THOSE WHO CARESS THE PALE

"Those Who Caress the Pale" is a demo release by Norwegian avant garde extreme metal act Ved Buens Ende. The demo was originally released in 1994 on cassette tape but saw a CD re-release through Ancient Lore Creations in 1997. The re-release features the bonus track "Insects, Part I" and is probably the most readily available version. The demo led to the band signing with Misanthropy records for the release of their debut full-length studio album "Written in Waters (1995)".

At the time of the release of this demo, Ved Buens Ende consisted of Vicotnik (Dødheimsgard, Code, Manes, Naer Mataron) on guitars and vocals, Skoll (Arcturus, Fimbulwinter, Ulver) on bass and Carl-Michael Eide (Dødheimsgard, Aura Noir, Cadaver Inc, Infernö, Virus, Satyricon, Ulver) on drums, guitars and vocals. This was also the three-piece that recorded "Written in Waters (1995)".

Ved Buens Ende is a rather unique act with a unique sound that is both raw and aggressive but at the same time melancholic/atmospheric. The music sometimes reminds me of the most raw Voivod albums mixed with primitive black metal but with strange twist and turns and haunting deranged vocals.

Out of the five tracks on "Those Who Caress the Pale", "The Carrier of Wounds" and " You That May Wither" are also featured on "Written in Waters (1995)" but the rest are tracks didn´t make it unto the album. Both "A Mask In The Mirror", "The Plunderer" and the instrumental "Those Who Caress The Pale" are great tracks and should be of interest to fans of the band while the CD version bonus track "Insects, Part I", which consists of insect noises and tortured screaming and yelling for a couple of minutes before there is silence for about 4 minutes until the insects noises reappear, isn´t really much of a bonus to my ears.

The sound quality isn´t professional but the lo-fi sound production still suits the raw music well. All in all "Those Who Caress the Pale" certainly is a worthy purchase to fans of the band. Newcommers should probably start with "Written in Waters (1995)". A 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted.