FHOI MYORE: THE NORTHERN COLD EP

Since the 90ies France is a fertile breeding ground for Black Metal – just think of Les Légions Noires for example. Until today really amazing, groundbreaking French Black Metal acts keep pushing the boundaries, Blut aus Nord or Deathspell Omega just to mention two. Naturally, those well known bands are just the tip of the iceberg of a vivid, blackened scene obsessed by brutal music, satanic rites and ancient myths. FHOI MYORE is a part of this scene and another great example that you don’t need big names to release quality Black Metal. Need a proof? Check Souvenirs of The Northern Cold EP and read the full review below!

FHOI MYORE leave progressive elements aside and concentrate on traditional, highly melodic Black Metal as established during the Second Wave. Samples of falling rain, acoustic interludes and a cold, dark feeling fuels the atmosphere of this EP. After a quite long and moody intro you’re thrown into the first, more midtempo’ish song. Solid and harsh, but not sooo extraordinary – but then track 3, Souvenirs: a blizzard of blast-beats, tremolo-picking and fierce, painfully shrieking vocals. The guitars shred out super melodic, single note treatments, thus creating a trve hornet’s nest of harmonies and melodies in your head. And Souvenirs is no exception – the melodic approach of that song is kept throughout most of the rest of this EP. It ends with an acoustic version of Songes Funestes, which is a perfect closer.

The good thing is, even though we talk about melodic and sometimes melancholic stuff, it’s very, very far from the biggest bunch of Depressive Black Metal. The guys in FHOI MYORE know how to play their instruments and they surely know their Heavy Metal.

This EP is completely self-produced, the sound is powerful yet still raw enough to transport the grim feeling of the songs, even though I wish the drum sound would be a bit more aggressive. The only criticism one might have to utter is that all in all the record is a bit lengthy, a few minutes less wouldn’t have done any harm.

The Northern Cold was originally released in 2011 on 7″ and is now rereleased by Broken Limbs Recordings on super limited tape (100 pieces), so if you dig it, better be quick.

brokenlimbsrecordings.com