Search - 1349 :: Revelations of the Black Flame

There's two parts of Hell.

avgvstvs | Omaha NE | 01/24/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you think that 1349 is simply a band that plays a certain style of metal--you don't know what it is they're doing. They are a cult band with a VERY obvious point to make as they partake of their own spiritual journey



If you don't know what the term "Revelations of the Black Flame" is supposed to mean, then you simply aren't in touch with what 1349 is doing. Speaking as a student of religion at large, there's generally two parts to LHP work. An embrace of chaos, and a rejection of the light, and this is a process of slow expulsion. After the flame dies, the ashes of life must be given time to weep as the embers slowly fade. Only after one has descended into complete darkness can one emerge enlightened. This album is the beginning of that stage. You'll understand this much better if you listen to this in absolute darkness. As you descend you find things that will seem beautiful to you and to no other, when your mind isn't allowed to focus on any object and is allowed to roam where the music pulls it.



This album isn't a height of their musical prowess; their virtuosity is duly recorded in all their previous albums. But this one is definitely a spiritual height. If you like Leviathan's "Massive Conspiracy Against All Life," this album shares more in common with that gorgeous piece of misanthropy than any of their own previous works. It's slow, very slow, and weaves a path of darkness that extinguishes hope. What more could you ask for from a BM album? The only thing I didn't like was in the final track, "At the Gate," where one of the two vocals has a halloweenish flavor. Not enough to destroy the track, but it's annoying.



As I've stated to some of my friends; if you want BM like it was played by early Mayhem and Immortal, what's stopping you from picking up a guitar and doing it yourself? Don't expect other people to do it for you, weakling, and don't cry that someone else isn't giving you what you want. Until you realize that this music is about the 'self' and not about what other people want, you're still sheep.



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