Jute Gyte (the musical moniker of one Adam Kalmbach) has created one of the most satisfying pieces of outsider black metal in some time with "Old Ways." Combining the sometimes plodding, sometimes epic, structures of Burzum with harsh industrial noise, Jute Gyte sounds both familiar and original at the same time.
"Waves" kicks the album off with a fantastic piece of woozy mid-tempo grim in the tradition of Burzum. What sets Jute Gyte apart very quickly though is his use of electronic effects that add harsh industrial noise to the classic NBM buzz. The song is held together by an oscillating guitar effect that is reminiscent of Johnny Marr's guitar work on the classic Smith's song "How Soon Is Now?" This isn't shoegaze black metal, though, this is raw brutal blackness updated with noise that sometimes pulsates, sometimes crackles and sometimes pummels. "Teeth" most certainly is in the pummels category. One of the album's best pieces, the song begins with a blown out noise assault before slowing things down to mid tempo. What makes "Teeth" so intriguing are the breakdowns that Jute Gyte creates mixing up tempos and rhythms throughout. Kalmbach keeps listeners on their toes, without ever overwhelming or losing them by blasting the noise completely into the red. Regardless how noisy things get one can discern each instrumental element as they work with and against each other. Just when the piece sounds like it might go over a precipice the piece goes silent save for a brooding solo bass before the song lurches back into action with a full-on black metal assault. It all adds up to a devastating listen that at times reminds one of Wold, but this is much more melodic than that band's industrial black metal.
"Round" follows with the closest thing to shoegaze black metal here, but it is still its own beast punctuated by alternating see saw notes on top of what could be a Kevin Shields' experiment in noise if Shields created cold metallic soundscapes instead of warm narcotic hazes. Unfortunately like all Burzum inspired black metal artists there is an all instrumental ambient piece present on "Old Ways," called, appropriately enough, "Interlude." Like nearly all Burzum ambient homages, it is best to just hit the skip button. Thankfully the album finishes out strong with "Peace," another plodding piece of mid tempo blackness, "Snail," which could be an outtake from a Khanate album and the massive "Death." Clocking in at over 15 minutes long, "Death" is an emotionally blistering piece of depressive black metal that manages to alternate between anthematic and fatalistic, beautiful and disturbed. It is here that Jute Gyte's penchant for electronic flourishes pays off in dividends and elevates the song from a typical mid tempo piece of blasted sadness into something that ascends toward something greater and ultimately more meaningful and emotionally satisfying. Justin Broadrick would probably be thrilled to come up with something this powerful and moving for his next Jesu record.
"Old Ways" is an album that deserves to be heard and Adam Kalmbach is a talent to watch. It is a weird and great feat to be able to deliver a sound that is both absolutely classic black metal and as forward thinking as this.
Listen to "Teeth" here
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