Stutthof - And Cosmos From Ashes To Dust

Stutthof is yet another Greek black metal band (Yes I'm kind of obsessed for Greek black metal) yet this album cannot be considered your typical black metal album, I know I have said this many times here, but the way the music progresses, the variations, the many tempos and everything else that happens is amazing and no possible to describe in just a few words and I'm not even gonna try to do it. The intro of the album is one of my favorites and it gives the listener absolutely no idea of how the music is gonna be, one thing is certain and that it will blow the listener away. When the music finally starts the listener will probably feel overwhelmed by it, yes it is that surprising and epic. The musicians really wanted to show the rest of the world how black metal should be done in the 21st century which in my opinion should be relentless, epic, and with a lot of passion. The vocalists (I believe there are two of them) are great at what they do, their voice stands high up with their flawless musicianship, what I found surprising is that although they are great there is not a lot of singing, it's mostly instrumental. There is a lot of variation in the guitars section, from clean and slow parts to really fast yet everything is done in a subtle way and the tempo changes are done in a very subtle way, the listener won't feel the transitions most of the time. The drumming is also extremely good, it keeps the beat up and also keeps the music rather organized. The bass like always is non-existent and again it doesn't bother me because of the of the music is very high and unique. One aspect of this album that really caught my attention and really keeps me focused on the music were the intros, the mid transitions, and the outros that have that celestial feeling of peace and holiness and then all the sudden the music kicks up again with great intensity leaving the listener perplexed. This album is also highly symphonic, this is one of the many constants of Greek black metal, with many hymns which gives an extra touch of evilness to the atmosphere. The production is also very good, this is another constant of Greek black metal, every instrument can be heard with no trouble what so ever, there is just a couple of parts where the quality of the music is not that great yet it's no surprising due to everything that is going on. Most listeners won't feel compelled of trying this album because of the lengthy songs, this lengthiness however is not felt, the music is so enjoyable that even the twenty minute song feels like five minutes, almost like time has stopped. I recommend this album for everyone that wants to know how black metal should be done in these times where good albums are few or none. I forgot to say that this is also a NSBM band, but again the album shouldn't be overlooked and if the listener has problems with this it shouldn't be listening to metal at all, because metal has never been a political correct genre. Enjoy another great release!
















Stutthof - And Cosmos from Ashes to dust