Band:	Verge
Album:	To Rest The Last Time In Our Filth
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	December 2008

01. Dissenting
02. A Moment Behind All Lies
03. Untitled
04. Torture of Disbelief
05. Outro

If there's a constant in the world of black metal (and there are quite a few really) it's that the band's members will frequently big themselves up beyond their ability, or perhaps more accurately, they misrepresent themselves with wordy, mystical or occult introductions. Verge more or less fit that constant:

"Though the approach varies between different songs and releases, the core of Verge is always to picture, as deeply and widely as possible, mankind channeling the received divine serpent fire of Lucifer"

The expectancy from such grandiose beginnings is high and to be fair not having heard their main full length but been privy to a split that came after I can't fully evaluate them as band but this EP isn't really representing anything especially out of the ordinary, not to say it isn't devoid of a certain level of craftsmanship. The vocals are exactly what you'd expect: windswept, raspy and Burzum-esque, but quite consistent and well placed in the production which in turn straddles the line of old and nu-school, offending neither sense. Song structures tend to alternate between bursts of percussive driven frosty riffing to those oft-utilised warmer and I suppose "modern" bouts of harmonic progressions that you might find on your local Drudkh or Wolves In The Throne Room release, albeit of a much more barebones variety, adding to the deceptively melodic tones of the record. This is all well and good, in fact the whole EP is surprisingly varied in terms of pace with a few tonal shifts and tight composition, "The Moment Behind All Lies" being a highlight of a thoughtful and diverse approach to black metal but it does feel a little borrowed at times. They could really do with sprucing it up with something. I don't know what, it's not my job to figure that out, but sitting in the ass-print of the chair of black metal (especially as these guys often play live naked) isn't going to win any awards but it will appeal to those of you who like your black metal steady, not necessarily by the numbers, but with repeated listens revealing a pleasant and mildly melancholic vibe and distinct atmosphere that forgoes the usual emphasis on overt evil.

So make no mistake, this is a highly competent and solid number but I suspect if Mr. Lucifer took a day trip to Finland he'd probably rather go to the pub than hang out with these guys, maybe he'd pop in for a brandy before doing so, perhaps getting a bit tiddly and accidentally leaving his divine serpent fire at their house. I bet they'd love that the dirty scoundrels.