Armath Sargon - NORTHERN CHRONICLES OF WORSHIP
"It feels like the summer of my life is gone... But there is always hope ahead." And so begins this double dish platter from unblack metal warrior Armath Sargon. This prolific Finnish one man band has released numerous albums via numerous labels in the past decade and more. Northern Chronicles of Worship: Autumn and Winter is a 2-disc affair available in a limited run of 150, disc 1 is Autumn and disc 2 is Winter.
Armath Sargon plays out the seasonal motifs musically, sometimes with a classical overtone and flute-like keyboards, other times at a fast and frantic pace, but his vocal delivery is more of a hoarse whisper than the standard black metal shriek. The interplay between shots fired and guitars and drums in "Cold Steel" is appealing, as well as the many instrumental interludes.
Lyrically the man is a modern day psalmist. Extreme metal is not all about hate, as evidenced by the beauty of words all about a soul longing after God. The packaging, as with everything Nokternal Hemizphear put their hands on, is visually stunning. The autumn and winter symbology is woven beautifully through this double disc digipak design. Well done. Available through metalhelm.com. 3 out of 5 stars. Chris Gatto
