Schrei Aus Stein are a Colorado Black Metal band that I was not familiar with, before Chase(Deafest) brought this split to me. If you are unacquainted as I was, you NEED to check out SAS now! They bring forth one long song for this split, called "The Inverted Abyss". It starts out with a low hum/drone, and you just might think you are in for a Sunn0)) kind of band, but just then the BM kicks in, and kicks your ass HARD! Sounding like a less muddled version of Darkspace, they blast forth their brand of BM for a few mins, and then another keyboardish drone takes over. Sounding like a single-note held out on a Mellotron, it ends the song on a spacey note. I would love to hear more balls-out BM from these guys, great stuff!
I am embarrassed to say that Starless Night hail from my home state of Florida, and I also had never heard these guys. They have quite the discography, so I don't how I missed them? The first thing you notice is how much LOUDER this track is from the SAS track, not a problem, but very noticeable. They are more straight-forward sounding BM, reminding me of several bands(Wolves In The Throne Room, Borknagar, Leviathan, and Drudkh), but never coming off as a rip-off of any. They also contribute one LONG song in the form of "Lost In Life's Endless Maze", and although it holds no major surprises, except some very well done clean vocals, it still makes me want to investigate their past discography some more. Nothing wrong with some more well done Black Metal, is there?
Of course the real treat for me on this split is Deafest! It's no secret that I am a MAJOR fan of this band, as SSA has released one of their tapes, and have plans to do more in the future. Chase also knows that I wish that he would add vocals back into the mix, but he did say the new Deafest material would be in a more straightforward Black Metal vein, so I will be happy with that. Not that there is anything wrong with Deafest the way they are, but I know how many people(I even used to be) are turned off by Instrumental Black Metal, and Deafest deserves to be heard more!! They contribute 2 "longish" songs on this split, the first called "Almagre", and then followed by "Summit In The Clouds". The former begins with a solitary drum beat until Chase's guitar cuts through with a psychedelic swagger not unlike prime-era Xasthur. Blasting begins and once more Deafest do what they do best, heavy as hell Black Metal in which the guitars carry the melody along in a longing and melancholy way. This is one of my favorite tracks that they have ever done, and was my main motivation in wanting to put this split out. It changes quite a bit, but never becomes tech-y or proggy, which is why they are so good at what they do. They always seem to come up with new melodic ideas, but always stay in that Deafest "comfort zone", which I find comforting. Mid-way through the song, there is such a lovely(can I say that about BM) tremolo picked part, that makes me happy every time I hear it! "Summit" seems to have a touch of that "Swedish" BM sound that Chase loves so much. It's much more bouncy and agile than the former song. If there was ever a "Black Metal Marathon" this would be the theme song! I can picture tons of corpse-painted runners sprinting along to this as if it were their "Chariots Of Fire". IMO Deafest can do no wrong, unless they go all Deafheaven or Post-Rock™ on us, which I can't see happening. If you are new to Deafest, this is a perfect introduction, as this is 2 of their best songs, see what you've been missing.
So this split fires on all 3 cylinders, not a "dud" in the bunch. For a short EP/split, you can't do much better for your money. You 3 distinctly different styles of modern Black Metal, and none of them tread on each other, actually complementing each other, which is a rare feat these days. Order one now, SUPPORT the bands, and RRF Records!!
Format: Cassette
Label: Red River Family Records
Length: 36:23
Rating: 9/10
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