4/5
ROSSOMAHAAR
Quaerite Lux in Tenebris (Exploring the External Worlds)
2002
Sound Age
black metal
Reviewing Russian bands in its very essence is a very masochistic pastime. Because, for some reason, you always have to remember about the total financial crisis in the country as well as the steeply prices of the local studios, and lack of qualifying mastering-engineers, and absence of stage experience, and many-many other things… However in this putrid crowd of self-pitying situation-hostages (quite often lame-ass unprofessionals who are just a bunch of lazy fucks) one can still find some very pleasant exceptions. One of those are the Moscow-based black-metallers from Rossomahaar. The journey to the external worlds - the band's second full-length for that matter - starts with an angry manifesto 'Me, the Misanthrope' that echoes the guitars of Abigor and the impending menacing atmosphere of the early Immortal releases. This is followed by an avalanche of murderously wicked and complex riffs, accompanied by the most disgusting screams of Mr. Lazar himself. Another bonus of the record is undoubtedly the lyrics, that are written by a side professional, who definitely has a knack for both poetry and English, a very rare case with most of the local acts. Among the drawbacks, I would mention the thin guitar sound, oversized melody-parts and the totally useless and unnecessary (in my opinion) keyboards. Meat, folks! (Troll)
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