Liste des groupes Black Avantgardiste Circle Of Ouroborus Shores

Here's an album that ever since my initial listen I've been constantly going back and forward one, wondering whether this is a masterpiece of black metal and a truly unique and original album, or a pathetic attempt at trying to be a stand out in a scene that is so often riddled with stagnation. Yet despite leaning slightly to the former, there are certainly elements of the latter that I simply cannot ignore. I shall go into them in much more detail further on in the review, but for now I shall comment on the positives.

First and foremost, this is weird, lawdy lawd is this album ever so weird! The music is described as black metal yet the music isn't what you'd expect from such a genre. The guitars certainly have a blackened feel to it, yet to describe them as such takes away the uniqueness of what this album contains. The guitars have a distinctive garage rock feel to them, they sound improvised to an extent, the playing is sloppy, the distortion is pretty insane and overall the guitars just sound really unprofessional and amateurish. Yet interestingly enough, I find this somehow beneficial rather than detrimental. The guitar playing as a result is incredibly passionate. Sort of how a film with a limited budget expresses the purest feelings of the director, so does this album. To me it feels as though the band wanted to get their music out there, not for financial gain or fame, but purely because they want to communicate what they had inside of them to those who would care to listen. That dear readers, is a beautiful and earnest thing. Shores ultimately reflects that, completely focused on the message, of the meaning behind the music. The music is a fantastic catalyst in portraying this message. It's incredibly simple, with only a few minimalistic riffs present within each song and there's not much variation between them. Standard minor chord melodies mixed with a more upbeat, perhaps one could say quirky edge. There's a definite post punk vibe to it which helps set it apart from much of the genre. Yet this blending of styles is never overdone, feeling like a natural blending of the two rather than a bastardization of the two parent genres. The blacker sections are atmospheric, at times depressive, at times delightfully upbeat. Whilst punkier songs such as You are just Mirrors delight in their own drunken quirkiness, it's an odd mixture between quirkiness and depression yet it works phenomenally well.

Yet whilst I have made Shores sound like a masterpiece of musical expression so far with this review, there are a few problems that need working out. Firstly the vocals, now many will praise them for their uniqueness and I certainly give the band credit for daring to pull off something like this. But dear god can the vocalist at least learn to sing in tune! He sings in the same pitch, same tone, uses the same intonations, dynamics and pretty much any technical term you can slap on vocals. Yet whilst there is the occasional blackened screech, they are too few and far between to have much of an effect. Admittedly, I would like this album a whole lot more if it was instrumental as the music is nothing short of extraordinary. I understand not wanting to fit in with the crowd, heck I even strongly condone artists to do so. But when the vocals are highly reminiscent of a toothless old man, then I have a problem. I guess when could view this as creating an atmosphere of total apathy, even absolute nihilism which sounds as though its the perfect atmosphere for a black metal album. However I strongly believe that Circle of Ouroborus handled it in the wrong way.

So for what it is, it's pretty good. I really think more work in the vocal department would go along way in helping the band secure a strong reputation. I can understand how this album can be considered a cult classic, Shores really is unlike anything else in the black metal scene. Yet if we are looking at this from a strictly musical standpoint, rather than at the general originality of the music then Shores needs work. The band certainly has the potential to be so much more, just a few tweaks here and there would go along way in advancing the quality of their music. So overall not bad for a first album, just needs more to do.