Back to Back Albums: Violet Cold - Desperate Dreams
Euphoric black metal from Azerbaijan?
Seriously, what kind of a fucked up description is that? Black metal shouldn't be euphoric, should it? It should be grim and cold. Which is the opposite of what Azerbaijan is like.
And you know what's even more fucked up? The fact that Desperate Dreams is actually a really good album. This type of thing should not work, not on paper and not in practice, but somehow the whole “euphoric” element of this album not only succeeds, but establishes Violet Cold as a unique musical entity that can get international acclaim, a metallic entity which Azerbaijan has hitherto failed to produce.
I'm not the biggest fan of jolly music; I typically like mine with loads of aggression or dripping with despair. But the thing is, I don't always feel like running through the streets, shoulder checking the slow moving people who block the metro entrance, nor do I always want to sink into the bowels of an introspective nightmare. And that's where Violet Cold comes into play.
To call this black metal could be a mistake: apart from tremolo picked riffs, raspy vocals, and blast beats, Violet Cold is anything but evil and horrific. No, rather they play music that is euphoric, enticing, and actually, upbeat. If normal black metal is running around in a graveyard during a snow storm, Violet Cold is more like being on a long ass journey through space and feeling lonely, but seeing all sorts of cool things. Or watching a sunset with a hot girl, lamenting its ephemeral quality, while also knowing that the darkness will provide you a veil of privacy with said female.
the sun goes down.
As I've mentioned the guitars and vocals as being typically black metal, the drums deserve special merit. Most of the time they just back, and keep the beats at a breakneck pace, but every once in a while there is a little breakdown of sorts that sounds far more Dead Kennedys than Darkthrone. This punk drumming really adds to the optimistic feel of the album, and they're recorded in such a way that they feel lively and free, which is not what expected from an album mixed using $5 headphones (as the liner notes claim).
Then there are the keyboards. I can only assume that Emin Guliev (the guy who plays everything on this album) didn't have a lot of money to buy some super fancy keyboard, and had to grab something out of the 90's Russian pop music scene's garage sale. Luckily, this too works to Violet Cold's advantage, by giving the album a unique sound. Most of the time, they just follow the flow of the riffs, like a warm river rushing between two soaring, forested cliffs. Other times, they play simple melodies, like on your favourite album by the Cars, or something that would not be out of place on a trance album.
Seriously, this thing makes me feel more like I'm listening to Above and Beyond, or perhaps the tamer songs off of Infected Mushroom's Converting Vegetarians, than Mayhem. Not that it matters—Violet Cold is really an enigma unto itself. You don't hear blacks and greys of the frozen north, but the enigmatic purple, fleeting orange, and cool blue of a sunset over Pebble Beach.
The album is bookended by two short piano based instrumental tracks, which serve as a warm-up and a cool-down of the material presented here. Both are low key, chamber music for those watching the sun go down, down, down before they man the torpedo stations and dive, dive.
The beauty of Desperate Dreams is in its simplicity: there are no complex melodies, guitar solos, or even challenging time signatures to trip you up. It's atmospheric in the purest sense.
Desperate Dreams is definitely not the kind of music my nasty, mid-90's self would have put on, but one that my omnivorous, jaded self can enjoy while chilling out at home on a Sunday. Indeed, I can see how black metal fans might feel uncomfortable having some guy from Azerbaijan singlehandedly hijack the genre and put out, what is to me, a contender for album of the year. But if they could look past the tag, they might also get something out of it.
For those who really don't want to scare the shorties, there's also a vocal-less version up on Youtube. That way you and your lady of choice can both tune out and fly off into the dazzling sunset together on the wings of fluid ecstasy.
