HGUOLS - DEPICTION UNDER THE OBSCURE DELUSION

Hguols are back with another musical adventure into the macabre. This release entitled Depiction Under the Obscure Delusion picks up where their previous releases left off, a palette of instrumental black metal through the use of a MIDI and other computerized devices.

The use of a MIDI might seem a bit odd but for the sound Hguols is shooting for, it fits their purposes just fine. This particular album moves through various moods and templates of tempo and style. Much of what has been heard on previous releases is found here. The tag line for Hguols has been THE bombastic black metal soundtrack, and that seems to fit the bill this time out as well.

However with only five tracks on this release, it lends itself to having much longer songs. Four out off the five clock in at over eight minutes. There were several times I wondered if I had missed the beginning of the next song. The melodies I found were a bit harder to follow due to the length of the tracks, and with that my attention span wandered.

This time it also seemed that the drums were mixed with so reverb that they got a bit lost in the over musical tapestry. I knew they were there, but they lacked definition and it seemed at times with so much reverb they overpowered other elements of the music.

Medieval organ, harpsichord, and choir type orchestrations provide a moody 1-2 punch throughout. My favorite track was the haunting The Inexorable Interlude, I often wondered if it could be used as soundtrack music to the 1922 German film classic Nosferatu.

If you enjoyed Hguols previous releases no doubt you’ll enjoy this one as well. It just left me a little flat this time out.

6 axes

HGUOLS - CELESTIAL POWERS INTERVENED TRUE SUPREMACY

Hguols have given us another album of Symphonic Black Metal. As in their first release everything is performed on a midi sample keyboard. This fact in and of itself should provide for a unique listening experience.

Celestial Powers Have Intervened to True Supremacy is the appropriate title to the collection of bombast and elements of the Victorian. One thing that is apparent to me is that the way the samples are used involves more subtlety and depth which provide higher quality to one’s listening experience.

The song writing here is also a bit more mature as well. Sure there are elements that move like a freight train on fire, but interspersed are these elements of quiet and forlorn waiting, like waiting on a train station in Transylvania on a fog filled evening at midnight.

With varied tempos and subtlety Hguols is continuing to show maturity in songwriting and arranging. When tempos are constantly moving beyond light speed much can be missed and invariably things start to blend into one. That has not been the case here.

I’ve enjoyed the Victorian pipe organ sound that appears from time to time. Vincent Price would’ve been proud; the shroud it adds to the compositions where it was used provides that sense of doom and darkness. The pallet of sounds which appears here is haunting and has developed a sense of foreboding.

As with their first release the midi type sound takes a moment to adjust to, but with the higher quality sounds at their disposal Hguols delivers another tapestry of the macabre which might be the perfect soundtrack for those dark summer nights as you drive along the backwoods of your favorite cemetery. Celestial Powers Intervened True Supremacy is readily available from their website.

7 axes.

HGUOLS - EPITOME

Instrumental music in the heavy metal genre is usually a mixed bag. It’s either an excuse for a grand indulgence in the area of the long guitar solo, long monotonous songs with no direction or songs with beautiful melodies that just leap out at you. In this regard Hguols delivers some rather unique musical offerings that often reflect the latter.

Hguols is a one man project with the one man being Thomas Eversole. He has worked up an instrumental album of black metal destruction that he calls "The Bombastic Black Metal Sountrack". However it must be noted that all of the songs written and performed were done a MIDI. For those who may not know a MIDI is an electronic program that is usually used by keyboards. However with computer technology a MIDI can be used there as well. So what we have is 50 minutes or so of blistering black metal played through the use of a computer or keyboard.

Thomas has dubbed this the ‘Bombastic Black Metal Soundtrack.’ That may very well be the case as he has composed some rather haunting melodies. There are some rather frightening harpsichord and choral elements that really will make you think of an old dark house.



The sounds Thomas has been able to attain are quite good. The drums really sound like drums and do the other elements of harpsichord and choir. The element that did take the most getting used to was the sounds used in place of the electric guitar. The replacement sound at times almost sound like the disc is stuck on one spot. That only seems to occur when the melody neither ascends nor descends.

My favorite tracks actually are the last five. All of those songs seem to have more variation and dynamics. ‘Of Sorrowed Hearts,’ ‘Of Winter Moons,’ ‘of Sovereign Toccatas’ and especially ‘of Threnodies Abided,’ all really have some fine melodies. A very gothic and dark feel, (is Dracula or the Phantom of The Opera menacing somewhere). I think this disc is worth your time if you like black metal or gothic instrumental music.

Enjoy!

7 axes