One of the more interesting and experimental black metal bands around must be Code, and with this new EP they have decided to revisit their last four albums and experiment with songs from each of them. What is a little surprising is that of the six songs on offer, three of them are from their most recent album, ‘Mut’, with just one taken from each of the others. The result is something that is incredibly compelling, as they mix the emotional atmospheric sounds of BM with Muse to create something that is easy to listen to, yet strangely quite disturbing at the same time. There are elements of Burzum in some of their approach, and it is a deeply compelling work throughout, with the one major flaw being that it is less than thirty minutes in length, which is not nearly long enough. The first three tracks are from ‘Mut’, then ‘Resplendent Grotesque’, then ‘Augur Nox’ before ending with “Brass Dogs” which was originally on the debut, ‘Nouveau Gloaming’, which came out in 2005.
It is the first three songs on this EP that work the best for me, possibly showing just how far they have come in recent years. But, there isn’t a dull moment, and anyone into post rock, BM, experimental prog metal etc. will find a great deal here to enjoy. That they cross so many musical boundaries are a testament to Aort, who has kept the band going all these years, and hopefully it won’t be too long until we get the next full-length release. For more details visit the label site at www.agoniarecords.com
