Ildjarn — Forest Poetry
The album was the 4th full length release from this highly mysterious one man Norwegian black metal project, & it originally appeared back in 1996. It’s now been reissued for the first time in many years, along with two other infamous releases from the project- the projects self titled debut from 1995, and Strength & Anger from 1996.
"Forest Poetry" offers up twenty two tracks, and just over fifty one minutes of play time. All the tracks here are fairly short( by black metal standards) lasting between just over the minute mark, to just over the three minute mark. The album is recorded in such a lo-fi, corrupted & harsh manner, that literal everything melds together into a primitive maelstrom of grim-ness. It’s often difficult to hear & separate the guitar, bass & drums from one another, then the whole thing is topped off with these ultra crude throat ripping barks & rasps.
Though-out the album there’s clearly nods towards galloping & blacked hard core punk, but this is most certainly a raw black metal through & through. On your first few plays through the album, you’ll think it all sounds pretty much same, as the pace & structure of all the tracks is pretty much the similar through-out; rapid, primitive & ugly. But give it a few more plays & your start to make each tracks truly grim melody lines and diabolic structure. Sure every track here is fairly simplistic in it’s cord make-up & minimalistic sonic setting, yet each track has it’s own battering take on blacked metal brutality- with each working as a great separate blacked punches. And all twenty two tracks creating a truly raging, ultimately grim & battering beast of raw black metal craft.
So if you are looking for truly un-compromising, un-forgiving raw black metal that’s enshrouded in hellish noise & ribbed with truly grim & black-as-night riff craft "Forest Poetry" is truly as must have item.