Facts: Debut album from Polish Iblis. This is not only straight-forward rock'n'roll, that's for sure - even if that's also to be found on 'Menthell'. Post-black metal, avant-garde if you like.
To tell you the truth, this one has been bugging me for a long while. One day, I really like what I hear, the next I can't stand it.
With the slightly chaotic soundscape delivered by Iblis it can be hard to pinpoint exactly what it is that annoys me when I can't stand it, but I've come to the conclusion that it has a lot to do with the vocal performance. It suits some of the tracks (opening track White Claudia being a good example), whereas it sounds plain terrible in others. A matter of taste, sure, but there you go, I'm the one who's writing this.
Nevertheless, Iblis have the technical provess to create very convincing passages (try 12 Sycamores - in many ways a lesson in technical, rocking death metal) and for that reason they deserve a lot of credit. There is little doubt that their progressive take on death/black metal could build quite a following, given the right support.
I'm looking forward to hear the next release from this interesting band - lot's of potential here!
