Embracing the Darkness of Norwegian Gothic Metal
C. M. Gillum | Michigan | 03/20/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Few bands accomplish mixing choir arrangements and heavy metal. The usual outcome is very cheesy and over the top to a point where the music becomes annoying after a few listens. Morten Veland shows that simplicity over technicality can often pay off. The overall sound is mid-paced Gothic Metal with deep to high Black/Death Metal growling contrasted by a well arranged Choir.
The guitars lead the charge with hard hitting metal riffs and well executed solo's. There are moments on Misere Mortem that the guitars speed up and remind me of Melodic Death a bit. The bass is featured well throughout the album using a very deep and thick tone adding to the dark nature of the album. The percussion end tends to stay fairly simple and to the point however there are a few more complex fills tossed in here and there. Overall Morten shows he has excellent command of all the fore mentioned instruments.
The choir seems mostly male though on occasion a higher pitch is heard on a couple of the faster tracks. Morten's vocals are on point whether it be his barrage of deep growls or sinister higher pitch yells they are audible and mix well with both the music and the choir. Overall it's the vocals that give this album it's originality factor, mainly the contrast of the growling/screaming vs the clean choir and it is pulled off flawlessly.
My personal favorite tracks are "The Pain Infernal The Fall Eternal" for the drastic contrast of choir vs Morten feel. "The Wheel Of Fire" shows some truly impressive drum work and "The New Desire" for a having a sound that is reminiscent of the Epic Metal style. All in all I highly recommend fans of the Goth/Dark Metal styles to get this and fans of Black/Death and all extreme styles of metal at least give it a listen. Overall a 4.5 out of 5 simply cause though the music is great it doesn't have to much technicality. Thanks for reading."
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1
