Probably the most desolate and bleak Black Metal album recorded by the turn of the century. DSBM hadn’t fully come into its own as a genre yet, and so what we had here was a proto example of the genre. Atmospheric Black as well as straight Black Metal rule the barren fields that this album makes home while heavy doses of DSBM and Doom Metal bring the pain and suffering. A generous amount of Prog Metal and some sparce glimpses of Post-Metal and Drone bring together the full scene of dark devastation.

Just 5 tracks, each well over 10 minutes, is an almost unheard-of decision in Black Metal. But by God, what a treat they are. Repetition is heavy in this album, but so is the progression of sections, tempos, and atmospheres into different chapters of each song. I’m not usually a fan of repetition, but here it is done well, giving each song memorable motifs that keep the listener grounded amidst the chaotic assault of crushing density.

The persevering despair of the record keeps it in the darkest depths of the aural spectrum despite the almost grandiose, epic sound that the band achieves. While usually focusing on the standard fare of Metal instrumentation, there are near-symphonic parts and ambient soundscapes that elevate the music into much greater heights. The power and density of these extra elements both add weight to the compositions while also highlighting the lead melodies. They are also infrequent enough that when they do occur, they immediately grab your attention.

Across all 76 minutes of this album, there wasn’t a moment I didn’t revel in. Even the Drone outro to the final track was just so perfectly placed, I never had any desire to shut it off before it ended. Fully a masterpiece. ... See More

For guitar hero shred-style Neoclassical Metal, impressive musicianship is a given. For that reason, it doesn’t really matter how good the guitarist is if they are able to play this genre on a technical level, cause they’re all in the top 1%. What matters is songwriting ability, the rest of the band, vocals if any, etc. What sets it apart from other shredders? Why does it deserve my 5 cents?

In Warmen’s case… well, there isn’t anything, at least for this debut album. The album is stuffed with “good enough” Neoclassical Metal with nothing separating it from contemporaries in the genre. Yeah, the musicianship is good, but again, I need a bit more than that. It’s a mostly instrumental affair, with vocals appearing on only two tracks. The vocals are good, but nothing mind blowing in terms of ability, choruses, etc. And the instrumental tracks are, again, fine stuff, quite good, but not offering anything memorable. The only unique track would be Devil’s Mistress, which chooses the very odd avenue of having the guitars take a backseat. I mean, half the time they’re barely even noticeable, being lead by drums and synths really. It also has a great chorus, but the verses are breaks are boring.

Overall, the band doesn’t have much identity at this point. But that could change! ... See More

Here’s one compliment I will give… the droning low frequencies and fuzzy feedback here could actually be pretty good white noise. That is, if you want something to fall asleep to, or even just to fill empty space if you’re the type who hates silence, or maybe to distract an overthinking mind. Yeah, I can see a practical appeal to it.

But for someone like me who requires a focused listen to provide some form of value, this has got nothing for me. The drones do absolutely nothing interesting, they don’t evoke any sort of emotion or mood, and they don’t work on building any specific atmosphere, relying entirely on feedback texture. Songwriting is nonexistent, as there’s practically no progression or structure at all to these songs. And I’m still hesitant to call this “Metal”… it’s just Drone music made using electric guitars. I don’t think an electric guitar makes something Metal.

Has some practical use as noise, but as “music,” it fails to do anything for me. ... See More

Much like Rhapsody’s preceding album, Dawn of Victory is an over-the-top epic filled with dense compositions and fantastical tales. Again we are transported to the adventures of Algalord and The Emerald Sword Saga. The concept story itself isn’t anything too special and can be a bit hard to follow at times, but it’s still a fun little treat for those interested and helps the immersion of being transported to these magical lands.

One thing that has to be addressed immediately – this album is cheesier than a stuffed crust everything pizza, and it’s just about as jam-packed with ingredients. Now, I’m a fine enjoyer of cheese when it comes to certain genres (Power Metal can get away with more than most) but this album is definitely pushing my limits. I pretty much had to learn to love it, but certain tracks like The Village of Dwarves fall into silly and even cringe territory. Your mileage may very depending on how much you love or hate cheese.

That ASIDE though… it’s a near-perfect Symphonic Power Metal album. It’s got everything you could want in the genre; soaring vocals, complexly melodic Neoclassical guitar leads, pummeling drums full of energy… it hits all the right notes, and it hits them well. The symphonic elements are perfectly integrated, with many different instruments playing their own parts, sprinkling melodies and themes, or providing a foundation with sustained strings. The medieval nature of this album just gives it more character, and the Symphonic elements walk a fine line between Classical and Folk, acing that medieval-fantasy aesthetic with traditional instrumentation as well as more Cinematic Classical styles.

All in all, due to the nature of this album, it’s kind of a love or hate it type release, but the immense talent in the performers and dense complexity of the compositions ensures pure quality so long as you aren’t lactose intolerant. Despite being so anthemic, it is more of a grower due to the sheer amount of layers in instrumentation to each song, and is definitely more easily appreciated through focused listens with headphones. A magnificent release, though it definitely could have improved with a bit more seriousness and maybe some emotional value. I sometimes find myself feeling like it’s just “too damn happy” while listening, but more often than not, I’m successfully transferred to a magical land of war and fantasy. ... See More

Used is an enigmatic album opener that commences with what can only be described as almost spoken-word rapped Nu Metal. Right from there, I was a bit turned off. Not that I dislike Nu Metal, but it was the last thing I was expecting on a Pain of Salvation album, and it wasn’t particularly good Nu Metal either. The song changes style multiple times, and each time it shifts back to Nu Metal, I’m like “what the heck.” It just sounds… ugly.

I listened to the album passively a few times, and while the rest was quite good and lush Progressive Metal (with not even an iota of Nu Metal beyond the first track), it still wasn’t really grabbing me. It was settling as another one of those “good, but not great” sort of albums that so often pass us by.

Then I listened to it during my bike ride to work (frigid cold November), which is a great opportunity to really focus on the music. The first track comes on again, and I’m really hearing the lyrics this time… holy moly, is this about child sexual abuse? That’s… really dark. The second track comes on… again, I’m hearing it. This is when I register this album is not only far darker and more serious than I had thought, but it was also most likely a concept album. I continued following the lyrics, and it is hard to follow without knowing the layout beforehand, but yes, this was certainly a tale of abused children growing into damaged humans…

Everything came together for me on that bike ride. It’s hard to explain, but every single song became this incredibly moving piece, full of deftly written lyricism, passionate delivery, and of course, beautifully layered instrumentation. I think the reason it works just so is because the music is very intertwined with the story, the music changing at the drop of a hat to fit the exact mood driven by the narrative. On unfocused listens, perhaps the songs sound a bit fragmented, perhaps the vocals are a bit difficult to follow because of the occasional odd-timed delivery… or maybe it was just a total miss on my part. Anyway, a focused listen fixed that.

I still think the Nu Metal in the first song sounds ugly. It still sounds out of place. And now, I love it for that. To display the vile horror of child abuse through the angry and damaged child, the music should be ugly, it should be disturbing, it should be fragmented. And the fact this album has so much beauty in it – the persevering innocence and longing of the inner child – it makes the ugly parts stand out even more, balancing the whole package. It’s a masterpiece, an engaging and evocative story from start to finish, and a treasure trove of magnificent musicianship.

BONUS

I really haven’t been able to find a good narrative online for the concept story, so I’ve taken it upon myself to lay it out as best as I can for anyone wanting a clearer perception of the events. Based on a combination of what I have read in various places and my own interpretation of the lyrics (at the end of the day, this is not Word of God, but my opinion).

The story follows He and She, two children (and later adults) who were horrifically abused. The concept deals with their trauma bonding and disturbed development due to their past.

Used: Details how His experience of child sexual and physical abuse has lead to a life of youth violence and drug use to escape His pain.

In the Flesh: Details how Her experience of incestuous child sexual abuse lead to Her running from home, engaging in prostitution, and dissociating to escape Her pain.

Ashes: He and She trauma bond over their experiences and develop a bittersweet relationship in which they finally feel a kinship, but are held back by unresolved trauma and toxicity as they feed off one another’s pain.

Morning on Earth: His need for violence and misanthropy is not ignited around Her, and he feels himself seeing the world for the first time by experiencing her love. The song explores how deep down, they are still just wounded children, longing to love and be loved, but the horrors of the world keep them shut out.

Idioglossia: Him engaging in violence to escape his pain – though it’s unclear if this is current or a flashback. The song explores Him finally realizing that he was damaged and hurt as a child, and trying to figure out what is wrong with him.

Her Voices: He begins to see Her face in all of those He commits violence against, essentially gaining empathy through His love for Her. She develops mental illness due to Her unresolved trauma. This could be literal voices a la schizophrenia, or something closer to paranoid personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, or any mental illness warping her view of reality, and She begins to distrust Him. The cycle of abuse continues through Him as He ends up being abusive (whether physically or verbally/mentally, is unclear) and becoming a contributing factor to “Her Voices.”

Dedication: He experiences the death of his grandfather, the first real loss in His life. The grandfather is never mentioned before or after this song, but it’s apparent here that he was an admirable and safe figure in His life growing up – perhaps the only positive one in His whole life.

King of Loss: Probably the most difficult to decipher song. Could very easily be interpreted as the alienation and victimization of He and She at the hands of those in charge of the world. However, I prefer to take this as Him actually finding a successful career as some soulless politician or other figure of power – making money, acquiring possessions, yet nothing being enough, nothing filling the hole of loss and pain within him.

Reconciliation: He finally “wakes up” and realizes what He’s become. An abuser and user of others, just like those who hurt Him. In this moment of clarity, He tells Her to run from Him and find help.

Song for the Innocent: The inner longing of an innocent child for peace and happiness traded for an adult life of violence, abuse, drugs, corruption…

Falling: The moment of “peace” before He commits suicide. It’s an often-documented phenomenon that when a person is near suicide, they will appear carefree and lighter than normal, likely because they know all burdens will no longer matter soon; this is likely why the song is a short and soft, calming instrumental.

The Perfect Element: Him commits suicide in order to free Her from Him. As he bleeds out on the floor, His life essentially flashes before His eyes. We are given references to previously seen moments, as well as memories never explored here (“Once he would run through the summer days, catching memories for ages to come” – perhaps there were yet times when he was truly just a happy, innocent child?). ... See More