Review by Anna on March 11, 2010.

Despite the cheesy title, the actual music is not bad at all... at least, it's full of good intention. Avicularia is Brutal Death Metal, and there is much good music brewing in their cauldron. But.

It is not quite successfully translated as their playing needs to be refined, especially for this highly technical style. The drummer is capable and confident, yet lacks the clock-like perfection necessary, as do the others as they at times felt like they were lagging behind each other. This whole recording has a pretty raw sound which I especially took notice to at first, but it did not become a bother to me. This rawness is quite noticeable on the drums, who sound as loud as or louder than all the others. It was not really a bother to me as what he does is always interesting, but if it's going to be this loud I feel it MUST sound like clock-work. There are surprising elements minimally laced within this album, such as what sounds like wood-blocks, coconut shells, or that one Brazilian stringed instrument that you hit with a bow, some sort of bell, and even an orchestral exerpt to close the album. It wasn't strange at all, in fact all of these unexpected elements went down surprisingly smoothly and very pleasantly. As far as the mystery instruments, I cannot tell you what they were.
Avicularia, if you read this, please tell me the secret percussion instruments that were used. The vocals have a lot of energy and the song-writing and general riffage is quite good. Immolation influences can definitely be heard in many areas, however they do not sound like a copy-cat band in the least.

Although there is room for perfection, towards the end of the album I truly wondered how much the playing even bothered me as I found this past hour quite enjoyable. I also find the title of the last track, 'Requiem For Ego', to be an excellent title.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8.2
Atmosphere: 6.9
Production: 5.9
Originality: 8.4
Overall: 8

Rating: 7.4 out of 10

Review by Adam M on February 11, 2010.

This outfit displays a very interesting slant to the Death Metal genre. They use some mind-numbing percussion as the backbone for their advanced rhythm structures. It all comes together relatively nicely although the band goes into overdrive to some extent. There is a potential for over-egotistical display, but the band manage to keep things in check for the most part. The band’s technical showcases remind of Cryptopsy or Neuraxis and they perform the part rather well. Avicularia can be mesmerizing with their drumming and guitar work in particular. They certainly keep the listener on the edge of their toes and constantly guessing what they might come up with next.

Another positive point I have with "Born To Be Vile" is that it improves as it progresses and ends strong. This is always a great way to leave a lasting impression on the listener and Avicularia does so with style. 'Requiem For Ego' is an excellent finale and brings a variety of mutating musical ideas into the picture. But there really is a constant creeping feeling that the band seems to be getting tighter as the album progresses and this gives them somewhat of a listening edge. There is the appearance that the songs might not run completely smoothly, but this is overrun by the amount of variation they throw in to keep things consistently compelling.

To top everything off is the fine drumming and fills that constantly keep the music enthralling and vibrant. The vocals aren’t the most aesthetically pleasing, but suit the underlying tunes rather well as with Cryptopsy again. I look forward to hearing more from this outfit in the future. If they continue to perform as well as a team as they do here, things will be very promising later on as well.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 8
Originality: 8.5
Overall: 8.5

Rating: 8.4 out of 10

Review by Alain on March 29, 2020.

Middle East is not known for being an easy place to play any kind of modern music, not to mention metal and, for obvious reasons, any subgenre closely related to extreme metal. The combination of particularly conservative societies and the extremely restrictive applications of religious beliefs, in this case the Muslim religion, make truly difficult to have an active scene. But even in the hardest scenario’s passion, talent and inspiration can arise from the shadows and show to us that good music can appear in any place. Iran, or Persia if you prefer, is a country with a vast heritage, both historically and culturally, and it is known that its inhabitants are usually quite cultured people. But it is surprising how a single person can almost create a little scene around him. This is the case of Harpag Karnik, the young Persian behind the excellent projects like Forelunar, Ethereldine or the band I am reviewing right now, Erancnoir. All these projects play atmospheric black metal with distinctive touches and characteristics, but all of them are focused on a very well executed and emotionally intense atmosphere. His creativity seems to be unstoppable as he has released a healthy amount of releases in only two years, which is undoubtedly pretty impressive.

This time is the moment to review one of his most impressive personal projects, Erancnoir, which released its third and homonymous album just one year after the debut, which is truly amazing. I have known one-man bands which have a similar or even higher rate of releases, but Erancnoir is, without any doubt, on the top in terms of quality. Erancnoir doesn't differ too much from its previous works and like happened with the sophomore work Frostfallen, it contains two and remarkably long tracks with a combined length of around forty minutes. Both tracks have similar structures, which try to explore the darkest realms of atmospheric black metal. Keys play an important role, but they are not overused. For example, in the first track entitled 'Erancnoir' they initiate the track with a mystic intro, which immerses you in a vast and desolated landscape. This initial calm section is abruptly broken by a furious wall of guitars and blasting drums with a remarkably fast pace. This speediness is kept for a few minutes making the song quite grim, still atmospheric thanks to the accompanying keys. As mentioned, the song has a rather homogeneous structure, but it is still able of capturing the attention due to its hypnotic nature and a little changes in its rhythm. Vocals are, as expected, quite high pitched and indecipherable, but reasonably well performed. As the song slightly slows down, we can enjoy some nice touches like an accompanying guitar or keys which enrich the song and reinforce its captivating nature. The next track, 'Mehr', follows a similar path including the expected intro, this time way shorter. The initial furious part evolves to a very nice mid-tempo section, where the keys play a bigger role until the song becomes a pure ambient track. This supposes a beautiful ending for the album like the calm after the storm.

In conclusion, Erancnoirs' third instalment is another excellent piece of atmospheric black metal where structures don't vary too much, though this is not especially problematic as its great melodies and spellbinding nature are the reason behind its quality. We can only hope that Harpag with continue its impressive rate of great releases in the upcoming years.

Rating: 8.2 out of 10