Dank, cavernous passages, taking you to tombs unexplored since Roman times.....this image first comes to mind when describing the music of Negative Plane. Tenuous fibers of reality shattering into nihilistic ecstasy? Yeah, that works to. Happened upon this band almost by accident, and what a happy accident, as this is one of the more unusual and delightful black metal releases I've heard in a while. Take Dissection's 'Storm of The Light's Bane', add some ludes and strong 'shrooms, and a flare for fugues and tremolo, and you are just beginning to understand this album's wonder.
The first thing you will notice is the strange tremulous guitar tones which would not sound out of place on a Ventures album. The entire production is draped in echo, not obscuring the music one bit, but drenching it in tomb like atmosphere. Lacking crunch and sheets of white noise, the din the band cooks up makes up for the lack of obvious metallic gusto. And melodies, such guitar melodies, not breezy, but angular, Bach-like, and evil.
Peer a little further in to the murk, and the outstanding drumwork; the deft rhythmic shifts, and clever fills become evident. This is mid-tempo black metal, but lack of frequent blast beats are not missed, as this band is creative and inventive enough to fill the space.
Add some tasteful keys here and there, some troll vocals, some ambient noise, and an actual piano fugue halfway through, and you've got one of the stellar black metal releases of the year. Highly recommended.
Rating: 9 out of 10
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