Independence to the Beast
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Bindrune continues to nurture the firestorm set deep within the Minnesota landscapes, this time embracing the tortured and emotive black metal style of the long running duo, Canis Dirus. Featuring the open minded and unique writing style of sole songwriter of the band, Todd Paulson (Uvall, Celestial Sea and Dormant), Canis Dirus has evolved dramatically from humble black metal beginnings, to be a truly scary musical entity that reflects and redirects some really rather scarring life trials and tribulations into the stripped bare and interesting union of black metal and folk. Rob Hames’ vocals further stir this intense union through unhinged screams and more of a narrated chanting style.
It has been 7 long years since the bands Anden Om Norr full-length… a lot has happened on a personal level during that time and we are thrilled to unleash their impending new full-length upon all of you!
Recommended if you like: Skogen, Fen, Grima, Of the Wand and the Moon
Our sharky hero runs, surgically-repaired legs pumping, swag clutched to his chest. He doesn’t look back. He doesn’t need to. He knows what’s chasing him: a velveteen puppet and a number that is two times six. Eventually, lungs heaving, he sinks down behind a dumpster to study his haul… This, dear reader, is a more a less accurate depiction of what it takes to successfully smuggle something tagged as “black folk metal” out of the promo sump and how I come to be reviewing Minnesotan duo Canis Dirus‘ third full-length, Independence to the Beast. Having successfully evaded my pursuers, what have I actually got on my hands? Previous outings for Canis Dirus were solid cuts of mid-paced depressive black metal, with doom around the edges and tinged, just occasionally, with a hint of proginess (see “Garden of Death” from the debut and “We Stand Paralyzed by an Unhurried Mist” from its successor).
But, due to some exceptionally difficult personal circumstances for songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Todd Paulson,1 it’s eight years since Canis Dirus’ last record, Anden om norr. While that lengthy period away from music has not led to a complete change of style, Independence to the Beast is simultaneously more direct and more subtle than its predecessors. In parts—like opener “We are the Ancient Ones” and “Extreme Might of Resolve”—Canis Dirus deal in bleak, smothering black metal brutality, channeling the likes of NONE. At other times, and often within the space of a single track, the band moves fluidly into more ruminative, doom-laden tones before shifting into acoustic folky mode (“Unyielding”), at times occupying a similar sort of space to Winterfylleth. The almost-12 minute epic “The Child and the Serpent,” for example, is reminiscent of ROSK’s Miasma, while the first time I heard the start of “To Cast the Runes,” I was weirdly reminded of Alice in Chains’ “I Stay Away.”
The moods and movements that Independence to the Beast goes through feel like a reflection of the journey its creator has been on, by degrees brutal, harrowing, oppressive and, occasionally, hopeful. Not only has Canis Dirus‘ enforced hiatus seen real growth in songwriting, but its also brought a huge improvement in the vocals. While I enjoyed their first two albums, I struggled with the high-pitched DSBM screams from vocalist Rob Hames, which for me just didn’t gel with doom-tinged bleakness of tracks like “Anden om nor.” Independence to the Beast finds Hames in a more versatile mood, offering muted but haunting cleans (“Father”), as well as adopting a more rasped delivery for the harsh vocals, albeit still at the higher end of the range, which works much better.Moving smoothly between acoustic passages, brief explosions of pummelling fury and melodic, atmospheric black metal, Independence to the Beast is an impressively crafted album. For the most part. One strange choice made is the jarring shift to a heavy metal chug that closes out the chilling hopelessness of “Extreme Might of Resolve,” a choice that fits with precisely nothing else on the record. For me, Canis Dirus also slightly overdo the spoken word sections, particularly on the otherwise stunning “The Child and the Serpent.” The production is, like the music, very good—again, for the most part. The mournful guitar tone works perfectly for the moods conjured, while the melodic and acoustic sections feel fresh and vibrant if those adjectives are compatible with the desolation of Independence to the Beast. But there is some real inconsistency in the drum sound, which moves from fine if unremarkable (“We are the Ancient Ones,” for example), to something resembling a pneumatic drill in sections of the sprawling and excellent closer “Unyielding.”
These complaints are relatively minor, however, when viewed against the emotional heft generated by Canis Dirus across the full 50 minutes of the record. Independence to the Beast isn’t as unremittingly bleak as something like NONE’s Damp Chill of Life but it drags the listener into deep emotional pits of pain and longing, before gradually lifting you again. The tag black “folk” metal is perhaps slightly misleading, in that this does not incorporate folk in the way that, say, Agalloch does. Canis Dirus use gentle acoustic moods that can only really be called folk at a push. But I don’t care. Call it what you like, Independence to the Beast is a moving, emotionally raw album that I enjoyed almost every minute of. Rating: 4.0/5.0 -ANGRY METAL GUY
American Black Metal duo, CANIS DIRUS release their second EP in 2 years following the 2019 release of two-track, Das Leben ist fur die Lebenden, der Tod ist fur Alle. They have also had two full-length albums, A Somber Wind from a Distant Shore and Anden om norr which were released in 2009 and 2012 respectively. The song “The Child and the Serpent” was released by Bindrun Records on the 21st of December. Let us find out what the duo have put together for Independence to the Beast
“We Are the Ancient Ones” starts off with more of an old school Death Metal feel as far as instrumentals go. Vocals aren’t going to be easy to understand based on the opener and on previous work. The speed goes up and down, but is done so in a controlled manor so the melodies build up nicely. The melody turns to something you would expect from seasoned bands who have worked out how to mix the raw vocals with the beauty of the instrumentals, it is very well done. There is no pointless distortion which some new Black Metal bands feel the need to add. It sounds like something inspired by EMPEROR how it changes pace perfectly into a frenzied state, never losing composure, just giving our ears something new to hear. A solid start to this album.
“Father” has an acoustic guitar start…where the fuck did that come from? It is an obviously slower song, it teases chances to explode, but remains with the slow spoken word vocals and acoustic guitars, even goes a bit folky midway. At least there is one song at least you can understand the vocals. Was not expecting this.
“The Child and the Serpent” continues from the ending of “Father”, but you can hear something bigger and heavier is approaching, or so I thought. It picks up pace to more like AGALLOCH styles, with the raw vocals returning. The pace is more Atmospheric Black Metal, which is an interesting turn of events to say the least. Feels so much more experimental than I was expecting at this point of the album. They have three songs with three different styles, although the last two have of course been closer. As this is a longer song we may expect a few changes of styles and that what we get. From the 8-minute mark, it gets slightly heavier, feeling very experimental once more. Still changing styles, trying out a few things.
“To Cast the Runes” starts in similar stance to where “The Child and the Serpent” left off, if not even softer with the melody from the acoustics. Some more spoken word like in “Father”. It’s hard to work out how this falls in line with their previous works, which only “We Are the Ancient Ones” has stayed true to. This is again very progressive and experimental. Some samples towards the end have been added in to give the song a bit of depth, but it is hard to work out what sound the band portrays.
“Extreme Might of Resolve” starts with a weird screech, which I thought was going to break the sound into something far heavier, more Black Metal. The vocals are a mix of screech and higher pitched spoken words, which is more Black Metal when you look at bands like EVILFEST, but not what I was expecting to hear here, though not much on this album is. The pace has returned, but it does not feel like they are going all out, still holding back a bit. After the 4-minute mark, they turn Thrash, like 80’s Bay Area Thrash with the instrumentals. Where did that come from? This lasts less than a minute and is replaced by some Atmospheric keyboards, not exactly what I would have gone for. Sounds like an 80’s horror film soundtrack, and just as you wonder what else will happen, Bay Area returns, keeping us in the 80’s with this great melody. I am so confused about this song, but I love all the different styles together.
“Unyeilding” is 15 minutes long, what the hell will happen in this song? Starts off solid enough, building the melody nicely, sounding more lie a Melo Death song than Black Metal, but this album has not sounded like Black Metal, so it works. The pace is great and it is really catchy, you just know it’s gonna change, so it may be harder to get into the sound. And then it changes, going back to the sound “Father” welcomed us into earlier. Maybe this song is a mix of everything we’ve heard so far? Maybe coz after the acoustic styles we have the hard hitting return of “We Are the Ancient Ones”, which is such a welcomed return. So yes, this song is basically the entire album in short verse. The frenzied ended far too quickly and goes back to the progressive melodies again, which is maybe what you want to hear, or like me you want to see what the band can do. Thi9s next section does flirt with the heavier side, but only in small outbursts. Which it continues the treend until the end.
No idea what happened here, not what I was expecting at all. Its very experimental and very progressive with the sound. If you’re a fan of their previous works, this may not be for you. If you are into the Atmospheric Black styles, this could be your jam. It is an interesting one, one that I did no see coming.
Songwriting: 8
Musicianship: 8
Memorability: 8
Production: 8
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