Rev. Kriss Hades - The Wind of Orion (2002)

This is the first full-length solo release from Rev. Kriss Hades, a member of Sadistik Exekution and Nazxul, among others.

I haven't heard this level of sick, insane ritualistic Black Metal since Nastrond's "Age of Fire", and this album blows that one away completely. Rev. Kriss Hades perverts the standards of modern musical composition, and then proceeds to spit upon the assumptions and cliches of Black Metal itself, creating something of fierce originality.

I have never heard anything quite like this. It's as if Nazxul and Sadistik Exekution were involved in a violent, head-on collision with Einsturzende Neubauten, mid-career Pink Floyd, and early Beherit. In the aftermath rises an album that alternates between cold, repetitive sounds and aggressive violence, taking both styles to their logical extremes.

The vocals here are some of the vilest emissions ever to be recorded, yet they are used quite sparingly, allowing the music to stand on its own. The result is a chaotic mass of raw guitar and synth that drowns the listener in sound, achieving a hypnotic effect. These songs seem to go on forever, but certainly not in a bad way, as one will hear something new with each listen.

If this is the future of Black Metal - which it may very well be - then the genre's most glorious age may be yet to come. "The Wind of Orion" is required listening for any who seek the essence of darkness in music. Review from Vorfeed.

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