Thursday, October 8, 2009

TARTAROS - THE GRAND PSYCHOTIC CASTLE EP (1997)



In a way, Tartaros sums up everything great AND everything awful about black metal. The music here is extremely carnival-esque, with tons of weird, loopy keyboard stuff going on over hoarsely shouted/spoken vocals and steady mid-tempo beats. Images of moonlit horseback rides through mist-enshrouded woods are instantly brought to mind, while chanted choruses and swelling crescendos add a heavy medieval feel to the sound. This is indeed how I like my black metal, although I'm sure a fair amount of you disagree with my tastes.
But aside from that, get a load of that dude up there on the right. What's up with the Gary-Oldman-in-Bram-Stoker's-Dracula glasses? And the candelabra? And the ornate Victorian jacket? There's some weird goth shit going on here that I don't approve of.

Tartaros is/was a one-man solo project brought to you courtesy of Emperor's former touring keyboard player, Charmand Grimloch. And while I can't stand behind his wardrobe choices 100%, I do dig where he's coming from musically. Sure, it's a little Cradle of Filth-y at times, but what can I say? I'm a sucker for the whole castles-and-dragons-and-unicorns/D&D aspect that creeps into BM every once in a while. Fuck those "necro" dudes and their shitty cassette recordings. Me and Mr. Grimloch will be over here savoring a fine cabernet in the study, speaking of cryptic lore by candlelight and rolling some 20-sided dice. Fuck you if you can't hang.

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Below: Yeah, that's him too.

10 comments:

BradethQ said...

Ha! I was gonna post this on my blog at some point. It is a weird, catchy little release. I remember being super stoked to find it used years ago, if only for the Emperor connection.

Shelby Cobras said...

Hey man, speaking of concidences... Your first name is my middle name. Serious.

The Goodkind said...

Didn't you say something about no nerds or something? D&D love, what?

Also, all versions of the Vangelis vol. 2 is broken for me. Maybe just my problem?

Shelby Cobras said...

If you've tried the 2nd MediaFire link I put up, I don't know what to tell you. I dl'ed it myself to make sure it was good...?

There is absolutely NO connection between D&D and nerds. That's ridiculous.

schultz said...

I'll check this out. Sounds like you might like Limbonic Art's first album, MOON IN THE SCORPIO. A psycho combination of total lo-fi metal with over-the-top Wagnerian pretentions, hella removed from any CoF-type accusations.

Steven said...

I remember this coming out. I couldn't figure out if it was supposed to be a joke or not.

A friend once gave me some Limbonic Art mp3's: most unlistenable shite I've ever heard. The songs were snoozy and frosted (like with thick vanilla icing) with goofy sci-fi keyboards, like Nocturnus' pretentious-art-student black metal half-brother.

Shelby Cobras said...

That sounds great, actually. I need to check that shit out. Nocturnus keyboards = bonus points.

23 Wolves said...

Swell pics of that dude. His name sounds like a combination of Charmander (pokemon) and Grimlock (transformer). That's kinda soft, but I forgive him!

Shelby Cobras said...

I think "kinda soft" may be the whole idea.

Kamagara said...

Yeah his has pretty bad wardrobe for Black Metal, but the sound is somewhat interesting, can't be sure if it's all Black but it does gives you some sort of Sleepy Hollow atmosphere.