lista zespołów Avantgardiste Black Eulen Mother Tree

Ambient black metal, has been a somewhat confused my mind. How can two bands sound completely different and yet be classified as the same thing, I don’t understand (don’t even start talking about the differences between DSBM and atmospheric black/doom). Eulen is one of those bands which sounds a bit like a mixture, they’ve seem to be one of those bands which simply cut and paste snippets of what they like from other bands and integrate them into their own music. It’s a little hard to exactly say which category Eulen would all under, due to this wide variety of genres and styles of metal they seem to take influence from. Mother Tree, is a good example of how hybrid ambient genres should be incorporated into a single sound.

On first glance, Mother Tree seems to be a washed up failed atmospheric band; the terrible quality of the initial music, the poorly produced vocals and infant-like aesthetics of the music all lead me to my superficial train of thought. However, as I delve deeper into the music, I suddenly began to develop an emotional connection with the music (isn’t that what atmospheric/ambient music strives to do?). I found myself being almost hypnotised along with the music, sitting there wondering about nothing. There just seems to be a strong feeling of emptiness and space emotionally within the music, which is really what I’m assuming to be their main focal point. If that is the case, I believe that it’s effective and well executed, because well, it worked on me!

Another aspect I like about Eulen is the fact that they’ve brought in a wide variety of instruments which I find to be a rare occurrence in anything to do with atmospheric black metal. Mother Tree features acoustic guitars, which I must say are used effectively to unlock maximum potential. Acoustic passages are played in conjunction with whispered vocals to give a tranquil feeling, whilst maintaining that dark atmosphere. It’s clear from these kinds of passages, that they’ve definitely gained influence from bands such as Agalloch or maybe even early Ulver. I think it’s this part where they’ve gained an extra layer of feeling and emotion into their music and which is my favourite part of Mother Tree.

However, Eulen seems to be two-faced in the sense that the music has two completely distinguishable identities. I’ve just mentioned their smooth Agallochish approach to ambience, but there is an abrasive side to their music too. Some sections throughout Mother Tree clearly define Eulen’s extreme metal influence. Strong hints of; doom metal mixed with some raw black metal, a slight death metal tinge and a post-black approach to their music all lurk in some form or another in Mother Tree. It’s an odd combination actually, which distinguishes Eulen even more. The death metal growls are ferocious, they aren’t particularly deep but they are extremely forceful and have a jagged tone (like a lion). I don’t really think brutal is the right word to describe the growls, but they do make the music sound more extreme. Along with the blast beats and fierce guitar work, Mother Tree is a nasty piece of extreme metal as well.

However, there are times throughout Mother Tree where I think the music falls. The really super fast passages on the album aren’t really the band’s strong point. I find that once the music reaches a certain tempo, the whole structure of the music falls apart into an incoherent mess. It just sounds like TV static. I’m not sure if that is what is supposed happen, but I find that it tends to disrupt the momentum and integrity of the track. Another weak point that I’ve picked up on is the high black metal style vocals. I just don’t like them, plain and simple, they sound terrible. You know when someone tries to make that crackly fake burping kind of sound with their throat, that’s what the highs sound like…FAKE. I don’t think vocals actually do anything for the music other than seem corny.

However, the weak parts of Mother Tree are dwarfed by the overwhelming positives from the rest of the album. Overall, Mother Tree is an impressive album however they don’t really take anything farther than what has already been done in the realms of extreme atmospheric side of metal, nor is their music perfect. Like I’ve mentioned earlier, all Eulen have done is taken snippets from other bands and sewn up their own material. But, I can’t really penalize them for doing this (although I cannot give them extra credit it either) because all bands in some shape or form do this (to certain degrees of course) and I guess its all part of the experience of being a musician. I highly recommend Mother Tree to all those who enjoy bands such as Agalloch and those who enjoy a bit of extreme metal on the side. I’d also like to recommend the track Dunes to first time listeners of Eulen, it’ll give you a brief outline of what these guys are all about. All in all, I enjoyed Mother Tree and I’ll be looking forward to seeing Eulen have for their next full length release. I give Eulen’s Mother Tree a 15/20.