Avitas - Northern Ghosts

 

Avitas - Northern Ghosts
Release Date - 3/25/2014
Country of Origin - Canada
Number of Tracks - 9

We need some mood music to start off Hell-O-Ween on my honest opinion. Something to help get us into the right mood. What better type of music to start with than some good old black metal? The blog is going back to its routes as I bring out an aggressive album from the underground and from a band called Avitas.

Avitas is a solo project founded in Canada by musician Myrtroen who also has a secondary project in Kabexnuv. True the band did not start out as a solo project, though it slowly turned into one over the years. The band (Avitas) has been active since the late nineties, Myrtroen releasing quite a few of releases once the millennium began. What does the name mean? Well the answer comes directly from Myrtroen himself. According to him Avitas has two meanings. The first is that it is sativa backwards, which is a type of cannabis. Meaning number two is that it has ties to both aviation and space, something which has played a major influence on the band.

Their latest release, Northern Ghosts, is what we’ll be looking at today. So before we get to the movies that make us enjoy staying up late at night despite the pleas of others, let us take a listen to the ghastly music from the country of hockey and maple.

Tracklisting

1. Intro to the Heathen

2. Return to the Heathen

3. Cursed Abraham…and his Bastard Son Mohammed

4. Blut and Boden

5. Northern Ghosts

6. Aiwass

7. Athiest Until Proven Otherwise

8. Boreal Nebulae

9. Hefeweizen, Kannabis, und Krieg

Being that this is a black metal album, one would expect a certain sound from the record. It should be noted that this album definitely carries the black metal sound, though it does have some fun with it, which results in a very nice sound to listen to. The album maintains a pretty rough sound but incorporates some progressive and atmospheric aspects to it which, personally, I really enjoyed. All of the instruments are audible for the most part, sometimes the guitar or bass sort of fade out, though usually return quickly. But what of the vocals? In typical BM fashion they are a mix of growling and shrieking and are in the end very nicely done. Overall the sound of Northern Ghosts isn’t all that bad. The only real negative is the brief and occasional fading of instruments. Yet because it is only a couple of times it is easy to forget and look over, so the only negative that can come to mind is quickly forgotten.

As for the composition it also is on the up and up. The only real instance that struck me as not being all that great was with track 3, as it kinda just randomly ends as if somebody hit stop on the player. The fourth track starts almost immediately, but the sudden pause with the third is a bit odd. However again this is something I can overlook due to the general finesse of the composition.

Finally we have the lyrics. If the name of the tracks don’t get the picture driven home than the lyrics will. Northern Ghosts tracklistings features a variety of song about the occult, heathenism, war, and anti-religion. Abrahamic faith in particular gets quite a bit of attention, none of it really good. Personally I do not follow any of these religions nor pay much attention to them, so I cannot comment on the merit of a lot of the lyrics or how much they may upset somebody if they are a practicing member of that faith. I can say though that they fit rather well with the black metal aesthetic and, as far as a religious topic goes, do offer a lot more than just “Hail Satan and the darkness” and such. In the end I found that the lyrics to Northern Ghosts are rather nice and, while staying relatively close to what the scene has seen since its inception, take it to a more thoughtful and educated place.

Poe’s Favorites

Intro to the Heathens

Cursed Abaraham…and his Bastard Son Mohammed

Aiwass

Hefeweizen, Kannabis, und Krieg

I reached out to the band because I thought the project sounded interesting, and Myrtroen was kind enough to send me the album. I can report that my interest was not let down, as Northern Ghosts is an overall fantastic piece of metal. The record features very impressive composition and a unique sound, it coupled with interesting and thought out lyrics. Yes there are two blemishes, but I found them fairly easy to look over due to how good the rest of the album was. If you have the opportunity to pick the album up I highly suggest doing so, I truly do not think you’ll regret it.

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