UMUR "Expulse" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Russian black metal act Stielas Storhett. The album was released in September 2011 by Code666. Stielas Storhett is a one-man project created by Damien T.G who plays all instruments and sings all vocals on the album.

Many one-man black metal projects produce filthy and raw lo-fi recorded releases but that can´t be said about Stielas Storhett or the music on "Expulse". The music on "Expulse" is of a progressive and epic black metal nature. There are several acoustic prog folky parts on the album. The kind of acoustic parts that I associate with Opeth. So it´s not like it hasn´t been done before, but this part of Stielas Storhett´s music really works well. The sterile and clear sound production takes away from the atmosphere of the album though and I think a more raw and organic sound production would have done the music more favours.

"Expulse" is all in all a quite intriguing album by Stielas Storhett and I can see the drawing of future greatness, but it´s not a flawless release and I imagine that a full band and the above mentioned more organic production could have done the trick. Still we´re talking a professional, well played and interesting semi-progressive and epic black metal album. A 3.5 star rating is warranted.

Time Signature Angel of death...

Genre: avant-garde melodic black metal

A Russian one-man band with a Norwegian-sounding name, and whose only member looks like Jason Newstead and has a name more fit for an R'n'B artists than a black metal artist... "this is gonna be interesting" you think.

And interesting it is. Very interesting. Stielas Storhett's second album "Expulse" is a collection of original avant-garde black metal tunes - avant-garde, yes, but weird, no - which are very well put together, and very expressive. The core sound obviously is black metal, and there are plenty of conventional black metal elements, such as blastbeats, tremolo-picking, cold production, and harsh vocals, to keep the black metal fan happy. But Stielas Storhett move beyond the confinements of black metal (incorrect metaphor, I know, since black metal has really developed in all sorts of directions, so one cannot really talk about that genre being confining anymore), and, for one, it has incredibly melodic passages... even for melodic black metal. First off, there are a lot of melodic and even appealing guitar leads on the album, and some of the riffs also have inherent melodic natures, but the most interesting thing, I think, is the use of very soft and mellow, still dark, sections with guitar leads that are even bluesy at times and midnight saxophone figures as well.

This does not mean that "Expulse" is a softie-album. As I said there are plenty of blastbeats, and it is also rich in heavy riffage, and a sample of a woman screaming in pain opens up the album on a very disturbing and unsettling note.

Overall, "Expulse" is an expressive album, rich in texture and full of different moods, changes, sections and passages. It should appeal to fans of avant-garde black metal and experimental extreme music.

adg211288 Expulse is the second album release from Russian one man black metal act Stielas Storhett. The 2011 features seven tracks of avant-garde inclined melodic black metal. That means plenty of acoustic guitars, melodic leads and even some saxophone. The project is all the work of musician Damian T.G. It is the first album release since the 2006 debut Vandrer... although Stielas Storhett has been far from quiet in the time since the debut, releasing a split and an EP in 2008 and 2010 respectively.

Though the album has avant-garde leanings the music doesn’t have any massive amounts of downright weirdness, in fact it’s got a lot of clarity in its direction. This is far from typical black metal either although the approach to the black metal in it should definitely appeal to even the more die hard black metal fans through use of really tortured vocals and a professional yet still somewhat raw and atmospheric production.

Opening with the sounds of a woman screaming and some really dark tones, the album really throws you off what to expect when almost straight away it strips everything else back to make way for the acoustic guitar. Brief as this little passage is, it’s a good indicator that Expulse is going to be far from a predictable and generic package. There are plenty of eyebrow raising moments throughout the album when the music switches from pretty harsh black metal to something more melodic, with another noteworthy case being when the saxophone is brought out in the final two tracks, Expulse, and Angel of Death.

The vocals aren’t the most decipherable I’ve ever heard, since Damian T.G. is in possession of a tortured black metal growl as mentioned above, but sometimes he switches to a cleaner whisper like vocal style. I can’t really understand a word that comes out of his mouth even then, but that’s okay, since the vocal is used here not so much for singing along as in more mainstream musical styles, even metal ones, but like another instrument, and one that really adds to Expulse’s dark atmosphere. All Paths Lead to Oblivion is a track that showcases all the really great aspects of the album, which also includes use of melodic guitar leads and often very prominent bass guitar.

The lighter material in the album, something also showcased in All Paths Lead to Oblivion, is of an equal quality to the metal, and the acoustic guitar playing is actually one of the biggest highlights of the release, as it manages to give Damian T.G.’s compositions much more depth than they would if he were content to thrash away with his black metal riffs and shrieked vocals. The track Hush-a-bye is the shortest piece on the album and another excellent melodic interlude that really shows how dark the atmosphere is even when there isn’t much metal involved (the track is about three quarters of the way in before any metal starts building up again).

Expulse is a really great album from Stielas Storhett. Because of its nature it took me a few listens to really appreciate it, but having given it several listens I find that what we have here is no less than masterful and more unique sounding black metal than what many acts routinely deliver. Expulse comes very highly recommended!

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven, scored at 9.0/10)