Ansur
Carved In Flesh

Sometimes people should stop and think, think about whether it's right for a musician, or a band as in this case, to literally make a fool of the listener who, after spending a good 15 euros, hopes to at least have in their hands a musical product worthy of bearing the name album.

Well, sometimes one really ought to think, something Ansur didn't do, neither with this demo “Carved In Flesh” nor with the subsequent full-length "Axiom."

Before describing the little, in quantity, that this “Carved In Flesh” offers us, I think it's right to introduce the band to the readers, composed of: Torstein J. Nipe on guitars and various effects, Stian Svenne on guitars and backing vocals, Espen A.R. Aulie on bass and lead vocals, and last but not least, Glenn Ferguson on drums and percussion: our musicians immediately prove to be proponents of a musical genre that is halfway between two seemingly diametrically opposed genres: progressive and black metal, giving us in the four tracks present in this “Carved In Flesh” moments of great music, alternating outbursts of blind violence that at times almost verge on cacophony, with more elaborate ones, where keyboards and guitars manage to create atmospherically effective parts; equally noteworthy is the rhythmic section, substantial, showing efficiency both when weaving elegant rhythms rich in tempo changes, and when underlining the band's black metal vein, providing the right ferocity and aggressiveness.

The four episodes, named “Murder”, “Carved In Flesh”, “Fra Nattens Skugge” and “Through Snowlands”, are all extremely dynamic and absolutely varied, although it's a shame (and that's why I opened the review with the thought of stopping to think) that they all present a dismal recording, buzzing sounds, background noise, unclear voice, drum sounds that sometimes come and go, bass sounds that seem absent for various minutes, and it's a real pity because in the long run a recording (worthy of a B-series bootleg from the 40s) of such low level risks undoing the work of a band that already has decidedly advanced technical/compositional foundations.

Even lyrically, the band shows itself to be quite mature, never falling into unnecessarily violent excesses or religious/propaganda undertones, instead preferring themes such as the various theories of creation and more generally scientific narrative.

Thus, hoping that this “Carved In Flesh”, as well as the lp “Axiom”, are only exceptions, for now, let's keep the ratings tight, saving a higher level promotion for when these young Norwegians gift us a product with a recording worthy of the quality of the products they offer us.

(P.S. calculate the rating as a 3.5)