Taär – Catharsis Till Dawn

Taär is an international Black Metal quartet, one that seemingly are comprised of members from both Switzerland and Greece. Among them they have quite an impressive repertoire as live musicians in particular, with their associated band count being somewhere in the mid-thirties. And in July 2022, the four musicians officially joined forces to create the band Taär. The next three years apparently was spent fleshing out their unique sound as well as (assumedly) live performances spread across their home countries (albeit I will admit the latter statement being an assumption in my end, since I have no prior knowledge of the band before the start of this month).

The end result is Catharsis Till Dawn, a nine tracks, nearly forty minutes long Full-length testament to the origins of Black Metal (specifically the 90’s era by their own admission).

As such, once spinning Taär you can expect aggressive, menacing growls, sharp and simply effective guitar riffs and the all-time classic of blast beat drums. All in all exactly what I would expect from certified followers of the doctrine of Second Wave Black Metal – And very talented ones at that!

The only real gripe I end up having with Catharsis Till Dawn is an annoying one. The album has a good length, it maintains quality and energy throughout and the musicians comprising the band are clearly both well-versed in their chosen genre and not without a certain amount of flair for it; However, it somehow still fails to stand out for me in any meaningful manner.
Yes, this means that the record is an excellent example of what this specific period of Black Metal had to (and still can) offer put into a good light; But at the same time, they fail to stand out in any meaningful manner, meaning that the second the record stopped turning I had almost already forgotten the name of both the band and the album itself. Play it alongside ten other similar records and I sincerely doubt I would be able to tell any of the individual songs apart, let alone pair them back with the name of their creator. Which is a shame.

That being said, I do consider Taär to be a very good band and given the chance I will be attending a gig or two when and if they ever pop up in my neck of the woods. Their music is almost uniquely suited to add energy to any and all festivals and gigs that they would grace with their menacing presence, and I am all here for it.

Recommended for fans of Hellhammer and 1349.

https://www.facebook.com/TaarOfficial