Nattefrost - _Blood and Vomit_
(Season of Mist, 2004)
by: Quentin Kalis (4 out of 10)
When it comes to solo albums released by Norwegian black metal veterans, the end result invariably leaves a lot to be desired. Satyr (Satyricon vocalist), Fenriz (Darkthrone drummer) and Gaahl (Gorgoroth vocalist) produced extremely patchy albums under the aegis of their respective Wongraven, Isengard and Gaahlskagg monikers. In his contribution to this lineage, Carpathian Forest vocalist Nattefrost doesn't deviate from the pattern established by his predecessors in delivering a rather mediocre solo album.

Musically, it is strongly based in old school black metal. The music is defined by an abrasive guitar sound played with old school punkish simplicity and complemented by distorted and harsh vocals. The lyrics are ridiculous; lines such as "Swallow my cum bitch" and "Shut up bitch, I'm in command" sound as if they were lifted from an amateur S&M video. Carpathian Forest can hardly be said to represent the intellectual side of black metal in the sense Emperor or Ulver did, but even this is several steps lower than any of their paeans to deviant sex.

"Nattefrost Takes a Piss", which should be understood in its most literal sense, lowers the tone even further, something I didn't think was possible. Defenders of Nattefrost will probably point out that he was just having fun, that this CD shouldn't be taken seriously. This is a spurious argument; a solo album / side project should be an opportunity for an artist to explore a musical facet neither possible nor desirable under the banner of their main band, not as an excuse to serve poorly conceived and executed bouts of onanistic excess.

To sum up: the lyrics are juvenile; the music is over simplistic and will cease to be of any interest after a couple of months. If this album didn't have the name of a black metal veteran attached to it, I seriously doubt Season of Mist would even have looked at it.

(article published 29/11/2004)


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