Vincent Valentine

Mh mh I roll up my sleeves and I'll respond to you. I'm not really a fan of growl, but to be honest, I don't like death at all, except for melodic death or rare cases of bands with a lot of influences (Die Apokalyptischen Reiter above all). I really like scream; technically and in terms of the emotions it evokes, it tells me much more than growl does, and indeed, scream is much more how should I put it... evocative? Exciting? Both. Viking? It's a relative of black, actually it's a godchild of a certain age. Take black, load it up with epicness, add choirs, lyrics about Norse or pagan mythology, slow down the tempo, give it a less gloomy atmosphere and perhaps a more evocative one, and if you want, throw in a sprinkle of folk every now and then. Or a hefty dose, which I personally prefer. In short, this is a bit of what viking is. Some names: Falkenbach, Bathory, Manegarm, Windir (and these guys are tough, huh? They are the dark soul of viking), Folkearth.

Ole, I don't think there exists death without growl, just like there's no black without scream, apart from some rare cases. The only instances I know of "death" (but I mean death in quotes) with clean voice are the latest works of In Flames. However, it's already hard to categorize them as Melodic Death; they have lost their edge and churn out albums that sometimes brush against rock, occasionally with some good results (the times of "Moonshield" are far behind anyway). Another extreme genre where clean vocals are more common is viking, for example the latest by Manegarm and Folkearth. I also quote death; there are Arcturus, but know that they make truly unique music.

Thanks for the mention death, I'm already on the lookout for Norwegian friends. Excellent review that I found quite interesting; rarely have I heard of black bands (let alone symphonic) that talk about Homer. One question: I notice that you don't have a good opinion of Dimmu Borgir at all. Lately (the latest works) they kind of suck for me too, but are even their early albums not to your liking? I'm mainly talking about "Stormblast," which I have to be honest, is in my opinion the most beautiful symphonic black album I have listened to so far, and at least in my view, it's not commercial (always remembering that in this field it has a relative meaning). In short, the question was: does good death not even save the early works of Shagrath and co.? Regards and see you next time.

Mh, so someone thinks that black metal should remain apolitical, I agree with this opinion. You did well to point out that most of the Russian black scene belongs to the so-called NS black metal genre (which I find, apart from the lyrics, indistinguishable from the traditional), and not just that. Between Poland, Russia, and Ukraine, the list of bands that make references to Nazi or racist ideas in their lyrics is indeed long. Just think of Nokturnal Mortum, an excellent symphonic black metal band that is listed among the aforementioned on Metal Archives. In fact, most of these bands adhere to a kind of movement that seeks a return to paganism and some ideas related to National Socialism (see the website www.paganfront.com, or something like that). Dark, what do you think about Temnozor and especially their (if I'm not mistaken) "Folkstorm of the azure night"?

Let it be clear that I consider the comparison between Cradle and Dimmu Borgir a blasphemy, more or less like comparing shit to chocolate.

Sigh... What a disappointment, this album. I'll be frank, after listening to it occasionally for quite some time, and honestly, I can’t take much more of it without crying, I can confidently say that in my opinion, they have completely lost it. I don’t own their discography, but unfortunately, I have to agree with those who claim that with "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant" they were done, and this is coming from someone who believes that "Stormblast" (the original) is the best symphonic black metal album ever listened to and that I’ll probably ever listen to. They are even starting to remind me of Cradle of Filth with their new costumes (see the video for "The Serpentine Offering"). On October 14th, I’m going to see them at Alcatraz, I hope they play a lot of the old stuff and very little of the new. And I have my doubts.

Who knows why you haven't forgotten the red little cutie. Old sea wolf! The Feeders are nice anyway, I have "Pushing the Senses" and even though it's not my genre, I don't mind it. Cheers!

Even... okay, thanks for the information.

Mh mh... So... on metal archives they are classified as dark neoclassical metal. But basically, can you explain their genre in very simple terms? Is it technical or does it focus on atmosphere? Good review.

But let me understand: are they spaced out or are they so ahead that they seem spaced out? Crazy and masterful review.