Phew, today is a day where I simply need some excellent guitar riffs and, if possible, something with cats, and look what the proverbial cat just dragged in? A lovely new E.P. by Swedens very own Black Solstice, titled ‘Terrathree’. This band from Stockholm features drummer Peter Eklund in its ranks, who also was in Dark Funeral, so that’s all good and well. This is their fourth demo release.
On the cover of this record, we see a cat. You’ve seen it now, too; it’s quite obvious. It’s even got a third eye. Did you know Lovecraft firmly (H.P., the one who is now less cool because in the ’20s he was a bit of a racist) believed cats are extraordinary beings? I mean, you only have to read his books where they are heavily featured as supernatural creatures. I remember it that way. Thus, it is so.
Three tracks with an indeed earthy sound to it grace your ears on this cool EP. Thick guitars, hazy like a hot summer day (that’s gone now too, thanks 2020), burst onto the scene on ‘Part of Me’. Clean, almost proclamation-style vocals resound strongly. You know what? This is as straight up as they’ll serve it anywhere. I am reminded of my favorite Scotsmen Hair of the Dog a bit. I mean, this is t-shirt-free rock’n’roll. Ok, it may be a bit easy at times, but I like the solid groove a lot. That continues on ‘Ember’ with those scalding licks, instantly delivered in the intro. Sweet stuff, a bit more emotional, though. What’s that pounding sound of the drums? They sound a bit peculiar, but it actually works with those dull thuds as they hit hard. “Here we are, shooting stars…” sounds a bit cheesy. Sorry, honesty prevails.
‘Strong-minded’ basically means stubborn, so that’s a thing. I kinda feel that stompy, headstrongness coming from the first hits of the skins on this track. The vocals of Magnus Lindmark do not entirely convince me on this track. I mean, he’s strong but not particularly musical on the slightly elevated pitch. I’m not feeling it, you know? I mean, I get that he ‘Didn’t find the cure’, but did you really try? I think that’s the only miss on this track; for the rest, it again is a solid slab of hard-rocking-metallesque fist-pounding material.
And there’s a cat on the cover.
Origin: Sweden
Label: self-released