Sphere of Geburah

I haven’t listened to the music of Plutonian Shore since 2011 when they were a new band and they were still searching for their identity. Despite that, they had showed since then what they wanted to play. They come from the U.S.A., they consist of three members and they exist into Black Metal since 2010 while they have already released three demos, three split albums and three full length albums. Recently I received their third album which was released in August of 2015 and it contains eight compositions of overall duration a little longer than half an hour. So here the band seems to have done many steps forward since the last time that I listened to them. Their style remains the same, namely mysterious, occult Black Metal, musically devoted to the European/Scandinavian scene, but for sure their performance both regarding the music and the composition has improved.

So here, the listener will come across fast, harsh and in some parts brutal Black Metal, while it doesn’t lack of the medium speed or the slow passages too that they make the atmosphere more dark and mysterious. The riffs are distinguished by their brutal outbursts, their long, Scandinavian lines and their warlike character. The style of the compositions is quite straightforward and direct but without losing its interesting moments and become monotonous. Here it comes the improvement of the band as long as it concerns its composing ability. They can create compositions which have that direct character but on one hand the riffs are a lot more interesting, on the other hand the structure of the tracks is quite good. The tracks are quite short regarding their duration (three to six minutes) and their duration is very good, with a lot of passages and changes into the style and the atmosphere, they achieve to present complete and quite interesting compositions.

Regarding the instruments, the band has very good performance and it shows that it is contained by capable musicians. The guitars are those which lead, delivering the riffs with passion but also with accuracy and in a very direct way. The drums follows that they are played with absolute accuracy and amazing passion, while their lines are quite interesting presenting a lot of turnings and violent outbursts. The bass is not clearly audible but the sound is quite full. The vocals are harsh, brutal Black Metal vocals quite expressive and passionate. The production is dark and clean so that it makes that dark and chaotic character of the album, more intense. The mixture is quite balanced but without being anything special. The lyrics are written in English and they are contained into the album. They are invocations to primordial Deities, to occult, magical entities which include darkness, destruction and death.

The third effort of Plutonian Shore shows that the band is working and though work it achieved to get improved. The Black Metal that they play surely is not anything original or anything that you haven’t listened before, but it is Black Metal devoted to the traditional sound, played with creativity and passion. For sure this album will be appreciated by all of you who are looking for releases dark, violent, chaotic and devoted to the European/Scandinavian sound. It deserves your attention.