ALBUM REVIEW: Igni – The Pale

Although released in December 2017, this album came to my attention on Metal-Archives  due to it being released for the first time physically today. It drew my interest, so here are my thoughts on the still fairly recent album from New Zealand Black Metal project IGNI!

1. Toward Horizon opens the album with immediate old school Black Metal riffing, decent production and well played, blasting drums. The pace is very upbeat and the vocals are very strange with more of a Hellhammer feel to them than the average scream, with clean vocals adding ambience the music is incredibly unique and odd. There are elements of Agalloch but nothing directly taken from them. I have to say it is very unconventional which I really respect, the riffs are really atmospheric and pleasant, I love the cleans and while the vocals are a touch too loud have a really cool feel to them. There are plenty of parts comparable to bands like Saor and Winterfylleth that are really enjoyable. A pretty decent first track for sure.
2. Went is brought in with a lovely piece of piano playing, which for Black Metal is surprisingly cheerful sounding to me, really well played (although it would have made more sense to go at the start of the album in my own opinion), it leads into the melancholic yet really gorgeous Black Metal riffing perfectly. The songwriting is incredibly good, with the raw production not letting it down at all. The vocals are very emotive and the cleans once more adding catchy chorus to the music beautifully. The acoustic guitars add a really nice folky touch to the piece. This song is very unique, full of atmosphere, joyful and really a wonderful listen throughout, I thoroughly recommend Atmospheric Black Metal fans to check it out!
3. The Second Death once more bombards us with hugely atmospheric riffs, blasting drums and more abrupt vocal torment. The songs really cascade beautifully with their snarled vocals topping excellent guitar/bass riffs and drums. Thing song has a more traditional Black Metal feel to it than the others, but is still really unique and well written. The lyrics are pretty bleak which contradicts the upbeat rhythms the duo use really nicely. The clean vocals are very haunting and the part with just bass and drums has a lovely eerie feel to it. Awesome work!
4. Darkness Follows Me follows on from the last track with a confident fluidity. The vocals are a bit rough around the edges on this piece, but altogether it comes through pretty strong once more, the riffs are still remaining very catchy and easy to listen to with the crashing drums making the punch seem unrelenting. The cleans are probably at their best here from what I have heard, they are absolutely beautiful with a dark ghostliness to them that I love. The clean guitar part was an unexpected turn, although a cool one, giving a sense of tranquility to the song, although I must say it would be nice if the drums were a bit eased up here to allow the calm to fully take effect. The ending with the clean guitar and synths is stunning with the way the huge atmospherics kick in for one last round, excellent stuff, although the ending is very abrupt.
5. Smashing Down The Gates creeps in nicely with ludicrously fast drumming, grim riffs and a much more aggressive feel than the other songs, which then drops suddenly into slower tempo, more depressive territory. The more laid back pace of the song is a nice break in the albums higher speed, and allowing some more diversity into the style keeps it fresh. The song has a really menacing feel to it that I really liked, once more tons of excellent riffs and drums. The harsher vocals are much more traditional on this song, and work really nicely with the piece, also some really cool lyrics accompanying them. This track is probably the most conventional of them all, although the piano elements work gorgeously with it all. Absolutely beautiful ending too.
6. Valkyr Fall has the task of closing this album and comes in with clean guitar and marching snare drums, very atmospheric indeed. The pristine feel of this song is very clear and theatrical in sound to me. The mood is much more sombre than anything else we have heard up until now and works excellently with its role of closing an album. Phenomenal ambience and simplistic yet effect musicianship on this one works wonders.

This release is a straightforward 6 tracks of really original, unique and atmospheric Black Metal with some great clean vocals and guitar work, blasting drums throughout and even some acoustic flourishes and piano. It may not be for everyone, but a certainly interesting gem in the Atmospheric Black Metal underground, all the way from New Zealand! The album is in one way how I expected from the art in the it is very atmospheric, but how unique and strange some parts were really was a surprise. Certainly worth a listen through! -7.5/10