Official press release:
Hailing from Spain’s Basqueland, the one-man Ostots has been cultivating a poignant, prolific identity in the black metal underground during the past decade. This past fall, Ostots released its second album, Hil Argi, on vinyl LP in a limited edition of 250 copies, all of which sold out almost immediately. Now, on February 1st, 2016, Altare Productions in conspiracy with Darker Than Black are proud to release this obsidian gem on CD format.
In many ways, Hil Argi is an album that could’ve easily hailed from black metal’s second wave, in ancient days past: mystical and lonerist, melancholic yet empowered, grimly furious but somehow majestic, all rendered in raw and resolute tones that strike against all plastic forms of “black metal.” However, at the heart of Hil Argi is its content, which transcends any form: emotional, vulnerable, stripped bare and boldly, emitting an organic essence that’s stultifying in its naked power. All told, more astute listeners of black metal can imagine Ostots in general and Hil Argi in particular as a reverential update to the old miserable masters of ’90s French black metal – the Black Legions lost in a forest, perhaps – while those seeking unorthodox sounds will be entranced by the otherworldly melancholia mainman IA projects.
For over ten years now, Ostots has delivered the scent of death, but with Hil Argi, that scent has paradoxically become fresher – and all without any compromise.
Hil Argi track listing:
1. “Sarrera”
2. “Gaua I (Malenkonia)”
3. “Bide Bakartia”
4. “Itsas Haizea”
5. “Azken Hegala”
6. “Negu”
7. “Gaua II (Hil-argi)”
8. “Amaieka”
