This is very, very simple music. Raw, harsh Darkthronish black metal, not very original but I must say that this record is a very solid effort. North (pretty stupid band name btw hence they hail from Poland, well I know that Poland is situated north of the equator but still....) have succeeded in creating a very disturbing piece of music. Melody is almost non-existent and blast beats is the main tool used here (more varied in speed then Marduk and the like though, aka lazy bands without fantasy enough to write two different songs). It's almost impossible to have this record playing in the background, try it and you will feel a needle piercing your brain (or ear) demanding your attention. Vocals consist of insane screams (that seem to have been tampered with in some technical way creating a constant fuzz surrounding them) that fit the music perfectly.

Production is not primitive at all but the primitive compositions create a very cold sound (dangerously close to sterile). This is one of those records where nothing really sticks out but when you look at it as a whole it's a really (and I mean REALLY) good effort. To sum things up: A very good eardrum-assault, heavily inspired by Darkthrone. Very disturbing, very angry and very simple yet very successful.

Btw does anyone out there know if Astral Wings is still up and running? I'd really like to get my hands on the North/Grom/Marhoth-split.

© 2001 herr nebelwerfer