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Long time ago there were several bands infatuated with depressive melancholic Black metal, nowadays very few; after all the old aphorism 'Only the strong survive' that I'd complete with 'and the most committed' is still true, and indeed truer than ever these days.
This one-man project hails from Wisconsin and its cold Aryan hymns are based on razor-blade cutting guitars and suffering or majestically deadly vocals mixed very in the background, even if unfortunately only two lyrics were lucky enough to find place on the booklet; of these, "Endless Nights" is an unreleased track which didn't appear on the 5-track tape released by Terrorwolfe productions two years ago. "Suicide Winds" appears twice, although the latter doesn't differ very much if not in the end.
The six tracks exceed 39 minutes and are reserved to a niche of listeners owing to their plain obsessiveness and scarce rhythm variations as for guitars and drums, that may often be perceived as repetitiveness by most not professionals in this field. What matters above all is the atmosphere of expressionist Black and Vinlandic heritage spirit reawakened.

The foggy and radioactive riffs contained in "I Follow" expose a contrast between the uncontaminatedness of nature and man's intervention, alternating with some other more lively guitars - a bit lower tuned; all of this contributes to make this song even a little Venomian and Bathorian, but the icy on the cake is the convincing answer to the 1,000,000 $ question about which mountains of books have been written throughout the history: the meaning of life from an Aryan mysticism point of view.
An effective cover version of Burzum's often pillaged classic "Ea, Lord of the Depths" makes it worth listening; many tried to cover it, many failed. Veil do it in a simple but groovy fashion and that's a nother plus getting added to the final positive judgment about this debut-CD.
The over 11 minutes of "Endless Night" come from the demo sessions and fill an album with a composition more epic and catchy than the rest, yet still deep rooted in the Madison act's style, ending with a furious made heavier closing trill escape.

All in all, despite the strong Burzum influence, there are more bands that can get related to these compositions; so as to be more precise, "Dolor" is desirable particularly for habitual consumers of Drudkh, Wigrid, I Shalt Become, Nargaroth, Abyssic Hate, the Satanic Warmaster of "Of the Night" and a few emerging Italian combos such as Forgotten Tomb and Beatrik; notwithstanding, the one-man compositor Stolzträger can be proud for releasing a rather personal and ably arranged debut that will make all Black metal fanatics in general satisfied at the least, independently from the lyrics that some won't approve of.
After all, a band definitely to follow through its entire artistical path.

MARKUS GANZHERRLICH - 20th May 2006

	'*Dolor'* (Stellar Winter records) MARK: 76/100



	Long time ago there were several bands infatuated with depressive melancholic Black metal, nowadays very few; after all the old aphorism 'Only the strong survive' that I'd complete with 'and the most committed' is still true, and indeed truer than ever these days. This one-man project hails from Wisconsin and its cold Aryan hymns are based on razor-blade cutting guitars and suffering or majestically deadly vocals mixed very in the background, even if unfortunately only two lyrics were lucky enough to find place on the booklet; of these, "Endless Nights" is an unreleased track which didn't appear on the 5-track tape released by Terrorwolfe productions two years ago. "Suicide Winds" appears twice, although the latter doesn't differ very much if not in the end. The six tracks exceed 39 minutes and are reserved to a niche of listeners owing to their plain obsessiveness and scarce rhythm variations as for guitars and drums, that may often be perceived as repetitiveness by most not professionals in this field. What matters above all is the atmosphere of expressionist Black and Vinlandic heritage spirit reawakened. The foggy and radioactive riffs contained in "I Follow" expose a contrast between the uncontaminatedness of nature and man's intervention, alternating with some other more lively guitars - a bit lower tuned; all of this contributes to make this song even a little Venomian and Bathorian, but the icy on the cake is the convincing answer to the 1,000,000 $ question about which mountains of books have been written throughout the history: the meaning of life from an Aryan mysticism point of view. An effective cover version of Burzum's often pillaged classic "Ea, Lord of the Depths" makes it worth listening; many tried to cover it, many failed. Veil do it in a simple but groovy fashion and that's a nother plus getting added to the final positive judgment about this debut-CD. The over 11 minutes of "Endless Night" come from the demo sessions and fill an album with a composition more epic and catchy than the rest, yet still deep rooted in the Madison act's style, ending with a furious made heavier closing trill escape. All in all, despite the strong Burzum influence, there are more bands that can get related to these compositions; so as to be more precise, "Dolor" is desirable particularly for habitual consumers of Drudkh, Wigrid, I Shalt Become, Nargaroth, Abyssic Hate, the Satanic Warmaster of "Of the Night" and a few emerging Italian combos such as Forgotten Tomb and Beatrik; notwithstanding, the one-man compositor Stolzträger can be proud for releasing a rather personal and ably arranged debut that will make all Black metal fanatics in general satisfied at the least, independently from the lyrics that some won't approve of. After all, a band definitely to follow through its entire artistical path. MARKUS GANZHERRLICH - 20th May 2006
	Line-up on this record: Stolzträger (formerly Oligarch) - all instruments & vocals [also in Xenophobia (US)] Contacts: Stellar Winter records c/o Ilia Babin, P.O. Box 838 Moscow, 115470 - Russia E-mail: ssorders@hotmail.com www.thepaganfront.com/stellarwinter/ Demo-/Disco-graphy: -Demo (2004) -Dolor (demo - 2004) -Dolor (CD - 2005)