Emancer

"Twilight and Randomness" is a fitting album title for Emancer's fifth studio album. This title appropriates both lyrical themes and musical expression. Twilight describes the transitions of light and dark, which are shown in the band's knack for swirling soft, serene passages into dark, savage Norwegian black metal. The "Randomness" could be seen a couple ways, but is most obvious in the band's ode to Luke Rhinehart's often-banned- psychotropic-psychotic novel from the 1970s, "Dice Man."

Emancer opens "Twilight and Randomness" with the instrumental introduction 'Randomness,' which seemingly has a thematic connection with the following track, "Dice Man." This track will give the listener a good idea about Emancer's style—a mix of black metal, prog and electrical ambience—but the sounds the group produces vary from track to track. Progressive chord structures and trippy electronics illuminate Gorbag's account of the cult of the die, which he tells in a raw, black metal tongue. Mithrin creates a ritualistic aspect to the song, speaking in an echoing, meditative voice in praise of the all-mighty chance. He uses an organ type noise to add atmosphere to these parts.

'The Pointing Finger' moves between soft moments of clean instrumentation and blasting drums and razor sharp guitar. The bluesy guitar and minimal drumming during the middle part of the track are reminiscent of Opeth. The group's use of chugging guitar, ambience and clean vocals sounds similar to Agathodaimon. One passage, in particular, brings to mind Agathodaimon. That occurs when Gorbag assumes a clean vocal tone on 'The Rewarding Screams.' Emancer makes use of several singing styles. 'Comfort Fix' is one of the better tracks for discovering their many voices. This track contains three vocal types: a clean voice and a distorted scream by Helstein, plus Gorbag's usual ghoulish groans.

In a country rich with diverse black metal bands, Emancer is another group worth noticing. "Twilight and Randomness" contains a balanced mix of ambiance, progression, and pounding black metal. Emancer has released albums through underground labels such as Golden Lake Productions, Black Owl Records, and now they are on Naga Productions. Those labels aren't going to garnish the attention gained by the above-said bands, so fans of avant-garde and progressive black metal might overlook or not even know about Emancer. Readers of this interest should take a chance with this group. You will probably get a lucky roll.