Hellenic black metal is still alive till this very day and Athos didn't hesitate to continue this legacy with the release of the 4th full length album "Noht Lerapot". Athos is quite an active one man band from Greece, with a demo and couple of splits in its discography.
There's something about Athos generally, and it's about the sound of " Noht Lerapot" to be precise. The ambience of this album is simply amazing, not too raw and not too cold but it's hidden somewhere within the melody and flow of all 8 tracks. Surprisingly the tempo in this album is quite consistant and doesn't change that much but still managed to create a huge hook for fanatic second wave black metal fans. Strong melodic structures together with the perfect dosage of raw elements combined doesn't make this album a "melodic black metal" but it's a melodic approach that's decent without overdoing it. The guitar works are minimal but just enough to create the old school black metal atmosphere all over this album while the basslines are the best part ever of this release, the tone really stands out and technical but in a good way that suits Athos's goal and vision for this album particularly. The drum tones are also not bad and has just enough velocity to enhance the composition and sound of the entire album to the next level. Kerveros really did a great job on his vocals, simply cold and evil plus the occational clean vocals in between really helps to create the perfect mood.
"Noht Lerapot" is an example of a satisfying black metal release with its quality and perfection created in an old aspect but refreshing at the same time. If we could turn back time to the glorious days of black metal and Athos just did a perfect interpretation and defined well of what we need to preserve and conserve. Hellenic black metal for life!
There's something about Athos generally, and it's about the sound of " Noht Lerapot" to be precise. The ambience of this album is simply amazing, not too raw and not too cold but it's hidden somewhere within the melody and flow of all 8 tracks. Surprisingly the tempo in this album is quite consistant and doesn't change that much but still managed to create a huge hook for fanatic second wave black metal fans. Strong melodic structures together with the perfect dosage of raw elements combined doesn't make this album a "melodic black metal" but it's a melodic approach that's decent without overdoing it. The guitar works are minimal but just enough to create the old school black metal atmosphere all over this album while the basslines are the best part ever of this release, the tone really stands out and technical but in a good way that suits Athos's goal and vision for this album particularly. The drum tones are also not bad and has just enough velocity to enhance the composition and sound of the entire album to the next level. Kerveros really did a great job on his vocals, simply cold and evil plus the occational clean vocals in between really helps to create the perfect mood.
"Noht Lerapot" is an example of a satisfying black metal release with its quality and perfection created in an old aspect but refreshing at the same time. If we could turn back time to the glorious days of black metal and Athos just did a perfect interpretation and defined well of what we need to preserve and conserve. Hellenic black metal for life!
