• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

The Verge "side" of this split came off as a surprise as the style is quite different from the To Rest the Last Time in Our Filth EP I reviewed a few months ago. That one was raw and chaotic Black Metal (to quote myself) while the material here is mostly slow, melancholic Black Metal with a very doomy vibe (without actually being doom.) Omnipresent keyboards add a lot to the melancholic atmosphere but are not overbearing, and melodic guitar work often supersedes the distorted, metallic style. The material comes off as a kind of disturbing mix of both soothing and depressing music, and you really have to be in the mood to get into this.

I didn't know what to expect from Blood Red Fog, but hearing the Verge tracks I figured it would be in the same style, but it turns out that they vary things a bit more. Blood Red Fog's songs are much longer, three of them are over nine minutes in length and the fourth is over six minutes, while Verge's longest song clocks in at 6:26. The atmosphere here has more of a horror/suspense/despair vibe, as opposed to the melancholic approach that Verge took. Things come off as more metallic on this side of the split and the keyboards are kept more at bay, and eventually the band breaks into speedier but muddy Black Metal that is actually closer to what Verge did on To Rest the Last Time in Our Filth, though not quite as chaotic.

This is a good split even though it is a bit too long. Both bands play interesting material, but I have to give the edge to Blood Red Fog who vary their sound more than Verge do.