Interestingly, this fourth release from Catalonia’s Atman is being released exclusively on vinyl, something you don’t hear of too often. I’d hoped this may turn out to be a hidden gem from the Catalan underground; alas it wasn’t and was fortunate enough to only have to deal with 30 minutes of the stuff. Perhaps I’m being a trifle harsh, as there are some good moments punctuating the general blandness...but that’s what it ultimately is.
The vocals, splashed in echo, are shrill and raucous, rabidly yapping over everything, without lending much to the music and definitely not enhancing the atmosphere. On the whole, the riffs are bland and repetitive, venturing occasionally out of Black Metal territory, seemingly striving to inject the music with a tune of interest or even a dark melody to add some tone....and let’s not forget the clattering drums. Albeit the fact that Black Metal drumming is quite often uninspired and lacking in creativity, this really goes nowhere.
Occasionally there arises a riff or a moment, or God forbid an entire section which rouses one’s attention. Both ‘L’Assassi de Venus’ and ‘Orgull de Sang i Raca’ are both forgettable tracks but ‘el Triomf dels Somnis sobre la Vigilia’ at least has a slightly more appealing finale; reminding particularly of Canadian miserables Niflheim, with their incredibly slow and creeping Black depression, accentuated by twinges of sorrowful melody.
‘Quatre Flames per una Terra’ has by far the finest opening, offering something memorable and succulently primitive. It’s not amazing, but a big improvement and the first four minutes of ‘Quan la Lluna Sent Nostalgia’ are unquestionably the finest moments on the album. The opening chords of Metallica’s ‘The Unforgiven’ come to mind, combined with some other darkened tidbits. After that, the sound of Niflheim again raises itself from the mire and just when you think this ‘instrumental’ is the absolute highlight, the drummer starts blasting (which isn’t a problem) and back come those bloody screams, reducing it to a slightly improved adaptation of a previous track...wonderful. Need I say any more?
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