity, and if this happens, we could be looking at an entirely different entity bursting forward – a band capable of consistently delivering something valid and authentic as opposed to empty formulas so often demanded of musicians of their chosen genre.
Band:
Nephente – vocals
Bizmark – guitars and keyboards
Johan Nord – guitars and vocals
Tobias Gustafsson – bass
Adrian Erlandsson – drums
Online: http://www.myspace.com/netherbird
Track listing:
1. Looming Majesty
2. Whitenoise Sky in Overdrive
3. The Faraway View
4. A Shadow in the Garden of Darkness
5. Strindbergian Fire
6. The Weight of Vapour
7. At the Bottom of the Crystal Artery
8. In the Eyes of Time
9. Across the Chasm
Genre: death metal, black metal, doom metal
Label: Scarecrow Music Group
Hardrock Haven rating: 6/10