Six years ago we had Balmog “Vacuum“ to review and I said I was very satisfied with everything I heard in the album. That album surprised me in a very good way. The same happened with this new release “Laio,” which stands for ‘lament’ in Galizian. As I keep saying it is great to have the opportunity to review more than one album of a band to keep track of its evolution. Although there is a gap among the releases, I felt Balmog are really evolving.
When I read the press release saying “[…] a path that wanders between Pink Floyd, Ved Buens Ende or Bathory and Mayhem, a path that will be familiar to many listeners” many things rushed in my mind because I could not remember exactly what I heard back then – Oh, come on! It’s been six years. I happened not to know if that was the truth. After giving “Laio” a shot, not only is the truth, but also I had the urge to add some more bands to this list and Led Zeppelin are one of them, believe it or not. The dear children of the night who know the band well might support me especially when it comes to the alive album “The Song Remains the Same,” when Jimmy Page keeps kidding with the guitar sounds he was able to get. The sound of the guitars in “Laio” made me feel this way. Mostly, it was album warmer “Falling” that gave me this impression. “Laio” has that difference take that makes the fan addicted to it. It was also “Mashalam“ that gave me the same impression even more after the instrumental intro. A complex mix of Black Metal with Led Zeppelin. The Cult would be the other, but not from their most famous era of “Sonic Temple,” I mean from “Love” era and their psychedelic verve. The Cult‘s contribution would be in the mood created by the guitars and the effects. “Mud to Gold“ gave me this impression as well, but it was “Tongue in Pieces” and its echoes that made me decide. All of this with Black Metal’s instrumental and vocals wrapping.
It is not only the unexpected that keeps the attention to the album. It is also the expected as the tempo shifts from cool to faster as hell as in the album warmer “Falling” that keep the fan’s attention. Blamog deal greatly with both. Add to that the effects that are not exactly new, but with all those features together the outcome is this new feeling. In time, never forget the weird and wicked mood of “Tongue in Pieces” with some interesting bass lines plus the effects. By the way, the effects, and they of so many kinds, are one of the greatest characters in “Laio.” They play a very important role in the construction of the songs. “Like God Who Knows” uses some zeppelinean ones, for instance, and a singalong chorus, a rarity within Black Metal universe.
Mature may be the word to express the music I heard with “Laio.” My guess is that the album took a lot of he band’s efforts to make it. Dark is not exactly the word to explain the mood in the album as it is so diverse, maybe ghastly should do it better, or even dreadful.
Balmog “Laio” will be released on May 23rd via War Anthem Records.
Track Listing:
1. Falling
2. Mud to Gold
3. Tongue in Pieces
4. Like God Who Knows
5. Ortus Umbra
6. Mashalam
7. The Silence of the Trumpets
8. Getsemaní
Watch “Mud to Gold” official lyric video here:
I’m just a lucky guy who has chosen metal to live with for a long time. Metal changed my life for good. It made me more confident and stronger. Metalheads are naturally far away from the mass mediocrity and don’t accept impostures from anybody else. Metal is more than music, it’s a life changing oportunity!