UMUR
"Massive Cauldron of Chaos" is the 6th full-length studio album by Norwegian black metal act 1349 and the successor to "Demonoir" from 2010. The album was released through Indie Recordings in September 2014. 1349 was formed in 1997 by former members of Alvheim and was joined by Satyricon drummer Frost in 1999. They are one of the more successful Norwegian black metal acts.
The music on the album is not limited to featuring black metal elements, as 1349 incorporate quite a few old school thrash metal riffs in their music. The combination of aggressive thrashy riffing (usually played at a really high pace), and blasting black metal sections works very well for 1349. Some tracks stand out more than others, but the quality of the material is generally high. I´d mention the fast aggressive thrashy riffing on "Slaves", the blast beat whirlwind on "Exorcism", and the chilling cold atmosphere on "Mengele´s", as some of the highlights on "Massive Cauldron of Chaos".
The musicianship is on a high level on all posts. Although the riffs are traditional black/thrash metal type riffs, they are still quite creative for the genre (great guitar solos too), and add to that the furiously fast-paced yet organic drumming by Frost, and the instrumental part of the music is a very enjoyable ride. The raspy snarling vocals are pretty standard for the genre, and slightly monotone, but they are still delivered with the right amount of caustic anger to sound convincing.
Upon conclusion "Massive Cauldron of Chaos" more than justifies the band´s position as one of the leading black metal acts from Norway. The songwriting is intriguing and relatively varied, the musicianship strong, and add to that a raw, yet detailed and professional sounding production, and "Massive Cauldron of Chaos" comes off as a high quality album in all departments. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.