Time Signature Raising my horns...

Genre: black metal

As a band, Rêx Mündi are shrouded in darkness and mystery, but there is nothing really mysterious about the music on this release, as the tunes it contains are pretty much traditional black metal tunes.

Now, this does not mean that the seven tunes are not good. Dating back to the mid noughties in terms of time of composition, they are actually pretty good. They contain all the elements of black metal, such as tremolo picking, tense harmonies, fast drumbeats, unpolished production and harsh vocals. While repetition does figure to some extent on this release, Rêx Mundi have placed more emphasis on variation, and there are enough changes in tempo and different riffs and parts in every song to keep the listener interested.

While mostly primitive and simple, the riffage is also intense and very powerful, and the drumming is full of cool fills and nice cymbal work, which further adds dynamism and an organic feel to this release. In terms of production, the sound is less ethereal and atmospheric than with many other black metal releases, and there is more edge to it. This does great justice to those passages where the riffage is more defined and palm-muting is incorporated.

Mysterious or not, this is fast and furious black metal, but with lots of finesse and enough variation to keep even the 10 minutes plus tracks interesting all the way through. Fans of raw black metal and more aggressive black metal should find this release appealing.

(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)