Velm: Orkan (2015)

I just covered Velm yesterday, so this post might be somewhat short.  The fact is that the band did not change up the formula from their debut full-length all that much, so there is not really a ton to talk about here without repeating myself a lot.  That is something I would prefer not to do as much as possible.

To date, this is Velm's last release.  I do not know whether the duo has broken up, but the fact remains that they were somewhat active from 2012 to 2015, releasing at least one recording, but more often two, each year.  And they have not released anything since.  So it is quite likely that Velm is done. 

If that is true, they released their best album last.  All of the high points from their debut are here and expanded upon.  The band even fixes a couple of the detracting elements from the debut.  For instance, while the band continues to have keyboard-driven instrumental tracks, they are fewer and are mixed in with the traditional black metal tracks instead of comprising the second half of the album.  Some of the vocals are performed in a clean, melodic style, contrasting sharply with the black metal rasp.  The effect is something similar to what ICS Vortex brought to Dimmu Borgir.  Finally, the penultimate track "Song of Autumn" is simply incredible, effectively mixing the keyboard melodies with the more typical black metal style.  This is what the band was capable of all this time.  This is what I was hoping for.

If this is indeed the last of Velm, they went out on a high note.  They reached their potential on this album, even if it was just for one track.

Velm: Földek (2013)

Some time ago I reviewed a split album between Hungarian black metal bands De Profundis and Velm.  Based on the genre descriptions, I assumed I would probably prefer De Profundis, but ended up finding myself much more taken with the music of the pagan black metal band Velm.  I recently found a seller that was selling both of Velm's full-length albums and jumped on them.

I had a pretty good idea of what to expect with Velm based on the split, which was really just a way to package demos from both bands together, so it was much more like two real releases than just a song by each band.  The full-length reinforced what I believed a full-length from Velm would be like. 

The first three songs of the album is mostly melodic, synth-driven pagan black metal.  Featuring lengthy passages and wandering riffs, with vampiric vocals, the music can be harsh, but is often beautiful at the same time.  The last three songs are instrumentals, primarily played by the keyboards and are more ambient in nature.  The best moments on the album though are the parts of the first three songs that combine the two disparate sounds, bringing black metal riffing together with the keyboards. 

Overall, I was fairly impressed with this release.  Velm does not reinvent the wheel here, and they sound like many other bands in the genre, but the music is competent.  As I said, the best moments are those when they bring their different sounds together.  If they could make an entire album of that, that would really be something.

Split: De Profundis vs. Velm

I am going to do splits a little bit differently from now on.  I have always treated them as a sort of competition before, now I am just going to make that a little more explicit.  This one is a little different because both sides of the split were actually previous releases by each respective band, rather than new material specifically produced to be part of the split.  This is exemplified by the fact that both sides have their own title and their own cover.

DE PROFUNDIS - HAUNTED BY ILL ANGELS ONLY

Disappointingly, this is not the U.K.-based De Profundis that released the terrific The Emptiness Within in 2012.  This one is a black metal band from Hungary.  This was originally released as a demo in 2009 before being collected on this split.  The band has gone on to release just one full-length to date.  The De Profundis side is significantly shorter than the other side.  There are three traditional black metal songs and a shorter instrumental one.  The basic black metal songs are generally fast-paced with fairly standard tremolo riffing and some random Eastern European folk elements.  There are frequent keyboard melodies adding to the folk elements and making things interesting.  It is an interesting release, but not terribly ground-breaking.

VELM: SONGS OF AUTUMN

Velm is also a Hungarian black metal band, but their music veers more toward the pagan black metal sound.  This was originally released as Velm's first EP in 2012, which is kind of shocking given how good this sounds.  A lot of the same elements that are present on the De Profundis side are here as well, but for whatever reason, Velm does a much better job with it.  The music is atmospheric and organic-sounding, but with some powerful riffs and generally an uplifting sound, which is rare in black metal.  Of particular note is the brilliant title track.  And when the band is playing something more sinister, it comes out extremely bleak and discomforting.  

THE WINNER: VELM

Pretty obvious that was going to be my pick.  The Velm side is leaps and bounds better than the De Profundis side, and it is not at all like I disliked the De Profundis side.  Velm just sounds much more professional and advanced.  I liked it so much that I picked up both of Velm's full-length albums recently.  Those reviews are to come later.