I Shalt Become “Wanderings” LP In Stock Now

IN STOCK NOW!

Released by Bestial Rape and distributed by NWN:

I Shalt Become “Wanderings” LP

-2nd press on clear/black split vinyl.
-Limited to 250 copies
-3mm jacket and 12″ insert

(Review borrowed from Metal Archivecs. JPSPearson, March 20th, 2008)
This album is quite an obscure gem, and has only just seen a re-release by Moribund Records. Although there are flaws to this record which the reviewer only percieves as minor, one should not let this get in the way of the artistic validity of this music.
‘Wanderings’ was released originally in 1996 by one-man act I Shalt Become, and musically is indebted mainly to the arpeggio lead riff structures of Burzum and the loose musical execution portrayed in such albums like ‘Thousand Swords’ by Graveland, and ‘Thy Dying Light’ by fellow countrymen Judas Iscariot.
The guitars sound quite blurry and chaotic, having the kind of noise and timbre one might associate with the ‘Decrepitude’ tracks from Bzum’s ‘Filosofem’, and as mentioned in the previous paragraph, are defined by arpeggio based riffs that are melancholic and were seemingly intended to be keyed in minor. Interesting also is the addition on some songs of a second guitar which plays harmonic variations on the standard melody, as shown on songs such as ‘Fragments’, ‘Winter Lights’ and ‘Thorns’. This technique can be seen first put into practice by Burzum, on the song ‘Det Som En Gang Var’, and S.Holliman, the sole author of I Shalt Become’s music, seems to incorparate this technique as a permanent formula, giving the recorded product more atmospheric depth, hence also outweighing the ‘lack’ of musical ability and virtuosity towards which many outsiders to the black metal genre are so often scornful. This technique, in the opinion of the reviewer, can also be seen in the works of Xasthur, Levaithan, Sombre Chemin, late-era Krieg, and Drudkh.
Drums are programmed in a minimal fashion, and sometimes sound out of time, though this assists the loose guitar playing quite well, making everything sound more honest and earthy, never at any any time compromising the artistry.
Vocals are somewhat akin to those of Attila Csihar of Mayhem and Tormentor, with the somewhat more in the background, with more emphasis on reverb and less throat dynamics than that of said vocalist. On occasion the vocals are half sung, not too unlike Krieg’s ‘The Black House’ which was released many years after this album.
The lyrical themes are that of loss, sorrow and decay, and a have a nostalgic approach to these themes, rather than the sometimes annoying, selfish, life-denying tendencies espoused by many of the ‘black metal elitists’, examplified best by bands such as Shining, who are at heart fatalists.
In a brief summary, this is an excellent and original record which deserves the attention of contemplative listeners, and a template for the ‘depressive’ black metal best examplified by Xasthur, Leviathan, Weakling, and downbeat, chaotic NSBM acts such as Sombre Chemin and Veil, though there are many other bands whose sound and vision can also trace it’s origins to this record.

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