#arkhum

[techitytechtech]

Arkhum - Grief Urchin (2010)

[thoughtlessfroth]

PILLORIAN - the new band recently formed by Stephen Parker (Maestus/ex-Arkhum), John Haughm (ex-Agalloch), and Trevor Matthews (Uada/ex-Infernus), will release their debut album through Eisenwald in early 2017.

“Exploring the context of obscurity, Pillorian takes inspiration from blackened metal, dark folk, and avant-garde music. Adding something ancient that hovers within the music and its somber aura, it helps to fortify the group's audial scope in an unconventional way.” (http://www.eisenton.de/label/pure-arcane-art-pillorian-sign-with-eisenwald/)

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[wolfkingxmusic-blog]

Who among us would not weep?

The atmosphere of this song is the biggest strength of this song, but it is hard to capture in words. It’s as though you’ve been asleep for years, drifting through time and space, and wake to find a world parallel to your own, except it is cold and devoid of anything you used to know. You’re filled with an eerie sense of fear and wonder as The Skies Do Give Succor plays. There’s a great deal of prog in the guitar leads, and the underlying riffs are tinged with doom.  This pleasantly suspenseful atmosphere is present through the whole song, even when the brutal blackness Arkhum is known for comes in.

Traditional song structure isn’t a concept in this song. The Skies Do Give Succor bounces between tremolos and gutturals over blastbeats and atmospheric leads from both guitar and bass played over slow, doomy grooves. Contrast is present in the overall rhythm of the song; the slower, atmospheric bits build up into the faster bits, and the faster bits give way to majestic guitar overtures played over more slow atmospheric bits. The lyrics do not follow any real pattern, and venture more into the territory of prose. In general, this song is great display of successful experimentation with songwriting. Good job, Arkhum.

Instrumentally, Arkhum is a tight starship in the cosmos. The guitar is well played in all aspects. Clean, atmospheric parts are well engineered and compliment the doomy parts they ring over. Blackened riffs are tight as could be, and keep time very well with the drums. Heavier death metal riffs provide crushing grooves, and play nicely with the bass. The bass does more than translate the drums for the guitars; the bass takes center stage and gets a full atmospheric passage of its own in the middle of the song. The drums are played with great precision, adding chaotic atmosphere to the whole song, with its cymbal-heavy blast beats and death-march slow doom beats. Every movement of this song is artfully played by every member of the band, and this skill only strengthens the beautiful atmosphere.

A nuanced and genre-bending piece of music, Arkhum’s The Skies Do Give Succor is a great display of experimentation in music. Words do not do it justice. 100%.

[wolfkingxmusic-blog]

New review coming up later.

My review of Arkhum’s The Skies Do Give Succor will soon be posted here, as well as on encyclopedia metallum.

Listen to the song here: http://arkhum.bandcamp.com/album/the-skies-do-give-succor-2

[thoughtlessfroth]

Listen/purchase: The Skies Do Give Succor by Arkhum

So if you didn’t know, I play guitar in the Oregon-based black metal band Arkhum. We released a new pre-production demo earlier this month. Now you can download it on the Glossolalia Records bandcamp! 

[thoughtlessfroth]

DAMN

FRIENDS. 

On June 1st my band Arkhum will be releasing a new song. It’s a pre-production version of a track that’ll be on our new album that we’re recording this fall. While a good heap of you have started following me since Arkhum fell into the background, I hope you’ll all give her a listen when it’s available! 

We haven’t had new music available since January of 2013. So this is going to be rad! 

[thoughtlessfroth]

Listen to: Bloodgutter Encircling (2011 Mix) by Arkhum

My “original” band is called Arkhum and we’re gearing up for some rad stuff this year. Check out this song that’s ALMOST 5 years old! 

[thcdeath]

Phenomenal album and so under rated. - Sean.