Review: Fog

Fog
““Through The Eyes of Night…””
(World War III)

From the opening track of ambient storm sounds, Fog is absolutely mesmerizing.  Through The Eyes of Night… grabs a hold and doesn’’t let go of you, the quality of this brutal black metal is great, and very surprising considering they are an American band.  On about the same level as greats like Emperor, this beefy album offers epic length songs, mostly passing the 6-minute mark.  The sound of Fog is at once mysterious and raw, epic and brutal.  This is a great disk for fans of Black Metal, and it will help you get over your prejudice of non-Scandinavian acts. The speed and technicality of mix well with the straight ahead power that is Fog’s nuclear assault.  “The Leech Within” offers an impressive mix of both fast distortion and acoustic layering, but fret not, the result is only darkness and fury.  Drumming is not camped in modern blast beats, but still retains the guttural tempo punch that makes Black Metal great.  Guitar work is precise and as fast as lighting strikes; often the riffs have a glissando like sound, which give a moving feeling.  Vocals are stock, which is good really, as sometimes examination leads to watering down.  There are keyboards used, but not over done.  Rather Fog relies on the aggression and scale progression to give the music its power.  Mostly full speed tempo wise, there a few breaks that tend to be accompanied by softer sounds that really spice things up. The ever-present references to Satan and evil can be picked out when listening to lyrics, but it’s not so campy as with more popular groups like Cradle of Filth. Through The Eyes of Night… isn’t the best or most innovative album out there, but it is high quality black metal worthy of your ears.