Dodsferd
is a one-man black metal project from Greece, masterminded by one
Nikos "Wrath" Spanakis
. Why these black metal solo artists need both a band name and a pseudonym is a mystery, but never mind that. The point is,
Suicide and the Rest of Your Kind Will Follow
is a departure for
, and indeed for black metal in general. It's not musically progressive, but it is ambitious within the self-imposed limitations of the genre.
Spanakis
' overdubbed guitars feature a high-pitched, stinging lead line that's laid atop a layer of fuzzed-out riffs closer in spirit to
My Bloody Valentine
or
Ride
than
Mayhem
Marduk
, and the drums beat out a slow, relentless, metronomic pattern, broken up by the occasional rudimentary fill that suggests programming rather than actual sticks and skins. All of this is relatively normal within black metal, particularly of the one-man-band variety, but compositions of the extraordinary length found on this CD are not. The opening title track passes the 20-minute mark with ease, its very length creating an oppressive fatalism in the listener. This is just gonna keep on happening, so you might as well lie back and take it, is the implication. The disc's second half,
"His Veins Colored the Room,"
is possibly even more alienating and dissonant than the first track. The guitar hits high, arcing screeches reminiscent of
Blind Idiot God
axeman
Andy Hawkins
' work as
Azonic
on the
Halo
CD, and
' vocals become even more anguished and painful (to listen to and, presumably, to create) than before. The song's primary riff owes more to
Flipper
or the
Melvins
Burzum
Immortal
. This is an impressively hostile record, the work of a unique musical mind, and well worth investigating, even as someone's first experience with
. ~ Phil Freeman