Ichor – God of Thunder God of War

Band: Ichor
Title: God of Thunder God of War
Label: Seance Records
Release date: 8 October 2018
Country: Australia
Format reviewed: High Quality Digital Promo

In search of quality black metal, I landed to Australia’s Ichor. A band active since the distant 1993, but releasing their first album in October 2018! The band has been formed by the members of Nazxul, and had just one demo tape out 25 years go. Fortunately, Ichor has been revived by Nazxul members again. Being a Slavic, it was very interesting for me to understand that the band has been inspired by the Slavic folk tales, mythology and pagan rituals.

In the Greek mythology, ichor is the ethereal fluid which is the blood of the gods and/or the immortals. That tiny timeless fact can be found into the music of Ichor in their first full length “God of Thunder God of War”. 6 tracks, six “tales told by firelight of the clash of iron, shades, shadows, blood and magic”. 36 minutes of whispered dark secrets from the ancient times. The overall feeling is like in a grim dream, because of the sound and the production. It easily evokes dungeons, shadows, dark figures, obscure corridors under the ground, fireplaces, witchcraft. There is an invisible pain, a sorrow, a burden carried through the centuries. I really must praise high the overall atmosphere this album creates. This is among the most important parts valid when listening to “God of Thunder God of War” – to be able to drown into the atmosphere of the record, to be able to feel it, and to let it absorb you.

Besides all grimness of the record, I concur that “God of Thunder God of War” is very captivating album. It takes over with its demonic simplicity. The compositions and the riffs are into the classic style for the genre – a slightly rawer, underground, but they bring that powerful fire (and ice), that inspiration into the listener heart. Yeah, and that almost invisible melancholic line which goes through every song. As I have already mentioned above, the vocals are just grim whispers with tiny echoes, really retelling myths around the fireplace into a dark castle. The tempo of the album is predominant slow/mid to fast, it’s not fierce blast beats all the time. On contrary – it is well balanced containing slower parts, with pounding bass line and grim frost melting into iron heat. If the album had been released in the first half of the nighties, it could have turned into a favorite to many black metal heads. Now, in 2018 it sounds fantastic as well though, especially listened by a lover of the dungeons. The music here is just immortal.

With all these short lines and description, I strongly recommend the album to the fans of classic black metal from the second wave. It is a majestic opus for the ancient pagan powers. It is definitely among the finest black metal albums released in 2018. 8.5/10 Count Vlad

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8.5/10 To Greatness and Glory
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