More and more it seems the once outer edges of Black Metal have become some of their most well known to the outside world. Where as at one point bands like Alcest and Agalloch would have very little standing outside of their little piece of the record buying public, they may be a couple of the most well known current bands carrying the black metal mantle. While neither of these bands traditionally fall into the genre Smohalla fails to follow tradition either.
The two man project, save for a few guests on the album, has managed to make their debut full length stick out like a sore thumb even among their supposed peers. The band share similar flirtations with ambiance, classical structures and Industrial sounds as projects such as Blut Aus Nord. While this may seem familiar on paper that is where all similarity could be lost just the same. The difference is within the sounds themselves. Where Blut Aus Nord has made records as full on pieces not to have anything skipped This record fails to share that trait.
The songs are long and sometimes inorganically so. This is where the biggest issue lies. Over the course almost 46 minutes it becomes hard to tell how long the record has been on. While in some sense this is a great thing as there are so many seemingly incongruous pieces to this puzzle that one can easily get lost in it. On the other hand it seems to have a need and dependence on this incongruous nature to the point that it relies on it to move songs forward.
The record at it's bare bones is something truly interesting. Relishing within the beautiful nods to classical music only to be completely decimated by blast beats and tremolo riffing. The group itself could take nods from all of the bands mentioned earlier on to help streamline their approach without tossing out the things that make them different from each other. In the meantime the band has given us a record that is different and interesting, something to get lost in but be prepared to be jarred back to reality just as quickly.
