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Embrace of Thorns - Atonement Ritual

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 June 29 2009 at 07:50:01 PM



Hasten slowly… Attica’s Embrace of Thorns is not whoring some bogus Weltanschauung to every glossy mag, “Metal” site, and blog it can find. Embrace of Thorns is not touring tirelessly with mediocre ensembles more interested in image than musical substance. And Embrace of Thorns is not a messageboard darling who easily tallies up a 100-post thread regarding packaging and alternate art and different colored vinyl offerings. Why? Embrace of Thorns is actually a fucking great band making killer Black Metal wholly obsessed with desecration and blasphemy of the Christian ideals. There’s no talk of fighting modernity, assuming agrarian lifestyles, or Adbusters style take-down-the-man-indignation, just a focused assault on the Judeo-Christian system. Sometimes it thankfully can be that simple…

“Archfiend DevilPig” and “Herald of Demonic Pestilence” and “Nuctemeron Bestial Ravisher of the Divine Harmony” take chiseled down-tuned leads and wrangle both natural progression and dick-thumping permutation from them. But that makes them sound slow, and they aren’t. There’s a fair share of off-to-the-races shtick, yet the guitar never loses its brass pair in the kickup of dust.
The imagery here is primal Christ blood, sloppy goatfuck, succubae replete with slicken cunts, and with songs entitled “Ceremonial Rites of Fornication,” “Tombs of Desecrated Zealots,” and “Impure Orgasm” (Alas, only an “intro”) any dumbfuck with a semi-disposable income can determine whether or not it’s this stuff he wants to be rocking while he surfs the “clothed female/nude male” sites.

Some of these tunes stand out like a hustler’s rocket in his pocket. “Venom in Veins” is begging to be appropriated to WWE’s end. The riff is one of those brain burners that makes me just want to pick up my house and throw it into the next zipcode. “Death Yells in Triumph” harnesses the vibe responsible for coaxing 14-year-olds on top of school buses with their sticks to messily execute “acid drops.” See you at the ER. But, oh please – take my motherfucking word for it: Not everyone needs this. You, buying Leviathan splits and Crudo))) limted eds: You do not need this. You, buying anything from HydraHead (slipmat, hipflask, douche, tire pressure gauge, nose hair trimmer): You do not need this. You, who went to see Wolves in the Throne Room and reported back the second you got home, telling the Internet they were, “the Best Band Ever”: You do not need this. You, who bought the Von reissue, and have never even heard the fucking band before: You do not need this. You, who left a disparaging comment on my Mastodon review: You most certainly do not need this. Yes. Festina lente, kids.

[Stewart Voegtlin]

Embrace of Thorns
Atonement Ritual
Nuclear War Now!
2009
type: reviews    keywords: black metal, lhp027, goatfuck,   

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Comments (26)

  • 108 comments
    jniff
    7:35 AM on Jun 30, 2009 // reply »
    Sick stuff, for sure!
  • 35 comments
    Miskatonic
    5:48 PM on Jun 30, 2009 // reply »
    Hey, look! I turned this really shitty review into a really great review...

    "Embrace of Thorns is a fucking great band making killer Black Metal wholly obsessed with desecration and blasphemy of the Christian ideals.
    They execute a focused assault on the Judeo-Christian system. Sometimes it thankfully can be that simple&

    Archfiend DevilPig and Herald of Demonic Pestilence and Nuctemeron Bestial Ravisher of the Divine Harmony take chiseled down-tuned leads and wrangle both natural progression and dick-thumping permutation from them. But that makes them sound slow, and they arent. Theres a fair share of off-to-the-races shtick, yet the guitar never loses its brass pair in the kickup of dust.
    The imagery here is primal Christ blood, sloppy goatfuck, succubae replete with slicken cunts, and with songs entitled Ceremonial Rites of Fornication, Tombs of Desecrated Zealots, and Impure Orgasm (Alas, only an intro) any dumbfuck with a semi-disposable income can determine whether or not its this stuff he wants to be rocking while he surfs the clothed female/nude male sites.

    Some of these tunes stand out like a hustlers rocket in his pocket. Venom in Veins is begging to be appropriated to WWEs end. The riff is one of those brain burners that makes me just want to pick up my house and throw it into the next zipcode. Death Yells in Triumph harnesses the vibe responsible for coaxing 14-year-olds on top of school buses with their sticks to messily execute acid drops. See you at the ER. But, oh please  take my motherfucking word for it: Not everyone needs this."
  • 374 comments
    VOEGTLIN
    7:11 PM on Jun 30, 2009 // reply »
    Trevor:

    Yes, that's a tight "house style" there.

    One of your problems is you assume there is "one way" to write. That's fine; have at it.

    This "substantive edit" assumes the writer doesn't know what he/she means to say, and the editor takes it upon his or her self to shape the piece, and spin their take on the author's intent.

    Since you are not an editor of mine, we have neither shared a conversation about Embrace of Thorns' music nor the way I intended to frame the review. Considering this, your reception is tainted, reactionary, and thoughtless.

    I can understand your need for acceptance, and more so to belittle what you perceive to be "bullshit." But if you're going to read a writer you apparently have major stylistic problems with, don't lay your cock on my shoulder and tell me it's a helping hand. There are lots of outlets out there employing your "house style." Go to them. Now. Run.
  • 108 comments
    jniff
    7:39 PM on Jun 30, 2009 // reply »
    heh! I right liked the last paragraph, and thought it perfectly summed up EoT. But... Stew, if you're accepting editorial feedback, you could always add this sentence somewhere in there: You who think Krallice is black fucking metal, you sure as fuck don't need this.

    Then again, that might be redundant...
  • 64 comments
    neu konservatiw
    8:21 PM on Jun 30, 2009 // reply »
    Ignoring Misk., yes, this album is something that, along with Seven Chalices, seems to signify a groundbreaking (if it can be called new) sound that many of us will now be forced to reckon with, like it or not. I'm trying to connect the two albums together in some way, but can't for some reason (even though they really are so close in sound, or not?) I guess what they have in common is some sort of permutation of old death (I feel very early Carcass when listening to Teitanblood) that is somehow distilled in such a way that it is re-become genesis. Or maybe it is just the unpretentiousness of it all, which Stewart captures perfectly.

    I remember first laying eyes on the LP cover art for ...For I See Death in Their Eyes... and thinking that some Tampa Bay Satanic Death Scrub circa 1987 must have fallen into a 20-year time-space warp and sustained traumatic brain injury for his troubles. After he landed (on his head), he scrawled the only thing he could remember onto the back of a spiral notebook. Then I listened, and honestly, cant recall anything special about what I heard (other than the drumming being awful). When faced with Atonement Ritual, I had to conclude that the artwork was much closer to something that might pass for ADHD, and since TBI doesnt just go away, I was afraid the time-traveler had returned to the ancient Morbid Angel set from whence he came. Then, lo and behold, 20th June brought Prevalence: A Decade of Atomic Genocide, and I was reassured by the likelihood that he might be stuck here after all.
  • 374 comments
    VOEGTLIN
    5:47 AM on Jul 01, 2009 // reply »
    I tried to resist linking 7C and AR; I certainly see the similarities though even though they really don't sound like one another at all.

    The Teitanblood of 7C is so many things (thankfully) it's impossible to say it's indicative of influence x or y or z. Early Carcass, early Napalm, etc. Surely. But wholly Teitanblood. Same for EoT. That's art!
  • 35 comments
    Miskatonic
    7:57 AM on Jul 01, 2009 // reply »
    "you assume there is "one way" to write"

    Because I criticize a part of a review you write that means I think their is only one way to write? Preposterous. That's an enormous leap in logic.

    "assumes the writer doesn't know what he/she means to say"

    I never assumed you didn't write what you meant to say. In fact, I think you wrote exactly what you meant to say. You are a good to great writer. I have no beef with that. My problem is that I disagree with your assessment of the state of successful underground music. It feels like you have nothing but contempt for underground bands which garner any amount of success. That said, I understand the need to champion the cause of the little guy. I applaud your tireless efforts to do just that. I just don't see the need to tear down more successful acts in order to bolster the underdog. And that is exactly what you did with this review. What the fuck does Embrace of Thorns have to do with the other bands you mentioned or thinly alluded to? My edit was merely a way to illustrate my disdain for your proclivity to attack the mildly successful, but also to show that you obviously have great talent in highlighting the positive attributes of good acts. I just want to see more of the later and less of the former. I know I can't always get what I want, but I figured the comments section was their to allow me to express my opinion. Maybe my opinion will have some effect on you the way yours has an effect on mine. In other words, it sometimes serves to bring mine more in line with yours and sometimes it makes me buck.

  • 35 comments
    Miskatonic
    7:57 AM on Jul 01, 2009 // reply »
    "your reception is tainted, reactionary, and thoughtless."

    I'd never heard of Embrace of Thrones before reading your review. I have noting to say about that band. I read your review in hopes of gaining insight into the album to determine wether I should purchase their album or not. What I found in your review was a mixture of extremely helpful descriptions and completely disparate filler. Tainted? Whatever. I guess I need to have actually listened to the album before commenting on the helpfulness of your review. Reactionary? Yes. I reacted to your review. You got me there. Thoughtless? Heh.

    Acceptance? C'mon.This ain't about acceptance. Where did you pull that one from?

    A few weeks ago, after the comments section on one of your reviews turned into a repository for jokes, you called everyone pussies for failing to criticize your review. Now, I drop a criticism on this review and you react by asking me to leave? Boo-hoo! Who's the pussy now?
  • 374 comments
    VOEGTLIN
    8:20 AM on Jul 01, 2009 // reply »
    I called everyone pussies - including you, sweets -because they couldn't bring themselves to criticize any argument about the music I posited, only getting caught up in my style, which is EXACTLY what you are doing here.

    None of your comments are about assertions I made about Embrace of Thorns; they are comments about the framing of the review.

    If you consider the framing unecessary, it's equally as unecessary to comment about it. That is what's "preposterous," holmes.
  • 35 comments
    Miskatonic
    8:57 AM on Jul 01, 2009 // reply »
    Why in the fuck would I argue about any of the arguments you made about this band that I've never even heard of? I'd rather argue about the unrelated bullshit you threw into the review. I guess you could argue that your "style" is to tear down any band reaching any measure of success. If that's true, then I guess I am attacking your "style". But that's just a small (it's getting bigger all the time) part of your style. I'd say your style has more to do with your terse, dense and obscure reference laden prose. And it's that very "style" that attracts me to your writing. So quit accusing me of attacking your style. And if you want people to comment only on your arguments about the band in the title, quit bringing up the other bands.

    If it's unnecessary to comment on an opinions expressed, then there's no need for discussion... about anything... ever. Will you please think about how ridiculous that last sentence of yours is? Please?
  • 374 comments
    VOEGTLIN
    10:05 AM on Jul 01, 2009 // reply »
    Anything you can do,
    I can do better.
    I can do anything
    Better than you.

    No, you can't.
    Yes, I can. No, you can't.
    Yes, I can. No, you can't.
    Yes, I can,
    Yes, I can!

  • 1 comment
    Joe
    11:31 AM on Jul 01, 2009 // reply »
    Pigs and Ducks And Geese Better Scurry...
  • 15 comments
    Anthony
    12:02 PM on Jul 01, 2009 // reply »
    I come here for the reviews, but I stay for the fights!
  • 374 comments
    VOEGTLIN
    12:06 PM on Jul 01, 2009 // reply »
    My time is valuable, kids. If you're going to bring a fight to my doorstep, realize I will be pissing on your bare feet and act accordingly.

    That said, I think this Livewire came bearing kisses, not fists. That's how me and DePalma started dating. I "redid" one of his "shitty" reviews and made it "great." The rest was history.
  • 6 comments
    bill
    12:46 PM on Jul 01, 2009 // reply »
    Judging by your need to constantly tear down bigger, more successful acts, I'd say you have a massive chip on your shoulder. It gets borrrrring.
  • 374 comments
    VOEGTLIN
    1:02 PM on Jul 01, 2009 // reply »
    Yr being selective. Lots of folks get their balls thumped around here regardless of size or success rate.

    As for the boredom, I understand it as a state of intense disinterest. I'm not disinterested in writing; if you're disinterested in reading my writing but read it anyway, I can't help you there. You don't pay for it. It doesn't force itself on you. It's not required.

    If I've got a "chip on my shoulder," you've got a severe psychological problem. Go masturbate to pictures of eels. That might not be boring for you.
  • 35 comments
    Miskatonic
    2:39 PM on Jul 01, 2009 // reply »
    It says a lot that you are not only willing to accept comments but you also answer them dutifully. I may not agree with SOME of the shit you sling, but I almost always find it interesting enough to merit a response. Good writing is often incendiary.

    Also, I recognize the value of a strong willed iconoclast. Black Metal's full of those. Someone's gotta be out there viciously attacking mainstream thinking. While I don't think that some of the more successful underground bands warrant the amount of venom you spit, I can see why you think they do. So, keep it up. I'll stick around and read it (you didn't really want me to go away... did you?). Honestly, I love this site because it's devoid of metal meatheadery that is so prevalent in this culture.
  • 1 comment
    Pakal
    3:05 PM on Jul 01, 2009 // reply »
    Cool review, very music oriented, not. Yes, we get it you're metal and you hate hipsters, you hate hydra head but you're one of Yosuke's bitches. I'm sure if everyone hated this band you will blindly follow as well.
  • 374 comments
    VOEGTLIN
    3:28 PM on Jul 01, 2009 // reply »
    Yos-who?

    Not undel-stand.

    Ret me terr you somethin: I one uh satan bitches, motha-fuck-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
  • 15 comments
    Anthony
    3:33 PM on Jul 01, 2009 // reply »
    Weird. That guy just did the thing I used to do in the third grade, where I gave somebody a compliment and then took it back. Good thing he's a fan of thinking-man's metal.
  • 1 comment
    JVSTIN BARTLETT
    6:11 PM on Jul 01, 2009 // reply »
    I picked up their split with Goatchrist and their first LP - both of those were "ok"... this album is much, much better.
  • 13 comments
    Tim
    9:00 PM on Jul 01, 2009 // reply »
    Strange: I buy Leviathan records; I buy Hydra Head releases (Austerity Program is genius); I've seen Wolves in the Throne Room multiple times (and enjoyed those shows immensely); I will not buy the Von reissue because the band sucked twenty years ago and the band still sucks now; and I bought Embrace of Thorns (because I think it sounds like Viscera Terrae channeled through Onward to Golgotha, and that's all right by me).

    Otherwise though, your Wrest-ian wordplay befits this band. Good job.
  • 2 comments
    hx￀z￀
    10:06 PM on Jul 01, 2009 // reply »
    *man alive*, Tim,

    i *feel* like you just sent ol' STooVEE a pulsating *landau-packet* of *owl-clam-spoon-corn*.

    perhaps, once he unskewers his own self-same self from your dialecticalignant ￩p￩e, he'll countenance the probability that the 14 year-old weirdo who secrets "the glass bead game" in his geometry text for fear of synapse necrosis and whose eyes drift towards Bacon when all others favor Hopper and whose ears bend towards Fennesz while others incline 3-doors-downward, who navigates an unlit path from Krallice to Leviathan to Xasthur to Negative Plane to Funeral Mist to Deathspell Omega to Von- *perhaps* this kid is not a consummate waste of everyone's time and space.

    Me? yeah- i grew up on archers of loaf and unwound
    and only, at 29, stumbled upon the crepuscular majesty of black metal. indict me all you want for being so unKVLT as to mistake the conflation of a longstandingly counter-cultural genre and the decidedly counter-cultural yearning for mud-on-yr-hands un-twittered communion w/ earth and brother for "black metal." but, freelz, ol' stewvlersonz- wunna my toppest faverado myuzik writers- leave the *kids* outa this...
  • 15 comments
    Anthony
    8:57 AM on Jul 02, 2009 // reply »
    Yeah, I have to admit that I don't actually have a problem with most of the stuff that Voegtlin hates, and even like some of it. Still, I don't understand why some people feel the need to start shit about these reviews, as though they're actually offended by the content. I don't know any of the reviewers here as people. Other than making me periodically reevaluate my collection of juvenile music, what importance could they possibly have? There's a morbid appeal in watching Voegtlin get mad and respond, but the range of complaints/responses, I'm starting to think, has been exhausted. At least Helm had articulate, aesthetic critiques, even if some of them seemed a little cheesy.
  • 64 comments
    neu konservatiw
    8:03 PM on Jul 02, 2009 // reply »
    hx￀z￀:

    V￨rmyapr￨b or Vasagra￨be ￩akr vatr￨ brenoritvrezorkre? And don't say Ambre Zuerkl Vuordhrevarhtre!!! (I wonder what will happen to my accent aigue et accent grave when I post this!)
  • 1 comment
    Chuck Berry's Dancing Corpse
    2:04 AM on Jul 03, 2009 // reply »
    I'll say, the comments/fighting over this review by Mr. V and his fan was far more interesting than the review in it self! Go on..! Im waiting.
 

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