Review – Locrian – Territories (Small Doses, 2010)

In comparison to “Rain Of Ashes”, Locrian’s new record “Territories” seems to be a bit more epic and diverse album. At its core, its still explores the post-industrial/post-apocalyptic motive – a soundtrack to the game of survival in a nearly destroyed landscape, if you will.
Where disc is different from “Rain” is in the amount of genres/moods that the band explores – there’s more familiar noise/drone/ambient elements, but also elements black metal. That’s right – black metal, complete with insane drumming and screams (courtesy of guests from bands like Nachtmystium).
The only real disappointment, to my ears, comes in the form of a title track – Skullflower-esque “Inverted Ruins” which featured Mark Solotroff (Bloodyminded) on vocals. There’s a painful squealing/feedback that overtakes the track and is rather off-putting. The same effect can be heard in the beginning of “Ring Road”, but thankfully it disappears as the track progresses.
Other than that – this record is solid, and it further demonstrates the band’s continuing refinement of their own approach to black metal/ambient/drone music. Whether its a combination of Megaptera (remember them?) like eeriness and black metal insanity on “Ancestral Brutalism” or minimal/ambient undertow of “Between Barrows”, it all seems to come together rather well.