Luke:
So, I listen to an inumerable number of albums over the course of a day or a week or whatever it may be. And, in particular, it seems I am flooded as of late with either an inordinate amount of "doom" metal which is about 4 percent awesome, 96 percent shit and this abomination everyone is so hype on right now which is underproduced, overstated, underplayed "black metal" made, for the most part, by guys who pass off their sound as "grim" and "kvlt" which basically means no skill, no money, and no dynamics. And so, that being said, the percentage of good to god awful is even less.
I can't say this falls into any category aligning itself with the above mentioned "style" but what I will say is that this is probably the best black metal release I've heard in at least five years.
These guys aren't reinventing any wheels or anything but rather, polishing ones that are rusting away in an age of "grimmness."
Apocalyptic End In White starts out with sort of an ambient track that I guess sets the mood for the opening track "Astral Frost Invocation" which is a blasting, oppressive ode to their frosty netherworld. It pretty much continues non-stop all the way through the record. Ten tracks and not a single one of them lacks. This is black metal the way I like it and I couldn't care less about what this says about my status amongst the rest of these kind of dudes.
If you like Immortal, Dark Funeral, or any of the other bands of that ilk, immediately get your hands on Apocalyptic End In White. I think this has been out for a couple of years but has only recently come to my attention. I have no idea if they play shows or are purely a studio thing but I look forward to more output from these white wizards.
4/5 for sure.
Joe:
As I put this disc into the player a cold and misty bog seeped into my house. Then snow started to fall from the ceilings, orcs started crawling out from the cracks in my floorboards, and through the dense and icy fog... i think i saw druids. As the intro to the album "Apocalyptic End In White" drew to a close, everything in my house instantly became coated in an inch of ice.
The opening words to "Astral Frost Invocation" say it all. To paraphrase; They are fucking I.C.E.. The most grim and kvlt band to ever exist, Period.
These gents keep their metal so black that it leaves the listener seeing nothing but white. That's right, I said it. Track after track, these guys do not let up for a second. Each track more grim than the previous. Being the most kvlt band EVER aside, Imperial Crystalline Entombment is set apart by not only thier solid songwriting skills, but also thier impecable taste in riffs and flawless exection. Everything on this album is tight as can be, but in contrast to the overly protooled bands of today, it still sounds like real musicians playing rather than drum programs and overly quantized guitars that start to sound like keyboards.
Really, not much needs to be said about the Gods of Grim. If you like black metal and are sick of the crap comming out these days trying to pass itself off as Black metal [READ: Nick Cage's bitch metal son's band whatever the hell their moronic name is] then this will remind you what Kvlt is all about.
Pop this album in and watch ice covered castles pop up in your bathtub and immedately become surrounded by moats filled with iceburgs and snow gremlins. Put on your artic gear and get ready for the best 40 minutes of Grim ever.
My rating? 5 frozen inverted crosses out of 5: ULTIMATE GRIM
