Formed in the late 90s, when Norwegian black metal was becoming increasingly avant-garde and experimenting in every direction possible, 1349 were welcome proof that the country hadn’t abandoned its roots and was still able to produce a traditional, high-paced, violent black metal sound. 2009’s Revelations Of The Black Flame was, then, something of a bitter pill to swallow for many fans, moving in a more experimental direction not only highlighted by the inclusion of a Pink Floyd cover, but also a shift in songwriting that saw the album (over-)dominated by lengthy ambient passages.
Last year’s follow up, Demonoir, represented an important redressing of the balance, maintaining the eerie instrumental passages but wisely channelling them into briefer interludes between more meaty songwriting. Alternating between ridiculously fast wall-of-noise parts and slower, more grinding passages (The Devil Of The Desert even makes use of a riff that’s seemingly straight from the Lord Of The Rings soundtrack), this special edition, limited to 1,000 copies, is certainly the definitive release, featuring a second CD with live songs and covers, a poster, patch, plectrum and photo card signed by all four members, proving even evil black metallers can be generous.
