1349 - Through Eyes Of Stone
Key Facts
Country: 🇳🇴
Genre: Black Metal
Release Date: 10th July 2019
Record Label(s): Season Of Mist
Album Release Date: Unknown
Band Members
Olav "Ravn" Bergene – lead vocals
Tor Risdal "Seidemann" Stavenes – bass, backing vocals
Idar "Archaon" Burheim – guitars, backing vocals
Kjetil-Vidar "Frost" Haraldstad – drums
1349 - Through Eyes Of Stone
Review
Rating (out of 5🤘): 🤘🤘🤘🤘
From the depths and darkness of Norway chaotic and unforgiving black metal veterans 1349 return with awesome and relentless new single Through Eyes Of Stone. One of the more unique sounding Norwegian black metal bands coming out of the country in the 1990s, after 22 years they are still reeling out quality releases. In my opinion some of the bands longevity is down to Olav "Ravn" Bergene's unique vocal delivery, opting for a more gravelly growl than harrowing screeching which stands out in comparison to many other black metal vocalists. Through Eyes Of Stone is a demonstration of why they're still at the top of their game all these years later.
Musically, I initially feel that the song moves away from the more progressive feel that the band went for with Dødskamp which was released earlier this year as part of an initiative by Innovation Norway, Visit Norway and the Munch Museum, who asked four Norwegian artists within four different genres of music to interpret their angle on a freely selected work by the famous painter Edvard Munch. Idar "Archaon" Burheim (guitars) stated: "Munch is arguably the biggest Norwegian artist throughout history, together with Edvard Grieg, I suppose. His works are tremendously dark and eerie, reflecting a lot of anxiety, pain and loneliness, in the way I perceive them. So, it suited us perfectly. I chose the work 'Dødskamp' which directly translates 'Death Struggle' and speaks volumes for itself. It was an emotionally heavy task, and also a completely new way to compose. As well as some very long nights, bereaved of sleep. In the end though, it was worth it. This is the soundtrack to the dilemmas of mortality.". Through Eyes Of Stone is a more traditional sounding black metal song while still containing that slightly more technical and melodic approach to songwriting that the band have developed over the years. You could argue that it is picking up from where 2014's Massive Cauldron Of Chaos left off as I definitely get vibes similar to that of the song Slaves off of that album. Even so the riff is fast, aggressive and heavy. Packed with onslaughts of tremolos picking passages and more dynamic progressive sections, this song has a bit of everything from across the black and wider metal spectrum, including a killer groove halfway through! I think there is some glimpses of what we heard in Dødskamp edging their way through but it ultimately has been dialled back into a more traditional black metal song.
Production wise, it carries that rawness and grit that seems to be fading from some of the more modern and cleaner production process of some of the more recent black metal releases. I definitely agree with my statement that Through Eyes Of Stone is picking up from where 2014's Massive Cauldron Of Chaos left off. The guitar tone are grainy and chunky in equal measure, I especially like the fuzz of the rhythm tone, which the lead tone has some of but I think it works best on the more lower end riffs. The bass tone also helps to support some of the lead tones and embraces the other guitars in its low end omnipresence. The drums also have an awesome weight to them and the cymbals cut through the mix really well, especially when it changes to the more groove metal style riff towards the end of the song. This is where the mix really shines in my opinion. Overall, the mix is consistent with the 1349 sound that we have all come to know and enjoy.
This is a great single, which I cannot wait to hear it within an album context. 1349 are unsung heroes in my book as they've had some really solid releases over the last few years and now they've worked as part of the initiative by Innovation Norway, Visit Norway and the Munch Museum their profile can be raised even further.
From the depths and darkness of Norway chaotic and unforgiving black metal veterans 1349 return with awesome and relentless new single Through Eyes Of Stone. One of the more unique sounding Norwegian black metal bands coming out of the country in the 1990s, after 22 years they are still reeling out quality releases. In my opinion some of the bands longevity is down to Olav "Ravn" Bergene's unique vocal delivery, opting for a more gravelly growl than harrowing screeching which stands out in comparison to many other black metal vocalists. Through Eyes Of Stone is a demonstration of why they're still at the top of their game all these years later.
Musically, I initially feel that the song moves away from the more progressive feel that the band went for with Dødskamp which was released earlier this year as part of an initiative by Innovation Norway, Visit Norway and the Munch Museum, who asked four Norwegian artists within four different genres of music to interpret their angle on a freely selected work by the famous painter Edvard Munch. Idar "Archaon" Burheim (guitars) stated: "Munch is arguably the biggest Norwegian artist throughout history, together with Edvard Grieg, I suppose. His works are tremendously dark and eerie, reflecting a lot of anxiety, pain and loneliness, in the way I perceive them. So, it suited us perfectly. I chose the work 'Dødskamp' which directly translates 'Death Struggle' and speaks volumes for itself. It was an emotionally heavy task, and also a completely new way to compose. As well as some very long nights, bereaved of sleep. In the end though, it was worth it. This is the soundtrack to the dilemmas of mortality.". Through Eyes Of Stone is a more traditional sounding black metal song while still containing that slightly more technical and melodic approach to songwriting that the band have developed over the years. You could argue that it is picking up from where 2014's Massive Cauldron Of Chaos left off as I definitely get vibes similar to that of the song Slaves off of that album. Even so the riff is fast, aggressive and heavy. Packed with onslaughts of tremolos picking passages and more dynamic progressive sections, this song has a bit of everything from across the black and wider metal spectrum, including a killer groove halfway through! I think there is some glimpses of what we heard in Dødskamp edging their way through but it ultimately has been dialled back into a more traditional black metal song.
Production wise, it carries that rawness and grit that seems to be fading from some of the more modern and cleaner production process of some of the more recent black metal releases. I definitely agree with my statement that Through Eyes Of Stone is picking up from where 2014's Massive Cauldron Of Chaos left off. The guitar tone are grainy and chunky in equal measure, I especially like the fuzz of the rhythm tone, which the lead tone has some of but I think it works best on the more lower end riffs. The bass tone also helps to support some of the lead tones and embraces the other guitars in its low end omnipresence. The drums also have an awesome weight to them and the cymbals cut through the mix really well, especially when it changes to the more groove metal style riff towards the end of the song. This is where the mix really shines in my opinion. Overall, the mix is consistent with the 1349 sound that we have all come to know and enjoy.
This is a great single, which I cannot wait to hear it within an album context. 1349 are unsung heroes in my book as they've had some really solid releases over the last few years and now they've worked as part of the initiative by Innovation Norway, Visit Norway and the Munch Museum their profile can be raised even further.
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