ow, I just realized I had some time to review a Black Metal release. What a better way to get back to the roots than by reviewing a release from a cult Black Metal band that has been dead but dreaming for the last eight years! I believe that blacksters who don't know this band will be excited just by reading some bio stuff I am going to mention below. Just keep reading and you will see what I mean.

Formed somewhere around 1991, TULUS belong to the Norwegian Black Metal scene. To be more precise, the band hails from Oslo, the city that carries a glorious Black Metal history, including bands like MAYHEM, DIMMU BORGIR, SATYRICON, 1349 and ARCTURUS to name just a few. TULUS features members from well-known bands such as KHOLD and OLD MAN'S CHILD. They have released several demos and three full-length albums, and this is the time to release their fourth album and prove that they are back for good.

What would you say for some good, old school Black Metal enriched with some keyboards (not the gay ones)? If you worship TARTAROS, TSJUDER and KHOLD or you just are a fan of TULUS, I am pretty sure that Biography Obscene won't disappoint you. With a production that balances between rawness and heaviness, these blacksters deliver ten compositions full of symphonic Black Metal Armageddon. One thing that impressed me is that even though Black Metal albums usually have lengthy songs, this album's ten songs do not go over 35 minutes. The album becomes groovy (in a good way) at times and surely challenges the listener to headbang and stuff, but its main disadvantage is the lack of freshness and new ideas. Even though the band manages to avoid being wasted in a meaningless speed contest with blasts and out-of-this-world tempo, they are not able to keep the listener interested throughout the whole album.

My conclusion is that Biography Obscene is a something more than decent album, but it somehow gets lost amongst many Black Metal releases out there. Nothing fresh, nothing new, nothing groundbreaking. If you are ok with that, maybe you will find this album more interesting than I did. It is your choice. As for me, I will put it aside and search for another release. The latest MAYHEM album still hasn't left my CD player.