Arckanum

Trulen

Carnal Records 2006

The calm before the storm.  That's how I characterize the intro on Arckanum's release of their 1994 demo material, namely Trulen.  When Hvita pa Tronan Min storms though the gates you immediately recognize Shamaatae's mournful screams that are so unique and powerful.  Here he utilizes his echoed vokillz to great effect which heightens the impression of a calling across the vacuum of space and time.  On the original versions of Gava fran Trulen, Yvir min Diupe Marder, and Svinna, Shamaatae voice actually sort of reminds me of Nocturno Culto's vocals from the monstrous Panzerfaust.  It is really brutal and fierce to hear these tracks in their embryonic form.  For most of the early album the musical flow progresses from a nature inspired interlude that elevates the sense of being enveloped in a dark forest and then bursts into an explosion of traditional forest black metal.  The guitars and other instruments are characteristically thin and trebly but that adds to the sense of time and distance as if the whole album were calling to the listener from a deep and mystical past.  Shamaatae frequently uses a sort of windswept faster riff and intersperses it with a mid-tempo and folky sort of riff section.  The packaging is suitably minimalist and fits into the the aesthetic qualities one would expect from Arckanum, but that picture of Pan on the cover pretty much symbolizes perfectly every aspect of Trulen.  Trulen is like some sort of homage to the mystical aspects of nature and the forest and Shamaatae is a true artist who knows exactly how to achieve an audial communion within the confines of those elements. 

Basically if you are already familiar with Arckanum then you should know what to expect, if not then this is a good place to immerse yourself in this wondrous yet foreboding realm of nature's magic.