Sonic Reign
Raw Dark Pure

For those who believe that black is solely Scandinavian, well, they might be mistaken. Indeed, it seems that the chillingly sinister black scene has also expanded to the rest of the old continent. A clear example of this is the debut group that goes by the name of Sonic Reign.

I wouldn't call it a group, considering the black tradition, it's a well-functioning pair. Ben and Sebastian are two German musicians, dedicated precisely to the roughest and iciest music genre. From the little information I managed to find, it appears that due to various issues with different record labels, they decided to create their own label under which to release their debut. A debut that, judging by the title, seems to be a warning or perhaps an excess of modesty: "Raw dark Pure", translated, corresponds to the adjectives raw, dark, pure, and thus, perhaps an attempt to emulate the deeds of the True (real and pure) Norwegian Black Metal scene.

This release, although good, doesn't stray from the black stereotypes, which truth be told, is a genre that's now stale to the extreme. However, if one gives it a listen, it does provide some pleasant satisfaction. Let's be clear, black has undergone some evolution, just think of some works by Arcturus and Satyricon, but in this album, you'll find the lessons of the Scandinavian masters applied in a nearly textbook-perfect manner. The music naturally starts pounding, with a truly good performance on the drums, courtesy of Sebastian. Thus, tracks like "Deceit Doctrine" and "Fucked up but glorious" represent an excellent manifesto for the group: intense, fast, and suitably glacial tracks, with effects recalling the more famous Norwegian works. Surely, what immediately stands out is the clarity of the sounds and a quite appreciable technical skill, as well as the presence of some arrangement lines that seem very original and new. Ben's good scream performance is also alternated with sampled vocal parts.

"Reminiscence of Imperial Wrath" is a good track, with icy traits and spaces dedicated to colder melody. "The Martyr Urge" continues in the same vein as the previous tracks, while "Salt" has a progression that in the slower parts somewhat reminds me of Immortal's "At the heart of winter", while featuring a very heavy-oriented chorus to return to typically black rhythms. "Tyrant Blessed" is quite powerful, I'd say very Black, so a song perfectly made by following the genre's rules. "To rebel and to fril" and the title track "raw dark Pure" close the album, adding little to the final result. The artwork certainly deserves praise, not at all trivial, but oozing darkness from every pixel. For the rest: perfect black, flawless, but that's exactly the weak point: played and composed without personality, but emulating or heavily drawing from what has already been composed.

The regret is that all the premises are there to bring fresh air into black. A sufficient debut.