Tulus are a black-metal group from Norway. The band released three albums since their inception in 1991, before slowly evolving into the band Khold -- which broke up in 2006, so Tulus "reformed" and came out with their latest in 2007, 'Biography Obscene'. The band is a three piece, but I'm not sure if they lost/gained a member after the Khold breakup.
I got into 'Biography Obscene' by great chance, randomly spotting/taking interest to the album cover. For a three-piece, they're one of the more aggressive BM bands I've heard -- both in playing-style and production; the singer sounds clear, the guitar opts for heavy riffing as much as it does ambiance, and the drums, while not any huge detour in BM, largely maintains the BM-vibes and keeps things rolling.
Where this album differs from most BM, is the steady additions of other instruments, but not in that "melodic-BM" cookie-cutter way; the early half of the album sprinkles in a lot of piano/organ, while the latter half sticks its head down the rabbit hole with some unique-sounding horned instruments -- giving select tracks a jazz accompaniment to their sound. Tulus manage (in maybe one or two songs) to present some interesting out of place riffs (which truthfully could splice into a hair-metal song) in the otherwise familiar dark-atmosphere, that somehow transcends 'Biography Obscene' into its own carving and brand of BM. The crazy part, then, is that it works.
If you're tired of your BM coming from a well, frost-bitten and all, but boring -- see what Norway's Tulus have to offer. Really diverse/interesting album.
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