Summoned by Shadows

Wind of the Black Mountains have not released anything since Black Sun Shall Rise in 2002, and I was not sure they ever would again. What I didn't know was that main (and sometimes sole) band member Tchort was fucking dead, having kicked off from a drug overdose in 2006 while in the midst of recording the long-awaited third full-length album. I suppose that explains all the years of inactivity, and now we have this, an effort by friends and associates to release pretty much everything they could find that Tchort had recorded before his death. This results in a compilation that is very much a mixed bag.

The first 7 tracks are the real meat here, as they are the tracks recorded for the album proper prior to Tchort's demise. These are all blistering workouts in this band's trademark murky, chaotic USBM. The sound on these is pretty good, though you can tell some of them were not properly finished, but that just makes them sound more underground and cool. Tracks 8-13 are stuff left off the Sing Thou Unholy Servants debut, and most of it is either ambient interludes or Tchort growling backwards with a lot of effects. Lame, is what it is.

The rest of this is stuff cobbled together from rough mixes, demos, a few covers, and other such ephemera. There are a few good moments sprinkled around, but most of it is stuff that was left out because it's not good, or not finished, and it should probably have stayed that way.

If you liked this band, well, this is the last of it you will ever get. The first part is pretty solid, but the rest of the massive track list is pretty much a waste of time. Better to get the rereleases of the classic albums, which it looks like Moribund is doing as well. This one is just for fans.