Warthur
Mutaatis' Elysian Blaze project is an experiment in mashing up a black metal aesthetic and playing style with funeral doom song structures. An epic double album with song lengths reminiscent of an Esoteric release, it juxtaposes gentle, ambient sections with raucous black metal playing with an eccentric production. The black metal sections sound as though they are being played in a deep, distant cave, the guitars echoing off the walls and the drums chuffing away like an evil steam train. I suspect it's a sound which won't catch on very much, and multiple albums in this style would begin to get old, but it's a decidedly interesting release and I'm glad I gave it a chance.