Ashes of the Fallen Throne Reviews:
Saltwarts of the Bradford metal scene, The Belonging have been very active in the live department. Gaining a good name in the UK underground they have been rewarded with support slots from the likes of Enslaved and Ensiferum. Their music has always bordered on the realms of both black and death metal and on album number two the elements unite with a much more cohesive and dynamic fevour than on 2005 offering 'Setting the Scene'. As tracks such as 'Hail To Eternal Damnation' romp away, one is reminded of Marduk with a splash of the equally volatile Spearhead. 'Oracle of the Night' proves that they can diversify with unexpected clean vocals and sinister tones that remind a bit of the Mephistophelian madness of Akercocke. The guitar work often stands out with memorable passages and rampant solos and this could could well have the scope to see The Belonging shedding that unsigned status. [7] Pete Woods
If your self released effort gets reviewed here, you must be doing something right, and the UK’s (Bradford) The Belonging show that a self released effort can compete with most label released efforts.
I don’t remember much about the bands prior release, Setting the Scene, so it could not have been that good, but on Ashes…the quartet, like country mates Spearhead, deliver a tight take on slightly melodic black metal that culls from the likes of Dissection, Naglfar Marduk and such-and they do it pretty well.
Despite a very muted production that can be expected from a self released effort, Ashes.. delivers a solid take on the genre and even throw in a more experimental tracks with the moody pace, clean chants and strings of “Oracle of the Night” and well done acoustic injections of “Prophetic Visions” and the title track. The other tracks are your requisite tremolo picked assault that mix furious yet melodic blast beats (”Sacrifice the Life”, “Prophetic Visions”) and slightly death metal styled structures (”Eternal Kiss”, “Blood For the Gods”) that while lacking that tangible slice and razor sharp presence because of the production, still manage to convey a sense of balanced menace, song writing confidence that can only get better. The epic eight minute closing title track encompasses all that The Belonging is good at with solid militaristic breaks and a very cool Romanic, Middle Eastern blast beat.
If Ashes…had the production Spearhead had on Decrowning the Irenarch, this thing would have blown me away. As it stands The Belonging are ‘right there’ along with the likes of Scythian as far as unsigned UK black metal that is more than deserving on a record deal. Invictus Productions-are you reading this?
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Performance 8
Songwriting 7
Originality 7
Production 7
The Belonging is Death/Black hybrid hailing from the UK, a decade old, that now has a second album out. After the first song they didn't impress me too much, but there's more to this band that meets the eye. Usually these self-released albums are enjoyable for a couple of spins, but rarely do they hold my interest once the review is done and published. With The Belonging's "Ashes To The Fallen Throne" this'll mostly likely be different.
Besides being playing a skilled combination of Black metal's fury and Death metal's force, these guys are also quite fresh. They don't really do anything new or progressive, but they have that special touch that graces you when everything's working out for you. "Ashes Of The Fallen Throne" packs some killer riffs and ditto solos and leads, some reminiscent of Slayer, Behemoth and Nile. For the vocals we can look into the direction of Behemoth's Nergal during their Satanica and Thelema.6 days, albeit they are a little less aggressive. Their drummer is probably the biggest Black metal fan of the bunch seeing as he frequently makes use of the Darkthrone styled pounding and old school sound, which gives the entire thing a charming appeal.
Add to that that this record has a good production, nice cover art and nothing to complain about; this is surely a nice addition to your collection. But what's more, this band is not done yet. So far they've only released two albums and two demos in ten years, but if they can kick it up a notch and get a good label to support them, they might just make it big next time. I have the feeling this won't be the last, nor the best, we've heard from them.
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Bradford, UK high speed melodic death/black metal combo The Belonging independently release their second album after their "Setting the Scene" debut in 2005 and two demo sessions in 2001 and 2003, respectively. "Ashes Of the Fallen Throne" sounds like "The Somberlain" era Dissection, Detonation (circa "An Epic Defiance") with minor influences from Marduk and Opeth. The guitar work betrays minor influences from later Death and (early) Vader. Vocalist/guitarist Richard Lester is convincing behind the mic switching easily between narrated vocals, clean vocals to black rasps and deep growls. Most of the material of this record contains multiple tempo changes, a wide array of riffs and beautifully contrast moments of melody with straightforward blasting while incorporating fitting acoustics and gloomy midpaced sections to alternate from hatefulness to soothing darkness. Recorded at Silent City Studios in Leeds with producer/engineer Rob Hobson "Ashes From the Fallen Throne" sounds similar to Dissection's 1993 milestone debut "The Somberlain". Artwork, design and lay-out were handled by bassist Levi Tubman and while the printing is on the dark side and a minor spelling mistake can be found in the production notes it all looks very professional. Overall, "Ashes Of the Fallen Throne" does little to reinvent the wheel but manages to make this genre sound reinvigorated while maintaining a sense of traditionalism. 7/10
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The blue-grey album artwork doesn’t truly depict the full colour riffing panorama this album has to offer. Decidedly low key in appearance Bradford’s The Belonging have been gnawing away at the underground scene for a few years now and this their second album is something of a revelation. “Secrets Of Thy Labyrinth” begins matters, minus a typical ponsy intro, with a hyper speed snare blast giving the impression this is going to be “Panzer Division Marduk” part two. “Hail To Eternal Damnation” has obvious Marduk similarities which should prompt you to investigate this album further. The demonic vocal sounds feral but blended excellently with the tapestry of riffing that is employed in every song. “Eternal Kiss” builds slowly and menacingly using a more deathly approach initially before that warp speed snare comes in. The variety of riffing styles in this song is marvellous; with thrash, death and black all being pillaged equally making the song urgent and thrilling. I particularly enjoyed the drops in pace creating a haunting and sinister semi-acoustic section that reminds of Mork Gryning’s more subtle moments. Each track offers something slightly out of the ordinary for the genre, be it the acoustics employed in “Prophetic Visions” or the relentless beast that is “Blood For The Gods” or the sporadic Nile traits in the epic title track complete with Dissection style harmonics. Check this out, it is definitely worth it.
POWERPOINTS: 9
8+ Summary
At last a UK outfit that can write gargantuan black metal tunes with the best of them. An album that mixes the subtlety of Marduk, the refinement of Emperor and the riffing technicality of Dissection. Splendid stuff and they’re still unsigned for goodness sake.
MARTIN HARRIS
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An interesting album here. "Blackened Death with a twist" is the best I can come up with for a quick genre description. Your basics are, of course, Black/Death - mostly mid to fast-paced with the occasional slow and crushingly heavy passages. Nothing out of the ordinary there, but The Belonging add their own little touch to the genre by adding a "quasi-symphonic" vibe - "quasi" in the sense that it has the "grandiose" aspect of symphonic, but without sounding watered down - it's actually a very powerful, heavy and dark vibe here. Their sound also reminds me a little bit of the likes of Melechesh; I won't go as far as to say that they have Middle Eastern elements in their music, but it's pretty close in sound, and from the very first listen until now, I can't help but think of Melechesh whenever I hear some of the songs here - hell, throw in a bit of Absu while you're at it. ;) On the vocals side, no surprises - a BM-ish rasp that sometimes borders on light growls - not particularly decipherable unless you pay very close attention. The way this sounds, you'd think the vocals are married with the instruments - there's something to the vocalist's voice that roughly resonates like an actual instrument (a bit difficult to put this into words ;)), and the end result is that you have a near-perfect harmony.
With Ashes Of the Fallen Throne, The Belonging managed to marry the brutal force of Black/Death with the epic, majestic nature of (more or less) "symphonic" metal and produce something that doesn't sound watered down; in fact if anything, the heavy, dark, almost doomy atmosphere makes this a more obscure release than many pure Black/Death releases. Good stuff.
4/5
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Northern Metal Zine (Norway).
http://www.northernmetal.info/reviews/review_detail.php?id=321
England-based blackened death metal act The Belonging is out with its second self-released long player entitled "Ashes of the Fallen Throne". Production-wise the band is influenced by the low quality of Black Metal production values and especially MARDUK springs to mind. The production values are focusing on making the guitars hissing/freezing enough, the drums as solid as possible and the overall sound simply dark and cold. The muddy, distorted guitars and low production values are used for atmosphere and effect and not just as some "black metal trademark gimmick". Crystal clear sound and bombastic arrangements are being completely avoided, yet the band incorporates melodic elements in vein of Swedish death metal that is not Gothenburg, like DISSECTION and NECROPHOBIC.
The Belonging's musical endeavors surprise and exhilarate at every turn, and the band is ripping up the rule books of what constitutes extreme metal and doing things their way. Most of the songs are rather fast and intense, with an interchange of heavy and more acoustic, mellow-like passages along with catchy guitar riffs. The speedier songs are punctuated by evil ones like "Blood for the Gods" and "Secrets of Thy Labyrinth" which has a more melodic focus. "Prophetic Visions" adds haunting instrumental sections into the mix, which makes that song stand out quite nicely. During one of those instrumental sections one can finally hear the bass clearly enough due to finally not blindly following the guitars. The bass and acoustic guitars are responsible for creating evocative melody lines before it flows into a melodic twin lead and pure aggression finishes the song off.
Without a doubt, The Belonging certainly accomplish what they've set out to do with this album, and the band is definitely regarded by Northern Metal Webzine as of one Britain's leading underground dark metal acts at the moment. This is due to the band's desire to adding experimentations to their compositions. Truthfully, the band sort of doesn't add anything new to the extreme metal table, but it's easy to tell that their atmospheric, dynamic and experimental songs are being composed by well-matured individuals. Darkness lurks behind every note, every single guitar strike and every word that is growled. As an example of the great diversity displayed on "Ashes of the Fallen Throne", "Oracle of the Night" sets a part from the other tunes by being the most experimental track on the album. The song begins with spooky sounds that are meant to set the tone for the darkness to come. Clean and whispering male vocals accompanies dark and slow guitar riffs in the down-tempo sections, which are being succeeded by explosively speedy and grim up-tempo parts.
Being the longest song, last and title track "Ashes of the Fallen Throne" also proves the band's ability to compose monstrous epics. Clocking in at 8+ minutes, it begins with sinister acoustic guitars, and then follows a section that is a multi-speed affair that introduces time signatures a plenty. The production conveys the proper atmosphere for old school dark extreme metal music, yet it may take a while to get used to for an outsider. The feeling of head-banging to the plethora of riffs at the first line combined with the deathly vocals without being drowned out by blast beats or other rhythmic problems is immense. Rest assured this album has death riffs, impending doom riffs and black metal riffs. Even a few acoustic sprinkles and clean vocals paint a very morbid contrast with death vocals, which aren't done gratuitously. This is an album of experienced musicians firing on all cylinders. The drums are always aggressive and well played but on certain sections they along with the bass drown in the mix. Ultimately, there isn't much to complain about, and to think The Belonging is still unsigned is just mind-boggling...