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If you have been looking for a band that is kind of different musically from what is out there, as well as features an all star line-up, then look no further then Skitliv. This band is composed of former Mayhem member Maniac, as well as Kvarforth of the Swedish band Shining, and Ingvar from Sehnsucht, as well as Dag Otto from Haust. Skitliv, which means "shit life" in Swedish, is the Black/Doom metal act that bring us Skandinavisk Misantropi, their first full-length effort, which follows up from their previous two EPs. While this release sounds fantastic just by the cast of musicians involved, Skandinavisk Misantropi is an enjoyable album, but not as impressive as one would hope. Skitliv manages to mix together the Black and Doom Metal sounds very well on many occassions to create a very well done effort that is very different from much of what we hear today. However, because it's different doesn't mean it's always good. While some of the material on Skandinavisk Misantropi really does excell and stand out as being something highly enjoyable and rather original, there's still some aspects here that come off highly annoying or simply not enjoyable. The track "Towards the Shores of Loss", for instance, has a very annoying start which features vocals that one would supposed are to be taken like they are being preached at you for a good amount of time before the actual music and vocals kick in. It's not the way the vocals are aimed at you, it's how the spoken word introduction to the song is performed that can get under your skin easily. Sadly this isn't the only time this happens, as it also occurs during the title track, "Skandinavisk Misantropi", but luckily is not as obnoxious. Aside that, Skandinavisk Misantropi has plenty of good material. While the introduction will ultimately be skipped after a few times, though for the initial listen it does a decent job at setting the atmosphere needed for such an album, the following track, "Slow Pain Coming", is a very well composed song that shows off the band's abilities to merge the Black Metal and Doom sounds together without a problem. The track starts off at a very slow pace and utilizing some interesting guitar effects in the background to keep it interesting before the vocals kick in and the pace of the song picks up a bit and incorporates some traditional Black Metal material, just slowed down. The song seems to jump between these two elements, and while it may seem a bit repetitive, it winds up creating a very dark track that many bands in both styles strive to achieve but never quite make it. With exception to the more experimental, almost Progressive vocal attempt during "Skandinavisk Misantropi" and "Towards the Shores of Loss", the rest of the album seems to stick pretty much to the initial grim sound that starts the album off. "A Valley Below" is one of the more exceptional tracks of the album, as it simply sounds more grim and, with the guitar effects put into place, can sometimes sound trippy, but in a negative, evil sort of way. After a while, however, some of the material on this release can become rather boring. Yes, it's a combination of Black Metal and Doom, and it's supposed to be a slower paced style of music, but there are just times where songs seem to start becoming more robotic then anything. "Hollow Devotion" and "A Valley Below" are two great songs, but there's not a big difference between them to really make you want to go out of your way and hear them again after a few spins through. "A Valley Below" also feels a bit dawn out after a while due to the more robotic musical compositioning used. "ScumDrug" is another track on here that is good but could have been a little better. While the song really does play on a more nightmarish atmosphere then anything, really utilizing certain distortions, as well as a different vocal sound, not style, throughout the thirteen minutes of music. These aspects do work together, but outside the vocal performance, there's nothing really going for this track outside the ability that it may be able to put you to sleep, not by the drawn out aspects, but the same guitar chord that plays in the background that could put you into a deep sleep, even against the rough vocals used and the piano in the background. But, even with some of the albums downfall, when you break everything down it's clear the album manages to succeed at it's purpose, which is to create a very dismal sounding album that you can sometimes just drift away into that builds on it's self more and more with each passing track. Skandinavisk Misantropi is an album unlike any other out on the marketplace, and had a very issues been left out, this would have been a rather fulfilling musical experience outside of a handful of the tracks on here, and the rest of the good-but-just-not-impressive tracks and moments. If you happen on this release by Skitliv, it really is worth taking the time to check out either way. |
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