The Ruins of Beverast - Foulest Semen of a Sheltered Elite

First things first. Ruins of Beverast are not a band. Ruins of Beverast is a one man project of ex- Nagelfar, (not Naglfar) drummer Alexander von Meilenwald. Taking a bohemian approach of combining unorthodox and traditional elements with complex atmospheric black metal sounds that lends a depressing tone to the music featuring variety of extreme vocals that leaves you totally drenched in the perverse melancholy of its sounds. One play, just one play of the album made me forget the world around me, hooking me to its gloomy sounds. Semen is a feat of absolute pain, agony and horror experienced by its creator, delivered piece by piece to its listener.

If you thought Rain Of Impure was a great album, then Semen is better. Better than a great album that was Rain of Impure. This album tends to draw parallels with acts like Verdunklen and Lunar Aurora, with the way the tracks all have an element of experimentation and contain all sorts of unorthodox bits and pieces thrown into songs, not to mention an interesting new focus on the death doom metal passages that were noticeable in the previous album and which sounded far better too. Plenty of long-doom passages in fact make the album great listening to, also making this the best album of Meilenwald.

That Semen is darker and more complex than his previous album is clearly understood form the track I Raise The Stone As A Ghastly Memorial that treads with doom like melodies amidst Meilenwald's deep chants. Amidst the long tracks in the album, there're several smaller interludes of chorus like Alu present that sets up longer features like God's Exsanguined Bestiaries that succeeds Alu. The track's a crushiong mix of blasting dilapidation with barking growls. Mount Sinai Moloch is another such smashing track that encompasses everything that's evil with its percussion and spine-chilling use of horns. In fact the album seems like the symphony of an ancient,mystical evil force like elder gods in Lovecraft mythology.

Yes, the album is slow and long. But Semen is an depressive black metal project with curious mixes of funeral doom passages. In fact this is exactly how the album should sound. As a one man project, Meilenwald produces another masterpiece album in the form of Foulest Semen of Sheltered Elite. The tones are mightly and lends a primeval feel to the atmosphere. Must hear for any atmospheric/depressive black metal act.