When delving into the works of a mind as tortured as Ingar Amlien's, strangeness and iniquity become two constant, timeless features that writhe into the depths of your mind, and remain there, poisoning every minute of the time you may have dedicated to "The Ogress", or the time you will dedicate to exploring the fathoms of CREST OF DARKNESS' third full-length, "Project Regeneration".
Whereas "The Ogress" revealed itself to be a schizophrenic insight into a frighteningly diseased mind, "Project Regeneration" embodies a blackened, frightful revelation of the computerised, controlled and mindless future that looms upon mankind. Opening up with frantic drumming and Ingar's now trademark supermean screams, "Computerized" sets the backdrop for the 10 chapters of this paranoid tale of dehumanised domination. Graced with a massive- rhythm section, far more powerful and advanced than on "The Ogress", teeming with aggressive, incisive riffage and cascading, screeching ultra-heavy guitar leads, CREST OF DARKNESS' millennium spawn fully reveals the incredible shape-shifting talent that many a time rippled threateningly at the surface of "The Ogress".
As thrashing, crunchy riffs give chase to produce literally devastating grooves, gripping segues brutally collapse upon themselves and fuse into a charred, impetuous black metal assaults, seared with Amlien's harsh, throaty screams, and contrapuntal, majestic arrangements that lash out at you with all the weirdness you can take. Amlien's averred taste for the weird and iniquitous now appears in all its glory, crafting choking, terrifying atmospheres, amidst which Kristin Fjellseth's enrapturing vocals feel like sparse, salvaging breaths of beautifully clean air, such as on the deceitfully bewitching "Luciferian Light", or the distinctly mellow intro to "A Place with no Memories" - a track very reminiscent of CREST OF DARKNESS' earlier, more "traditional" black metal works.
As "Project Regeneration" closes off with the Samael-influenced chapter "Electronic Art", Amlien's new work will leave as many small, but unsuspectedly painful meathooks caught in your worried, anxious and undoubtedly addicted mind...
Source: Label Officiel: http://www.listenable.net
