Dimmu Borgir – Page 6 – Wonderbox Metal

Singularity – Singularity (Review)

This is the debut album from US Black Metal band Singularity.

Technical Black Metal is not the most common of sub-genres, especially Symphonic Technical Black Metal, which is what this essentially is.

The synths are heavy and thick and give the band a colourful sheen under which to ply their trade. Said trade consists of sharp, crazy guitar work, widdly bass and precision-point drums. It’s as if a band like Dimmu Borgir had overdosed on Technical Death Metal and angular riffs in the style of some of Mayhem’s work. It also puts me in mind of the first Ephel Duath album.

The songs are still here though. This is an enjoyable riff-fest with inhuman drumming and layers of atmosphere and jagged darkness.

The technicality and Blackened atmospheres combine in a way that most bands never attempt and the resulting mix of styles works primarily because they never sacrifice the songs for the riffs. The playing is very impressive but the Black Metal framework always reins them in before they become overbearing or surplus to the needs of the song.

That being said, there is certainly a lot of flash playing on this album, but as I say – it works.

The tracks are quite varied as the guitars never stop and are always interesting and entertaining. The singer gives his all to the screams; they’re high pitched and very pointed. The cleans that appear are professionally delivered also; another string to Singularity’s impressive bow.

The production is top quality and everything sounds crisp and clear. You can really hear every note.

Singularity is extremely impressive in many ways. I always like a band that puts a different spin on things and the rampant technicality on this album really gives them a flavour all of their own. The fact that they mix this with a Symphonic base and have managed to produce an enjoyable set of songs without everything sounding messy or forced speaks volumes about their talent.

Take a chance on this and listen to it now.

Saille – Eldritch (Review)

Saille are from Belgium and this is their third album. They play Symphonic Black Metal.

Eldritch boasts a strong, sharp, clear sound that the band put to good use showcasing their aggressive brand of Symphonic Black Metal.

A punchy drum sound underpins Blackened melodies and serrated vocals whilst haunting, malevolent keyboards play over the top.

I particularly like the vocalist’s screams as they seem quite passionate and unhinged. His is not a performance that’s merely by the numbers; it’s a forceful and powerful delivery. Understated cleans also make appearances adding another element to the band’s sound.

The band make good use of Dimmu Borgir-style keyboards and sound effects without them ever becoming overbearing or ostentatious. Saille are comparable to an older Dimmu Borgir in other ways too; this is Symphonic Black Metal with real bite and an underground feeling to it despite the shine and polish the album has.

The songs are fast, churning affairs that are enhanced by the Classical influences. They’re enjoyable and it’s nice to hear the atmosphere mixed with real aggression and hatred.

Eldritch is a quality listen; a heady combination of dark atmosphere and blasting fury.

A recommended listen.

Sidious – Revealed in Profane Splendour (Review)

Sidious are from the UK and play Symphonic Blackened Death Metal. This is their début album.

Sidious have a gargantuan sound that recalls Dimmu Borgir at their aggressive best filtered through the purifying lens of Death Metal’s barbaric heart. If you blend together Dimmu Borgir and Behemoth the resulting ooze will no doubt coalesce into something that wouldn’t be a million miles away from Sidious.

Thick riffs are thrown around with abandon and spiralling drums pound out ritual beats to a backdrop of epic symphonic terror and dark magisterial horror.

This is music for a grim apocalypse that isn’t slow, isn’t pretty and that no-one will survive.

The keyboards and effects are used effectively to highlight the aura of brutal terror that the band create. In a true merging of styles Sidious have the trappings of Symphonic Black Metal wrapped around the molten core of carnage-seeking Death Metal.

Revealed in Profane Splendour is a collection of powerful songs that draw on the rich heritage of both major contributing styles to produce an album that’s a real dark delight to listen to. It’s forthright and confident whilst having a depth about it that flows from well-structured songs and well-composed threatening atmospheres.

It rumbles, it bellows, it curses, it destroys.

Listen loud.

Promethean Horde – Ashes of the Empyrean (Review)

Promethean Horde are from the US and play Black Metal. This is their début album.

This is epic Black Metal that blasts out of the speakers with vitality and passion. Immediately a few things are clear – they have a good sound, the bass has a good presence and it’s fast and furious.

The band have a healthy melodic streak to their sound with a good amount of leads and solos rearing their heads amidst the Blackened landscape.

Mainly screamed vocals are used, although deeper growls and cleans also appear. All are performed well.

Ashes of the Empyrean boasts fast and aggressive Melodic Black Metal that’s dark and sharp. These are Blackened melodies in use here not the joyous, pseudo-Pop of their more commercial cousins. This is hateful, spiteful and lives to cut lives short.

Some of the compositions also feature a bit more of a Progressive influence to them, as if the band are just beginning to tentatively experiment with Post-Black Metal/Folk elements. It’s not a large part of their sound for sure, but it’s an additional touch that keeps things interesting.

All throughout the album the band treat us to thick guitars and scathing vocals that lay the foundation for this enjoyable release. Reminding of old Dimmu Borgir without the keyboard ostentation, this is a pleasing album that is easy to like. The Blackened riffs wash over you like a welcome flagellation and the subtle Death Metal touches give their attack an added edge.

Solid, quality Black Metal. Enjoy.

Onheil – Storm is Coming (Review)

Onheil are from the Netherlands and this is their second album.

Storm is Coming has a strong production with everything sounding crushing and the band easily wreak devastation like a natural disaster, which is partially what the concept of the album is based upon.

Onheil play Black Metal that’s fast and sharp but also surprisingly heavy as they have a bit of a Blackened Thrash/Heavy Metal influence to their sound.

The band I’m reminded of most is Hypocrisy as Onheil have a similar feel to both their style and sound – if you take Hypocrisy circa Into the Abyss and give it a bit more of a Black Metal sheen then you’ll have the right idea.

They’re certainly not Hypocrisy rip-off’s though, as I’m also reminded of bands like Amon Amarth and, (to a lesser extent), Dimmu Borgir, Kreator and Iron Maiden in places.

The vocalist is very accomplished and sounds great whether he’s screaming or growling. Powerful cleans are also used sparingly to add effect and provide good back up to the main shrieks.

The Blackened melodies are played fast and hard, with riffs and leads being in no short supply. Storm is Coming also features an enjoyably Heavy Metal aspect to their sound, mainly in the guitar department. Duelling guitars are prominent and many leads could be straight out of the Classic Heavy Metal rulebook.

This is a band who can play Melodic Black Metal without it sounding jolly or hopeful; this is dark music with an evil tinge to it that all centres around the band’s direct and cutting method of assault.

Overall this is an enjoyable and absorbing listen with good songs and melodies that capture the attention. Check them out and see what you think.

Sterbenzeit – L’Oltrenotte (Review)

Sterbenzeit are from Italy and play Black Metal. This is their second album.

This is raw Black Metal with slight ostentation mixing the style of early-era bands such as Dimmu Borgir, Darkthrone and Satyricon.

There are no keyboards so the ostentation comes in the form of some of the guitars – the band’s riffs are highly atmospheric; the impression of mystery and of a boundlessly vast and uncaring cosmos is a powerful one.

Blackened rhythms and icy melodies propel the songs and I really like the fact that the band have succeeded in creating atmosphere with dark riffs alone.

The drums are low-key but prominent enough to be a integral part of the songs. The bass is very subtle but is actually audible beneath the fuzzy guitars. It provides a bedrock of support for the tracks and shouldn’t be discounted.

The shrieking screams of the vocalist accompany the music and are befitting the style they play. It’s a standard Black Metal scream but it’s done well and there are no complaints from me about it; his voice scrapes and bleeds Blackened aggression and passion for the cause.

L’Oltrenotte is true to the early Black Metal style and the band have created a worthy piece of Black Metal art.

Bjarm – Imminence (Review)

Bjarm are from Russia and this is their début album of Symphonic Black Metal.

After a bold and bombastic opener the first song proper starts. Knowledge of Doom sets the tone for the rest of the album.

Inspiration comes from bands like Dimmu Borgir, Chthonic, Amiensus and Gloria Morti; essentially this is Black Metal with Symphonic effects, female vocals and a Death Metal influence that gives the band a harsher edge.

The production is heavy and well-recorded; everything stands out and sounds very impressive.

The vocals are deep and growled, for the most part, although spoken parts make numerous appearances. When the female vocals appear they are like the finest silk wrapped around a lovingly sharp blade. Higher, more-Black Metal vocals also have their part to play and these sound serrated like razor wire.

The music is well played and considerable thought has obviously gone into the songs. The level of orchestration and keyboards, etc. is remarkable and the songs are layered with emotion and grandeur. The Death Metal vocals add bite to the tracks and ensure that the band keep their harder edge in amongst the rich textures of the flowing musical theatre.

Overall this is a very professional début that benefits from a huge sound and an impressive theatrical/cinematic quality. For all the pomp and splendour however, they keep a sharper edge to their sound and this prevents the album from becoming stale, in my mind. Add to this some strong songwriting and you have a thoroughly enjoyable album.

Bjarm are ones to keep an eye on that’s for sure. With the right support they could go far.

Star Insight – Messera (Review)

This is the début album by Finnish Melodic/Symphonic Black Metal band Star Insight.

First off – I like the album cover. A good start.

This is futuristic Cyber-Metal with Symphonic Black Metal elements in the style of Neurotech, The Kovenant and certain Samael material, and anyone familiar with these bands will immediately have a good idea of what Star Insight sound like.

The band are actually a bit more varied than a lot of this kind of stuff and have a good ear for a song. A lot of these tracks are catchy and filled with hooks and unless you’re completely inured to this style it’s hard not to like them. They have a good Power/Euro Metal influence which gives them an edge over similar bands. Add to this a harsher, Dimmu Borgir-style influence and you have a recipe for quite the enjoyable album.

Vocals are predominately harsh, slightly-deeper-than-the-norm Black Metal vocals. One of the main ways Star Insight differentiate themselves from the aforementioned bands though is through the inclusion of clean and semi-clean vocals, and these are extremely good. The singer has a good range and runs the gamut between these styles. Female vocals also appear on Poem of Misery which sound great and add another aspect to the band’s sound, even if it is for only the one track.

The songs never have a chance to outstay their welcome as only two of them breach the 4 minute mark. Instead, we get focused and catchy songs aimed at maximum enjoyment in minimal time.

The symphonic elements and effects are never overbearing and add to the songs rather than smothering them.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable album that I like way more than I thought I would; the band are more adventurous and varied than I was expecting and this is to their credit.

Give Star Insight some of your time.

Panychida – Grief for an Idol (Review)

This is the third album by Panychida who come from the Czech Republic. They play Black Metal with a heavy Pagan influence.

Take a powerful Black Metal core, add some atmospherics and keyboards, infuse a bit of Primordial and old Dimmu Borgir into it and soak in a heady strain of Paganism and you have a good starting point for Panychida.

The songs are stirring and involving. They have aggression and exploration written into the guitars, as well as a good amount of epic Metal riffage.

Panychida offer a good variety of vocals, with almost every type making an appearance – screams, growls, whispers, cleans; they’re all here and all done well. Krastina (Grief for the Idol) is a great example of this as the vocals alternate between all of these and more in a short space of time.

Folk influences and instrumentation appear and these are done well without sounding out of place.

Panychida have produced a quality album. Give them a listen and see what you think.

Chthonic – Bú-Tik (Review)

Melodic Black/Death Metal from Taiwan; I haven’t heard Chthonic since their excellent Seediq Bale album so I was looking forward to seeing what Bú-Tik had to offer.

Chthonic embody orchestration and fury. Highly melodic and razor sharp, the songs are flourished like swords as only a master can.

Precise, tight riffing and swathes of keys and strings are combined with folk-Asian influences to produce songs that are reminiscent of the symphonic Dimmu Borgir’s and Cradle of Filth’s of the world but with the origins of the harmonies coming from a much different background. Chthonic very much have their own character.

The drums and multi-layered venomous vocals dominate this release, with the orchestration pitched at the right level. The guitars are sheets of serrated steel working underneath everything, and the bass is muted at best.

With good songwriting and an expert understanding of this genre Chthonic have once again produced a well-rounded and thoroughly enjoyable release. There’s an intensity to these tracks and the molten Metal barely lets up until the album fades. With a whole hat-full of ideas and quirks rolled into their sound repeated listens are recommended. The direct assault of the songs works immediately, but after that has gone you’re left with the insidious harmonies stalking you when you least expect it. Symphonic Black Metal earworms indeed.

An impressively realised album that has obviously had a lot of work put into the compositions and structure of the tracks. Check them out and see what you think; just beware the pointy bits – those swords are sharper than they look…