Year of release: 2018
Label: Signal Rex
Rating: 7,8 / 10
I am absolutely sure that I would not pay attention to such a band as BLACK HOWLING if I did not work with the promo. Everything says that this is shit: a logo, Portuguese origin, a million releases in a portfolio, extremely blury themes. On closer examination, the situation turns out to be much more complicated and interesting. "Return of Primordial Stillness" can not be attributed to any one style or genre of metal music. Of course, the publisher is proud to say that it is all Black Metal, but we know something with that the presence of guitars and screaming vocals still does not make music Black Metal. The album begins with a five-minute semi-intro track, mostly reminiscent of a hodgepodge of several riffs from the "Monotheist" of CELTIC FROST, and it's absolutely not clear what to expect next. Then the band charges a fairly traditional atmospheric metal with blast beats, and it begins to seem that everything is clear, but this is a deceptive impression. For 14 and a half minutes, which lasts the second track, the music manages to go through dozens of metamorphoses, easily transfusing from a typical "DSBM" to BURZUM level transcendentalism or even flying to the half-ambient space. Dramatic, desperate and monumental - a return to primordial stillness, indeed. If I correctly interpreted the concept of the album, the music reveals it perfectly. This is the type of melancholy, which, by and large, is not connected with trifles like human emotions. It characterizes only the mournful grandeur of cosmic emptiness. The second track is indicative in this respect. It has not so much plot turns, but there is more atmosphere of something big, going beyond the material existence. Almost 16 minutes of unearthly energy - and the final little instrumental piece a line under the album. I admit, I'm very impressed with "Return of Primordial Stillness", although something in it seems wrong. You can listen to such albums many times, always discovering something new. Well, also it's good to distract you from the endless clots of old-school evil that I listen to every day.
English (UK) 
Крыўская