Rhinocervs are the current leaders in USBM. There, I said it. I would follow this label off of a cliff.
Rhinocervs is a Los Angeles based label who have several bands that release material such as Odz Manouk, Absum, and Tukaaria but the main output of the label are anonymous and untitled releases. That sounds cheesy, but the label has said that they want to release music about purely the music, and for their releases to not be held down by which members are in a band or “petty” things like that. This could mean that each release on the label is a completely new band, or it could be just one person. That said, the whole point is to focus on the music.
Now that we have that clarified, let’s talk about the music. This is very different from the other Rhinocervs releases. If you’re looking for the good ol’ blistering black metal that you’ve heard in previous releases, then you might actually be disappointed. There is only one roughly 4 minute blast of sweet riffs, and even then it seems out of place with the rest of the release. Most of RH-15 takes hints from both dark ambient and soundtracks of movies from the ’80s; lots of weird sounds and some synth. That doesn’t sound very enticing, but stay with me. It’s hard to pinpoint certain spots on this since everything is untitled, but some of these tracks are definitely doom influenced. The final track sounds very funeral doom-esque, and it’s probably my favorite on the release. The riffs aren’t there, but the ambiance is something out of a torture scene in a cave. If this were a soundtrack to a movie I’d be terrified to see it.
While definitely not something you’d expect as output on Rhinocervs, it fits the aesthetic of the label. This is something that at the very least warrants a listen. It’s already sold out from the label, but a repress will be done in the next few months.
David McCarty
April 4, 2013 at 8:42 am
Thanks for posting this–I had already grabbed the tape (and what fantastic cover art!). I was that hypothetical person you describe–who was kind of taken aback by the “soundtrack” sound. Trying to listen with fresh ears, it’s really a different thing and should be approached that way.