Shataan - War Cry Lament

Shataan's War Cry Lament is as far removed from orthodox frostbitten Black metal as you can get. It opens with a two minute flute instrumetal, after which you are treated to... well, electric folk music really. The Cvlt Nation review labels it "blackened folk drone" and that works. The guitar playing by Shataan is almost aggressively clean, in surf guitar kinda way, and the drums by Murdunbad are primitive but serviceable. Shataan's mix of spoken word and eerie howls, tells the tales of the annihilation of the native people, the destruction and subsequent rebirth of civilization, and the passage of the soul through Limbo. But it is Vohlan's flowery bass lines and little melodies that lifts War Cry Lament musically. Check out the bass riff at 4:30 in "They Who Died for the Ghost Dance", and the intricate bass and guitar interplay in the frenetic conclusion to "Passage of Limbo". An interesting album.

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