_ _______ _ ...:... _ _______ _ ___ / .:::::::::::. \ ___ | / .. (:::::::::::::) .. \ | | . .:::::.`:::::::::::'.:::::. . | | .::.. `:::.::':::`::.:::' ..::. | _ _______ | .::' ::::':::::`:::: `::. | _______ _ \\ | | :: `' ::':`:: `' :: | | // \ | | `:. .::' . `::. .:' | | / . | | .::::::..::::' ... `::::..::::::. | | . | | `:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::' | | .... | | `:' `::::: :: :: :::::' `:' | | .... | ' | : `. ': :: :: :: :: :` .' : | ` | |.....: . .......: :: :: :: :: : ...... . : ....| . ...................: : :: :: :: :: : : ................. . _____________:_____________ _____________:_____________ _ ___\` __ /_\` _______/_\` __ _/_\` /___ _ // __ / (/ ___/ (/ _ (/ /_______/\ _ _ /_________ ___________ ______/\ _ ______________/\__/_ _ \\\\\_________\__/\_________\__/\_____/\_____/\____________/ /// - -\-\-----------\__/----------\__/-------\_____/---------------/-/- - - -------------------: : :. ..:: :: . :------------------ - : : :......: :: :` ': :: : .....: : : ___ _ | | : ` ' : | | _ ___ _\---------- : | -------- : B E R C : -------- | : ----------/_ /_\ . : . ..:.. ..:.. . : . /_\ /// . . : : . . \\\ /: :\ /:: Artist :: Pagan Hellfire ::\ :: Album :: On the Path to Triumph :: :: Year :: 2024 :: :: __ _ _ __ :: -:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:- :: \ / :: :: . Genre :: Black Metal Source :: CD . :: :: Label :: Hammer of Damnation R.date :: 2024-10-12 :: _::__ Cat.nr. :: HOD278 S.date :: 2024-09-20 __::_ ::// \\:: ::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\:: :: :: /: Encoder :: LAME 3.100 -V0 :\ ..: Bitrate :: avg. 279kbps :.. . Quality :: 44.1 kHz/Joint Stereo . . Size :: 106.28MB . . . __ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __ .\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////. +/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+ /: . : : . :\ /:: ::\ :: 1. Only Death's Call 10:24 :: :: 2. Of Wind and Storm 5:56 :: :: 3. The Fire of a New Dawn 5:44 :: :: 4. Highest Peaks of the North 6:40 :: :: 5. What Has Always Been 8:19 :: :: 6. Monuments of Victories Forgotten 7:43 :: :: 7. An Oath Drawn in Blood 5:57 :: :: :: :: :: :: ------- :: .. >> 50:43 .. __ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __ .\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////. +/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+ /: . : : . :\ /:: ::\ :: :: :: When I think Nova Scotia, I think more seafood than black :: :: metal. In fact, Pagan Hellfire is the only Nova Scotian black :: :: metal group I can name off the top of my head, which is a sharp :: :: contrast to the dozens of Quebecois ones I know. Pagan Hellfire :: :: does right by their province, churning out a towering slab of :: :: ripping yet atmospheric black metal. A groggy atmosphere hangs :: :: over the album like a fog over a pine forest. This is some :: :: fairly raw stuff, but it suits their slow-burning sound. While :: :: this may not be the best black metal band you'll here out of :: :: Canada, it certainly is the best one I've heard out of Nova :: :: Scotia. :: :: :: :: Despite what their name may have you think, Pagan Hellfire are :: :: not a very immediate band. There are no scorched earth moments :: :: or thrashy outbreaks. They largely are an all blasts and trem :: :: band, with the occasional brief breather. Being so one-note is :: :: a big gamble, but Pagan Hellfire are able to conjure up the :: :: looming woodsy atmosphere for On the Path to Triumph to not :: :: devolve into a snoozefest (at least it does for a black metal :: :: dork like me). If anything this reminds me of something like :: :: Walknut. The mist-covered forest atmosphere, the long stretches :: :: of looming tremolo and the intricate cymbal patterns are all :: :: there. There are also some busier melodic sections and these :: :: bring Sargeist to mind. If you somehow haven't gathered, On the :: :: Path to Triumph is a very samey album. They don't really sound :: :: that similar, but the way melodies slowly unfold over an album :: :: comprised almost exclusively of double bass drumming (usually :: :: blasts) and trem riffs, yet still manages to not overstay its :: :: welcome immediately brings to mind Forteresse. The melodic side :: :: of their sound is so crucial to this not becoming one big :: :: uninteresting blur of tremolo-laden distortion. :: :: :: :: I almost feel like I like On the Path to Triumph a little more :: :: than I ought to. Pagan Hellfire are so impossibly single-minded :: :: that a 50 minute album should drag like hell. However, they get :: :: the atmosphere right and they really understand how to craft :: :: subtle but effective melodies. The drummer's cymbal patterns :: :: also do a lot to add a little spice to an album that so :: :: staunchly opposes variety. I find it all but impossible to :: :: distinguish one song from the next, and Path to Triumph really :: :: is meant to be experienced as one massive piece. :: :: :: :: . _ _ . :: \: :. \\ ___________ . ___________ // .: :/ __\____ :: ____ ___\ _ / BERC : 2024 \ _ /___ ____ :: ____/__ \\\f3! :: \\\ __ _/_________i_________\ /___/ /// :: cRO/// \ :: :\-\___________\_ ___ / _ _/___________/-/: :: / :: | . . _ _ _/ __/ . \_ _ _ . . | :: : :::::::: | | \\\\\/ _______\____|\ \///// | | :::::::: : :: | | -\-\/____/-------------\____\/-/- | | :: :: | | \ :|: / | | :: : : | . ` ::: ' . | : : . . | : ::: : | . . | :::....:::....::: | : ::::::::::::::::: : . :::''``:::''``::: . : ::: : . ::: . .:. :