With a steady stream of quality releases, including a handful of demos, an EP and one full-length album, one-man band Arbor has garnered some world wide praise for its alluring raw yet atmospheric Black Metal. In spring of 2024 the band returns with a three-track demo tape, simply called ‘Promo ‘24’, that was issued in 300 copies and what was meant as some sort of appetizer to its sophomore album.
Just like all of Arbor’s previously released material, ‘Promo ‘24’ too is an honest homage to the Black Metal of the mid to late 90’s and early 00’s. Yet, while the foundation of the majority of the previous releases could be traced back to the more riff-driven, cold and melancholic Black Metal of these years, these three tracks are slowly starting to show a certain shift in style. Still there is much left of that strong core of Moonblood, Judas Iscariot and Mütiilation, but Arbor now clearly shows more melody and while this too obviously is a raw recording, the overall sound is a bit clearer. Subsequently, those melodies and deeper atmospherics do shine a bit stronger. This way Arbor creeps more up to a band like Armagedda, the way the melodies and the very strong riffing combines with the harsh vocal delivery really reminds of Armagedda’s unsurpassed ‘The Final War Approaches’. Not maybe as a mirror-image of that iconic album, but it exudes a similar ambiance. Yet, in addition to that comparable raw sound and excellent sense of song writing, Arbor adds a more prominent role for the melodies.
Based on the quality of these three tracks, my expectation is not that the buzz around this band will soon die down. Despite this cassette tape being released in a reasonable edition of 300, it was almost impossible for the mere mortal to get hold of a copy. Of course, that adds to a certain mystique surrounding the band, but it is also a shame that many people ended up not having the chance to purchase a physical copy (including yours truly).
