Year : 2018
Style : Melodic Black Metal
Country : Norway
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 105 mb
Bio:
Cor Scorpii (Scorpion's Heart in Latin) is a black metal band from Sogndal, Norway, founded in 2004 by Gaute Refsnes, the former keyboardist of Windir. Cor Scorpii is an alternative name of Antares, the 15th brightest star in the sky.The name was chosen because the band members felt that it conveyed a mysterious and atmospheric feeling, corresponding to the musical and lyrical content.Cor Scorpii was formed in late 2004 after the death of Terje Bakken, the lead singer and founder of Windir. Following a farewell concert, the band was dissolved. At that point, Gaute Refsnes implemented the long-standing idea of creating his own band.Two other former Windir members, Stian Bakketeig and Jørn Holen, joined the band. Holen, however had to leave in 2005 due to family reasons and his obligations to Vreid, another band created by the former Windir members.The line-up was competed by Thomas S. Øvstedal, Rune Sjøthun, and Inge Jonny Lomheim, who have all been involved in the local metal scene for years.The band's first demo, Attergangar, was released in 2005, receiving much praise from the musical critics and fans and winning the Demo of the Month award from the Metal Hammer Germany magazine.Shortly after, the band signed a record deal with the Dutch label Descent Productions. A new drummer, Ole "Vargon" Nordsve, joined the band by the end of 2006. In July 2007, the band commenced to record its début full-length album, Monument, which was released on March 26, 2008.In 2009, Cor Scorpii was signed by the Norwegian label Dark Essence Records, which will re-release the band's début album, as well as the earlier demo.The band's second album Ruin was released on June 15, 2018. Compared to Vreid, the legacy of Windir in Cor Scorpii's music, which is melodic and sombre, is much more pronounced, even though no band member was actually involved in songwriting for Windir.There are notable differences as well, however. The folk influences, characteristic of Windir, were replaced with classical influences. Such classical composers as Sergei Prokofiev, Edvard Grieg, Sergei Rachmaninov, and Erik Satie are stated as sources of inspiration for the band.Cor Scorpii's first concert took place in their hometown in October 2007 during the Støy Festival; the band continued to tour Norway the following year, participating in larger events, such as the Inferno Metal Festival.In 2009, the band was able to perform outside their native country for the first time, playing in the Netherlands and then at the Ragnarök Festival in Germany.
Album:
2018 has been a damn good year for folk-oriented black metal. Okay, quantitatively speaking, that’s not true at all; more accurately, there have been two particularly captivating releases in the new Sojourner and Vallendusk records that on their own have single-handedly carried the style in recent months. This seems more than a bit unfair to Norway’s Cor Scorpii. Formed from the ashes of Windir by drummer Steingrim and guitarist Strom (neither of whom are actually still in this band), their decade-in-the-making sophomore effort, Ruin, is relatively featureless when stacked against the current crop of folk-black trailblazers. Yet Cor Scorpii‘s more traditional approach certainly isn’t starved for memorable arrangements or the occasional unique instrumental touch, making for a worthwhile and addictive release despite a few pitfalls in song structuring.Ruin’s defining feature from front to back is the sheer number of guitar tracks that are crammed into each composition. Lead performances are universally stacked with harmonies, meaning that there are always three or even four performances cooperating when counting the rhythm guitars (which also see frequent harmonization), and the result is a lush soundscape loaded with melodic character. The diversity of the record’s song set, combined with the dense instrumentation, makes for a consistently engaging track list despite the fifty-three minute length; highlights such as the atmosphere of destruction and despair conveyed in “Helveteskep” or the sweeping melancholy of “Svart Blod (Hovmod Står For Fall)” provide spikes of greatness above Ruin’s average level of quality, which rarely falls below “pretty solid.”The lapses in quality do exist, though, and are typically the result of restrictive track structures. This issue is not endemic to Ruin as a whole – the two aforementioned highlights in particular showcase Cor Scorpii’s songwriting chops at their most unrestricted with a perceptible sense of flow and growth – but others such as “Hjarteorm” trap the riffs in a cyclical box that is maddeningly tedious when compared with the album’s choicest cuts. Lead melodies are similarly hit-or-miss; “Skuggevandrar” and “Ærelaus” have clear melodic identities that elevate them near the same level as the best material from this year’s Vallendusk effort (which, come to think of it, maybe Ruin’s closest relative this year in terms of lead guitar execution), but others, like “Fotefar” and “Ri Di Mare,” feature meandering guitar lines that lack a strong sense of melodic intent. As the strong instrumental layering techniques remain persistent even in the weakest tracks, however, nothing really comes across as fully skippable.Despite its strongest qualities, it took quite a few listens for Ruin to win me over due to its weak production. The despite the curiously high DR value, the mix comes across as so flat that it threatens to rob the adrenaline from a genre that is inherently cathartic, and the diminished drum and bass presence doesn’t exactly help matters. With Cor Scorpii being such a heavily guitar-driven act, it makes sense that the guitars are the best sounding component of Ruin by a few leagues, with sharp, precise highs and gritty lows providing strong tonal presence despite the utterly invalidated bass. And while several elements of Ruin are unfortunately scattershot in execution, the performances are top-notch across the board. From the obviously excellent guitar execution to the catchy cymbal acrobatics of Ole Nordsve and the broad, unique clean vox of keyboardist Gaute Refsnes, Cor Scorpii’s talent set is notably impressive.While it may live up to neither the standard set by this year’s best folk-black releases nor Windir’s classic albums, Ruin manages to incorporate the best of both traditional and modern interpretations of the genre into one appealing package. Cor Scorpii‘s constant storm of tremolo riffs makes for some of the best black metal moments I’ve heard this year when Ruin is operating at its most thunderously dramatic and melodically gripping; it’s just a shame that its highs aren’t better maintained. Even so, I find that Ruin has significant legs as a record where I find more melodies or riffs to latch onto with every single listen, and as it’s so densely packed with quality, ear-catching guitar work, it’s an easy recommendation for fans of melodic, riff-driven black metal.
Line-Up:
Thomas S. Øvstedal - Vocals (2004-present)
Erlend Nybø - Guitars (lead) (2010-present) - See also: Funeral, ex-Silent Vanquish, ex-Fallen
Rune Sjøthun - Guitars (rhythm), Mandolin (2004-present)
Inge Jonny Lomheim - Bass, Accordion (2004-present)
Gaute Refsnes - Keyboards, Vocals (clean) (2004-present) - See also: Odium, ex-Ulcus, ex-Windir, ex-Ulcus Molle, ex-Fortíð, ex-Vreid (live)
Ole Nordsve - Drums (2006-present) - See also: Blåhø, Celebratum, Vecordious, ex-The Embraced, ex-Hellstorm, ex-Legiones
Tracklist:
01. Svart Blod (Hovmod stеr for fall) (09:11)
02. Hjarteorm (04:37)
03. Skuggevandrar (07:08)
04. Fotefar (05:27)
05. Helveteskap (07:51)
06. Ri di mare (04:49)
07. Ærelaus (04:55)
08. Siste dans (09:59)
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
