/ /    B L E E D i N G                       /     __\ _             \ \

:     Artist  :: Haar                                                :
:     Album   :: Ouroboros                                           :
:     Year    :: 2023                                                :

:     Genre   :: Black Metal                 Source  :: WEB/MP3      :
:     Label   :: Independent                 R.date  :: 2023-08-12   :
:     Size    :: 120.59MB                    S.date  :: 2023-08-04   :

:     Bitrate :: CBR 320kbps                                         :
:     Quality :: 44.1 kHz/Joint Stereo                               :
:     URL     :: http://deezer.com/album/475013215                   :

:     1.  Intro (A Prelude to Benumbing Ruin)                  3:51  :
:     2.  The Anticipated Fist of Gelid Trauma                 9:24  :
:     3.  A Boreal Tomb Has Shaped This Being                  6:05  :
:     4.  Refugia (Trial by Hostile Endurance)                 5:46  :
:     5.  Of Verglas & Vicissitude                            10:22  :
:     6.  A Bitter Assimilation                                8:49  :
:     7.  Ouroboros (The Recurrence of Benumbing Ruin)         5:54  :

:                                                             50:11  :

:     Before Haar bring their short-lived career to an end, they've  :
:     made sure to leave their mark with the uncomfortable and       :
:     unforgettable dissonant terror that is Ouroboros.              :

:     Haar are an atmospheric/progressive black metal band that      :
:     formed in Edinburgh, UK, back in 2008. The band have had       :
:     several line-up changes since their establishment fifteen      :
:     years ago, but their final iteration consists of original      :
:     members Hamish MacKintosh (drums), Guillaume Martin            :
:     (guitars), and Gareth Cook (vocals), who are accompanied by    :
:     Steve Shanks (bass) and Ross Oliver (guitars). Having been     :
:     around now for more than a decade, Haar only have two          :
:     full-length releases to their name (as well as several EPs),   :
:     including full-length debut Wayward Ceremony from 2015, and    :
:     now their latest, and in fact final, release Ouroboros. Yes,   :
:     I did say this album is the final addition to what is a short  :
:     discography for a band that have been around for some time,    :
:     as they've made the unfortunate decision to disband this       :
:     year. Now, I'm not going to cry about the disbanding of Haar,  :
:     as bands disband all the time, It's just the fact that this    :
:     band have had such a short-lived career, with not much to      :
:     really show for their efforts. So, how has this band decided   :
:     to go out on this final release? And is it a memorable and     :
:     worthy send-off?                                               :

:     To start with, I'm going to say that Ouroboros is an           :
:     uncomfortable listen, rather than an enjoyable one; there's    :
:     certainly plenty going on here, and one can easily lose        :
:     themselves in its structural madness and all-consuming         :
:     densely atmospheric soundscapes. The word I'm going to say     :
:     here is dissonance; think Deathspell Omega meets Ulcerate,     :
:     and you'll get the idea of what I'm talking about. The         :
:     instrumentation isn't what you'd call melodic; I imagine you   :
:     won't be headbanging to some groovy beats here. Instead the    :
:     guitar work is chaotic, but there's still method in its        :
:     chaotic dissonant madness.                                     :

:     The several overlapping guitars have a lot to do with this;    :
:     there's an ultra thick layering system in which the riffs and  :
:     leads regularly overlap, and with help from Shanks' powerful   :
:     bass work, this helps create a crushingly dense, almost        :
:     apocalyptic soundscape. Now, onto the vocals, which for the    :
:     most part are aggressive death growls, with occasional         :
:     high-pitched blackened shrieks performed by Cook, where he     :
:     sounds as if he's under constant distress and agony. The main  :
:     striking element, however, isn't the guitar work, the bass,    :
:     or the vocals that stand out; it is in fact the drumming that  :
:     stands out most (for me at least), as MacKintosh shows fine    :
:     form, start to finish, from his complex rhythmic beats to his  :
:     manic drum rolls.                                              :

:     There are several moments throughout the seven tracks that     :
:     may be worth highlighting, but one song in particular stands   :
:     out from the rest, that being "Of Verglas & Vicissitude".      :
:     This is the lengthiest track on the as album, coming in at     :
:     just over the ten-minute mark, and is perhaps the most         :
:     complex, experimental, and progressive song on the album. It   :
:     features plenty of rhythm and tempo changes throughout, from   :
:     furious to soft, mid-to-slow, and going beyond frantic         :
:     towards the end. The vox also take an irregular approach, as   :
:     a synth/cyber-like style is brought in, which goes along with  :
:     the beastly gnarly growls and devastating shouts. The track    :
:     also introduces haunting softer vocals to go with the softer   :
:     passages. Those haunting vocals, however, come back to haunt   :
:     you all the more on the closing title track, where you're      :
:     also introduced to occult-like chants; the growls go up a      :
:     level in intensity also, giving you the feeling that an evil   :
:     demonic being is being exorcised back to the depths of hell,   :
:     from whence it came.                                           :

:     I must warn you, Ouroboros may not be the easiest listening    :
:     experience (for most listeners anyway), but what Haar achieve  :
:     here is not exactly for the faint-hearted. From the            :
:     devilishly blackened "A Bitter Assimilation" to the            :
:     experimental and progressive "Ouroboros (The Recurrence Of     :
:     Benumbing Ruin)", Haar give us a clear statement that they     :
:     intend to go out with full force.                              :