Review: PERISHED “Kark”

PERISHED “Kark”
ATMF

I seem to be covering a hell of a lot of re-issues at the moment. So is that down to labels playing it safe and not wanting to sign new bands? Or is it that there are still a lot of older gems yet to be discovered?

My favourite album, that I consider to be one of the lesser known delights from this era, is Paradigma’s Mare Veris. That album is from 1995, 3 years before Kark was unleashed and like Perished, Paradigma were Norwegian.

And there is something about that mid to late 90s feel that only the Norwegians can really master. That period threw up so many great albums, and I wonder how many more like Kark are waiting in the wings, prime for re-issue.

Anyway, Perished ply a strong form of Black Metal that casually strolls into other genres, just gently adding a Pagan/Viking feel, and although not symphonic, it does utilise keyboards and I’m sure a few people will happily throw early Dimmu Borgir as an example. But for the most part, this is brilliantly produced Black Metal, devoid of any rough edges, but is still a forceful take on the genre… particularly on Og Spjuta Fauk, which has me reminiscing about the 90s the most and the all-out blasting of Renheten Og Gjenkomsten.

I can’t sit here and say this is the greatest album you’ll ever hear, but I can honestly say that if you’re a fan of Norwegian Black Metal or mid-90s Metal in general, then this will fit in perfectly with your collection. It typifies the music from the very strong era it originates from and it can definitely rub shoulders with some of the more popular albums from the era without fear of being over-shadowed.

The digipack version of this re-issue came out a couple of months ago, and the vinyl version is due this month…  the cd comes with 3 bonus tracks and the first 200 vinyl come with a free 7” single. So choose your preferred format and enjoy…

https://atmfsssdtp.bandcamp.com/album/kark