I.C.E. (Imperial Crystalline Entombment)--Apocalyptic End In White
Crash Music 2004
Very dynamic music is good for the depth of listen it provides you. Still, sometimes it's nice to consume a work of non-stop unforgiving brutality. If such a straight-up shot of pain sounds like your ticket to ride, I.C.E. (Imperial Crystalline Entombment) have you covered with Apocalyptic End In White. On this slab, these guys have crafted a potential all-time black metal masterpiece, seemingly destined to stand the test of time.
Others in the press have namechecked Marduk, Darkthrone, and Immortal in speaking of I.C.E. and it's with good reason. Apocalytic End In White contains some of the sickest, harshest black metal ever committed to tape. A perpetual blastbeat nightmare, this disc doesn't provide any opportunity for air or mercy of any sort. Lyrically, the topics are very elemental, obsessed with wintertime demons, making I.C.E. the perfect houseband in Fellini's version of hell.
You'd think as blastbeat-centric as Apocalyptic End In White is the songs would suffer for it. That couldn't be further from the case, though. Still, it takes a close examination of the subtleties within these cuts to pinpoint standouts in the pack. "Hypothermic Possession" sees the screamed lead vox accentuated by nice death grunt backing, while "Ravaskeith's Revenge" sports background vocals that sound like they were chanted from the deepest bowels of Hades. Look for killer moments of harmony riffing during "Cascade Cavern Catharsis," everything ballooning to a level of enormous punishment once it hits its slowdown point. However, "Onward Banshee Legions" ultimately stands above the rest here, the most unrelenting moments of the disc during the track's frantic bits, with a very epic and sorrow-filled lead guitar strum surfacing once relaxed.
Beyond just a great black metal album, Apocalyptic End In White is one of the best efforts all of extreme metal has seen in a long time. I.C.E. also have a pretty unique visual appearance/costume scheme which helps the packaging of this CD look that much cooler (no pun intended). Rest assured, the colder it gets outside, the more weight this listen will carry with you. More than worthwhile.
Score this CD directly from CRASH MUSIC
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