Dzö-nga - Thunder in the Mountains 01Nosotros all have those times where we await back and say to ourselves "what was I thinking?" That's kind of how I feel nearly reviewing Dzö-nga's 2nd anthology, The Sachem's Tales, back in 2017. Today, a folky atmospheric black metallic album with classical influences seems then far out of my wheelhouse that information technology's not even in the same hemisphere. Yet, I did enjoy my share of Agalloch and Cascadian black metal back in the mean solar day, and equally such, I was able to appreciate Tales as an inspired and engrossing piece of woodsy black metallic with intriguing Native American themes. Led by vocalist and guitarist Cryvas, this Boston project has at present returned with another opus, this time based on H.Due west. Longfellow's epic poem "The Song of Hiawatha." Dzö-ngaseems to accept congenital up a picayune more than hype over the years and while tertiary album Thunder in the Mountains isn't perfect, I think about fans of this way will walk abroad satisfied nonetheless.

The biggest difference between this and Tales is how much more Dzö-ngasound like an actual ring. Tales, for all its lush layers of strings, acoustic guitars, and buzzing chords withal came across largely like a solo project that was aided into existence by session members. In contrast, Thunder sounds fuller and more confident, the audio of a ring coming into their own. Nowhere is this more axiomatic than early standout "Centre of Coal," which gallops along on big riffs and flute accompaniment in a mode that sounds like a groovier version of Panopticon's Kentucky. On Tales, the boom beats were fast as fuck but the drumming was otherwise not particularly noteworthy; here, the drums (which, best as I can tell, were performed by Cryvas himself) turn in a much more dynamic and interesting performance. Likewise, closer "The Death of Minnehaha" offers far meatier riffs than almost anything on the last album, even if its extended outro is a bit overlong and ends things on a somewhat shrugworthy note.

Even so though they've matured a chip, the core audio is even so very much the same. Opener "The Song of Hiawatha" shows this from the first, starting time with the dainty plucking of an acoustic guitar before moving into stormier black metal that shows Cryvas trading off his wretchedWintersun-esque rasps with the operatic female vocals of returning singer Grushenka Ødegärd. Later, "Flames in the Sky" and "A Soul to Burn" dial up the Saor influence with prominent flute melodies that are hummable just all the same end upward sounding a bit generic to these ears. In fact, as a whole these songs exercise tend to blur together a bit and were it not for audio-visual instrumental "Starlight, Moonlight, Firelight" to intermission things up, the album might not be as enjoyable.

Dzö-nga - Thunder in the Mountains 02

Fortunately,Thundersounds skilful and colorful, with dry electrical chords contrasted with acoustic guitars that trickle similar raindrops. The drums are lively, with nice thumping bass drums and splashy cymbals that add to the vitality of the whole thing. Every song is packed with layers of dissimilar instruments, from flutes to piano to pulpy basslines, all taking their share of the spotlight without crushing themselves together into a mess. Mastered by none other than Dan Swanö, you know this is a expert sounding album, and it doesn't hurt that it possesses a slight sense of distance that helps the atmosphere. It's worth mentioning that several of the solos on this album are quite noteworthy, crackling with a liveliness that brings tracks like "The Song of Hiawatha" to the next level.one

It'due south always heartwarming to see a immature ring detect their ground, and that'due south exactly what Thunder in the Mountains showsDzö-nga doing. While slightly more refined and varied songwriting would aid in the future, this nonetheless stands as an enjoyable and thematically interesting folky black metal tape that shows the ring maturing beyond their solo project roots. It'south nearly difficult to believe thatDzö-nga was just begun in 2016, and while I'grand not certain Thunder will bring them to the upper echelon of the way, it certainly puts them on the right track while giving fans of the genre plenty to enjoy forth the fashion.

Rating: three.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Characterization: Avantgarde Music
Websites: dzo-nga.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/dzongalives
Releases Worldwide: Feb 14th, 2020