With just an obscure EP to their name, Norway’s 1349 make their full-length debut with Liberation. 1349 are not about overly complicated song structures, melodies, or diplomacy. The album is all about total necro Norwegian black metal. Tortured vocals, buzz saw guitars, and hyper fast drumming sum up this affair. Liberation is a bit of a throw back to the Norwegian black metal style that GORGOROTH and DARKTHRONE were playing back in the early to mid 90’s. Given the fact that since the late 90’s there has been whole host of wannabe black metal bands, 1349 provide a much needed dose of quality for the now, over saturated genre. ????? ????? ????? The first half of the album is more about all out speed and total chaos whereas the second half of the album does feature more dynamic and memorable songs. For a debut full-length album, the band demonstrates a high level of songwriting and quality riff writing. SATYRICON’s Frost puts on a drum clinic of sheer speed. Blast beats and fills don’t get any faster than this. ????? ???? ???? ??????? The production of the album is in the true necro black metal style as it is all treble, no bass. ?????? ????? The only casualty of this production style is that you can hardly hear the bass drums. It’s a drawback for those who want to hear Frost’s complete ungodly drum performance. Liberation comes highly recommended for fans of total fucking armaggedon. (Candlelight)