I don't deem this Cradle of Filth's worst album, actually at points it's quite luminous and shining in metal glory, but 1 thing they could've omitted from this hour and 15 minute+ output could be the lead guitars.  At some points these guitars were quite melodic and evanescent, though never boring.  Tempos here varied and for the most part they were quite mild.  This album is in no way really heavy and very dark.  Dani was not at his highest shrieking point, I actually think he's pretty mild in his screaming.  Most of it isn't stale, yet it was not overtly pounding.  Cradle toned down a bit on this one.  They I think were going for melodic vibes and not darkness.

What's different about this album not described yet would be it's probably most mellow Cradle release in existence.  Yes, they were on Roadrunner here, which doesn't to me make a difference when it comes to songwriting.  This was highly experimental and effective.  I think that they probably made use totally of guest vocalists enough, with a female voice expounding Lovecraftian lyrics.  There are very many changes here and overall this was a combination of great musicianship and songwriting.  It's enjoyable from the opening song "Nemesis" till the end fade out to eternity.  I grew to like this one, didn't think much of it as many people didn't hold value of this release.

I think that their music is the strong point, not the intensity, even though at times they do show some brutality.  Sounds like they're in D tuning, the guitars that is, maybe even a little bit lower.  In any event, you'll hear bar chord mania along with some tremolo picking riffs, but almost no blast beating whatsoever.  This one is ambient, though the production quality was a little flat.  That's why I took off from some of the overall effectiveness of the album.  But yeah, it's one to get to grow on you, don't expect anything overly brutal or explosive.  Dani's vocals are moderate as mentioned, he's really toned down on here.  Whispers, semi-shrieks, a little deep and that's the gist of it.

This release is really long, but it has a lot of variety.  Yes, there are synthesizers as pretty much all Cradle of Filth albums have, but at least on this one they don't drown out the music.  There's a massive lineup here plus like I said guest vocalists and pianists.  Just for short periods though, most of the album features Dani plus the guitars that can be quite melodic in whole, captivating, yet pretty simplistic.  They stuck to the basics and as a friend pointed out, became very creative.  I don't think this as "garbage" or a total wasted album, I think that it just takes some listens to before your make that final overall judgment of the release.  It's definitely worth ordering!

Rate: 75%.
Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

Best output ever by this band--intense, melodic as all hell, creative, imaginative, all encompassing sheer display of utmost talent that this band once had.  40+ minutes of pure melodic death metal.  This is NOT power metal by any sense, it is precision melodic death hands down.  Superb production quality, guitar display of triumph, screaming vocals, utmost original songwriting quality here.  This beats any In Flames even 'Whoracle', 'Colony', etc.  Amazing that I found this release after hearing more of their somewhat newer stuff, not the new style i.e. melodic death n' roll, but when they still were considered to be a strict melodic death act with original band members.

It doesn't matter what track you pick, it's all filled with creativity, a load of emotion, spellbound triumph of orchestrated music.  This captivates it all hands down!  I've never heard this band play a better album.  What is it that I'm talking about really though?  I'm talking about no-holds-barred riffs of utmost insanely wicked guitars, supporting vocals that augment the melodic death display of sheer originality and diligence.  Intense, original, esoteric, pure Gothenburg style of melodic death that hits the reich to that of say At The Gates - Slaughter of the Soul.  This one ranks way high up there on the genius like potential of an album.  What a creation and triumph of pure melodic death never replicated.

The band explored many avenues of lead guitar triumph as well, sheer shred and arpeggios with nice reverb to authenticate the essence.  They're tuned to C I think on the guitar, not as deep as say ATG - SOTS, but still has its' heavy moments, just not as brutal.  Gothenburg exploded around this time.  In Flames helped this genre in so many ways here, especially with succeeding albums, just not as noteworthy.  I think that the creativity and mindfulness shined bright here.  As I say, no tune on here is NOT worthy of praise, they all are.  Amazing that they really worked towards their super creative edge and dominated.  There isn't a time where you can here this too many times around.

Strange that their successor 'Whoracle' didn't have a better production than this one.  Who's to blame for that?  I would say that the mixing here is powerful, the bass guitar you can hear, the drums in tune with the guitar.  They really shined here, amazing that they couldn't duplicate this, but with each succeeding album they would digress.  I wish that they did not change their style of music.  Their lyrical concepts I could never really relate to, but just knowing that they were creative in that respect here too is the reason for the perfect rating.  Nothing here is without precision, poise, and flowing like water flows.  Simply phenomenal.

This to me I think and feel is In Flames' best work ever.  To not see that, then you have rave incompetence in melodic death metal.  Pick any track or instrumental and tell me that it's power metal?!  What the hell, this is Gothenburg melodic death to the core it's played.  Production absolutely magnificent, outputs sheer originality, vocals with screaming intensity and no backing down on the creative aspect of the human mind.  An absolutely phenomenal performance hands down by all members.  The songwriting is just amazing, the vocals intense, the drums right on key with the guitars, and the quality of this output is with utmost domination in a musical sense it brings to the listen.  Own it!
Rate: 100%.
Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

Definitely better than Khaos Legions without a doubt. Arch Enemy steps up with fury on here. Alissa sounds like a replica of Angela though with moderate variety. The music and intensity is strong and the compositions are reflecting of older AE, sticking to the core of melodic death metal. Nick, their new guitarist replacing the amazing Christopher Amott, did a superb job here. I still favor Christopher, but his endevours are different now that he's no longer with the band.

If this is to be the last AE, it would be a tragedy. I'm hoping with this newer lineup they still have some more albums to belt out. The music on here is a blend of the first 4 albums and the bonus track "Shadow On the Wall" is a good cover. The guitars are heavy and the lyrics are brutal reflecting the songwriting from Michael and Nick. I'd say most of the guitars are in C, making them thick and chunky. There is a mixture too with keys as intros among outros with melodic guitars.

Here it seems like the ideas of the past have reiterated themselves, especially reminiscent of Burning Bridges especially on the outro song entitled "Not Long For This World." Very much like Burning Bridges outro track. The album intro is a lot like what you'd hear from something Cradle of Filth would do. Not saying that they're copying them, just with the keys/synthesizers are much like that of COF. Track 2 belts out some ferocious guitar and vocals not to mention tremendous blast beating that's only on this track. 

The leads by Nick are quite technical and well composed and Michael's are like that of his traditional approach to his "feel" like talents. He is less technical than Nick in the lead department. It's good that the band decided to put out a couple of music videos before the album was released in the states. It gave a good feel for what was ahead to hear on here with no surprises. Their path once again isn't reinventing the genre, just doing a praise for it, never abandoning their roots. Alissa's energy is reflectant of Angela's. Deep throat to about the same degree.

I especially like the title track (which is a given) and "You Will Know My Name", of which they also did a video for. These were 2 tracks that glorified the album. The heavy guitars accompanying the intensity of the vocals were quite in unison. All of the tracks to me are good, bar chords, tremolo picking galore, hardcore shredding and music that is with a huge amount of feel thanks to all of the band member's efforts. I think that seeing those videos beforehand gave me hope that this would surpass their previous by a ton!


If your thing is melody mixed with heaviness and production quality that is superb without sacrificing talent in the overuse of technology, War Eternal is some great melodic death metal. The heavy guitar alongside the melodies really shine here, going back to the older days. I still feel no one can replace Christopher Amott, but Nick is quite good, implementing some impressive solos and songwriting ideas. Michael sure picked someone also to emulate Angela. Alissa's intensity is sure there like Angela's was. The band doesn't go mainstream here, they remain true!

Rate: 85%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]

A strong production quality as not surprising, diving into the musical components one would think that Hypocrisy has done just what they have, which is to be among the realm of melodic death metal output heirs.  This album is solid, the music ever-flowing gist of pure crunch distortion alongside some heavy drums and screaming from Peter.  From the first song to the last, it's never really letting up in the intensity factor.  Pure aggression and great melodies not to mention that the tempos are mostly rhythm guitar oriented creativity galore!

Nothing here really to dislike by me, I think it's one of Hypocrisy's finest outputs since they changed from death metal to a more melodic sound.  I don't really identify with the lyrics, but the music is played out so well and the vocals never get boring.  What we have here is melodic death domination!  The naysayers may tell you differently, but from my aspect, I never got sick of playing this one.  In actuality, it's very complex in songwriting skills, more so than their newer album that was released last year called 'End of Disclosure.'

There are so many tempo changes here, but it's mostly in the vein of fast guitar riffing bolting out some venom in their creation and quite admirable to say the least.  I particularly love the gallops and ultra fast picking Peter explodes on here.  I only have very good things to say about this one.  The music is filled with overtures that devastate the listener and destroy your speakers.  There's a combination of screaming out hatred alongside low bellowing pieces that give you more variety.  It's amazing regarding the guitar/drum work here.

If you're a big fan of melodic death metal, don't pass this one up.  YouTube some songs to see where you can hear that crisp production sound and guitar, intensity in the musical quality, and screaming alongside it.  An excellent effort from the band as a whole, not much let up in madness, Peter has shown listeners something that is really amusing not to mention original.  His songwriting quality is superb here even though I'm not much into what he writes about.  Pick this one up if you're into their "newer" sound and I doubt there will be any dislike!

Rate: 90%

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

From the reichs of hell come forth now on this older and exceptionally raw release.  Quite melodic, yet filled with dismay and despair.  Much is to say of an album like this, I'd conclude an epic journal through the fires of hell.  It's amazing in temperament, lucid in musicianship, symphonic throughout and purely wicked in content.  Many different tempo changes, yet mostly that of a mysterious vibe.  It reaches its' peak in quite valid symphonic/melodic black metal.  Not many that I've heard out there reflecting this raw efficiency of a nocturne.

I really dug deep into trying to validate an album that really is probably the best, most atmospheric Dimmu album in existence.  Such a great offering with lucid tempos, original guitar melodies and overall a definite triumph hence a coin off the name of the release.  Not much a fan of the lyrical content, but the music is like none heard before from them in this raw arena of mass destruction.  The vocals are utmost yielding screams throughout and with it a guitar sound in so many ways just utterly original and fantastic.

From beginning to end, this album is feature is of a sure blast of hellfire in a nutshell.  If you get the extended release, there is a bonus track and the whole album is about an hour in length.  Definitely something to listen to when you can adhere to the atmosphere of the release.  The keyboards/synthesizers augment the scound of the guitar and eerie vocals yielding melodic black metal in it's utterly devastating demise.  There has been no other Dimmu to match this one in utmost originality.  The guitar riffs are just amazing and everything fits.

No real downsides on the album.  The songs aren't exceptionally fast, yet you hear the double bass drums firing away at times during the tremelo picking essence of guitar riffing.  Not a lot of blast beating here, I believe that the focus was on creating black metal that is to hear the best in the heart of wintertime.  Not feeble or weak in any sense, the music is ongoing in its' great apocalypic persevearance.  I can't believe what happened to this band with further releases.  It seems like they hit their peak here and then opted out of making follow-ups that are nowhere near topping this one.

I'd stress to YouTube "Mourning Palace" to get a taste of what this one has to possess.  A full album that you can play endlessly and not get sick of it's raw sound mixed with the instruments that leave the listener in awe of musical quality played out with purity in feel.  The setting is so dark and defies all of the odds, to me, this is their definite best release I've heard.  No mistaking that, I give this one it's highest, most deserving of praise rating galore.  If you want melodic/symphonic black metal played so willingly desolate and dark, 'Enthrone Darkness Triumphant' is where it's at.

Rate: 100%

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

Formed in Sweden in 1992, Naglfar has five full-length releases total since then. 'Pariah' is their fourth full-length. They've gone through quite a few lineup changes since their first coming together as an official band. Four members are featured on this one. Their latest release entitled 'Harvest' is the only other album that I own out of their entire discography.

Naglfar's genre falls under the category of melodic black metal. Andreas Nilsson is on lead/rhythm guitars, Marcus Norman also is on lead/rhythm guitars, Kristoffer "Wrath" Olivius plays bass/vocals and Mattias Grahn is on drums. On this release, Wrath plays bass and sings. Morgon Lie replaces Wrath on bass for their 'Harvest' album.

In terms of the sound, I'd say that the quality is only mediocre. It's difficult to hear all of the instruments in unison with one another. The rhythm guitars however are decent from what I am able to hear of them. The tempos are quite fast for the most part but there are sections where they are slower paced. All in all, the time signatures guitar wise are quite fast tremolo picking and drum beats are blasts gallore.

Guitar wise, the melodies are quite good. They have a unique sound to them from what I can amass. If they had a better production, I would probably give this album a higher rating. Wrath's vocal outputs are pretty much the same for the whole album. His voice features higher-end screaming with not much variety.

Wrath mostly sings about evil and darkness. It fits well with the music. On their limited edition digipack, there is a cover song entitled "The Calling Blaze" which is originally sung by Throne Of Ahaz. In addition, their Japanese release features a song entitled "Skulls" (overall source: http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=77021).

Again, if Naglfar's sound quality was better on this album, I would give it a higher rating. I'm not saying that it's a complete waste to purchase. But as I stated before, it's difficult to hear the guitar riffs as well as the music altogether. Their latest release I think is a much better output. 'Pariah' does still have some key melodies however. The band lineup shows talent and Wrath's vocals are good.

Some tracks to hear which are my favorites include "A Swarm Of Plagues", "Revelations Carved In Flesh", "None Shall Be Spared" and "The Perpetual Horrors." The total length for the release clocks in at almost 40 minutes. You can view their web site at http://www.naglfar.net/.

Rate: 75%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

Formed in 1998, this Swedish act has managed to produce 5 full-length CD's. 'Demonic Art' is their latest onslaught. The only other album I've heard from them is 'Rusted Angel' (1998). I'd have to conclude that 'Rusted Angel' is a better release. However, I do like this new album a lot. The meaning of "Darkane" is a comes from two words: "dark" and "arcane."

The bonus CD features 3 new tracks so the whole CD clocks in to be almost fifty-one minutes. It also has a DVD to it. Their current line-up is Jens Broman on vocals, Christofer Malmstrom on guitars, Klas Ideberg also on guitars, Jorgen Lofberg on bass and Peter Wildoer on drums. Darkane has gone through some line-up changes since they originally formed.

This act used to play primarily melodic death metal. Their current genres are melodic death metal mixed with thrash metal. These styles seem to fit the album well. On their official website, the band shows their influences. If you go to their page, you'll see who their musical preferences are.

For the intro, there is a melodic piece that segues into track two. The guitars altogether feature heavy galloping riffs which demonstrates the thrash influence. The chorus sections are more on the melodic side. The music is pretty catchy. Best to play the album on a high blasting stereo so that you don't miss out on any of the riffs. The vocals feature high end screams along with clean parts, particularly during the choruses. The time signatures are all over the place. There's even some blast beats. The guitar leads are well thought out. Some are slow and melodic while others completely shred.

In addition, the music features several riffs per song which demonstrate their newer style. Most songs are definitely a combination of melodic death and thrash as I previously stated. It's a definite unique blend of genres. The guitars are what stands out the most for me. Most of the songs are heavily distorted but there are clean tone bits as well.

In terms of the sound quality, 'Demonic Art' is well mixed. You can hear all of the instruments in unison. The playing overall shows how talented this band is. The reason why I say this is because Darkane is not only able to mix two genres together, they are also capable of coming up with completely new riffs that totally dominate.

The lyrical themes are about psychology, inner struggles, and life. I think that they are well thought out and not completely nonsensical. It shows how diverse this band is. There are no covers on the new release.

I think that all of the tracks here I pretty much like. This release is quite awesome. Not only is the mixing good, but the songs are very catchy. Check out the songs "Leaving Existence", "Execution 44" and "Demigod" to come up with your own opinion!

Rate: 80%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

This Finnish based band was formed in 1997. Their name came from a murder which occurred in 1960 at Lake Bodom. 3 out of 4 teens were stabbed to death but the murder mystery is still unresolved. On 'Something Wild', the band started off playing melodic death metal. However, 'Hatebreeder' was the first album that I've ever heard by them. It was wholly unique in my estimation and I've been a fan ever since. Their newer style of metal seems like a combination of melodic death and thrash metal combined. At least that's my opinion in regards to 'Blooddrunk' wholeheartedly.

There seems to be a lot of mixed opinions in regards to this new release. I disliked it at the start and now I'm pretty glued to it. It isn't a poor effort by the band to be honest. The music has unique melodic/thrash style riffs and the keyboards augment the guitars keeping that style that they are so well noted for having. 'Blooddrunk' to me is better than their previous release 'Are You Dead Yet?' because the riffs are catchier making COB sound more like their older material. That really seems like the jist of it.

I wouldn't consider the music to be in the genre of power metal at all. Again melodic death/thrash metal is more accurate. The crunch tone guitars and Alexi's screaming vocals leaves me to conclude that they're trying to sound a little different with their riffs/genres. The keys augment the guitar's "heavier" tone. I think all of the tracks are noteworthy. There really aren't any that I dislike. 'Blooddrunk' seems to capture me as being more of a mature release by the band. It doesn't fail in rating as an album in COB's discography.

Crunchier tone guitar is what they use here as opposed past releases. The production is solid with each instrument mixed quite well. The vocals are blended in good in addition to the music. However, the lead guitars aren't quite as "chilling" to hear. It seems like they've kind of digressed in that department. I consider the leads on 'Hate Crew Deathroll' to be catchier. Nevertheless, the sound still features the COB that I've always considered to be. This release is very noteworthy.

It's rumored that Alexi was fed up with people criticizing his lyrics so they aren't featured on the insert booklet. His vocals on this album are pretty much the same as on past releases. The back-up vocals by the band are also featured to give it more of a wholehearted effort augmenting Alexi's outputs. In terms of covers, there aren't any featured here on the US version of the album.

Despite all of the negative criticism 'Blooddrunk' received, I don't really think it's warranted. The reason is because I don't consider the band to have lost their edge that they held musically in past releases. I definitely consider 'Blooddrunk' to be a solid COB release. Just because they're trying to wedge in a "thrashier" sound to the music doesn't mean that they've just went to hell. As far as if they deserve to be written off as now piss poor musicians, I don't feel that way at all towards this release.

Rate: 75%

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected])

This melodic death acts' debut here features a lot of innovation and creativity in songwriting. Their lineup on the release feature Hiram Lohr on guitars/vocals, Kellen Sharp on guitars/bass/vocals, and Fredrik Widigs on drums. An unknown band right now that needs to be well known especially within their genre. All of the songs are good and the whole CD clocks in about 40 minutes in length featuring 10 awesome songs. Amazing band and I'll tell you why. But first of all, I was stupefied by this brilliant debut. They caught me off guard into how wonderfully creative this album is.

From a musical standpoint, this album sounds a lot like Hypocrisy's latest release, but maybe even better. The songs entail unimaginable melodies that shine in triumph. A lot of palm muted riffs with gallops galore and high quality tremolo picking by Hiram and Kellen. The solos could use some brushing up, but the rhythms were unimaginably impeccable. Every song deserves praise. The vocals vary between heavy throat outputs that make it sound more like a death metal release, but also feature screams as well. Both fit the music intelligently and augment the guitar riffs in unison.

I liked all of the songs on here because of their impeccable design and music that's played out with vigor galore. No letting up here. They really nailed it even on this debut. It seems like this band was around for a while, but their origin was dating back to 2008. The guitars to me are what stand out the most. Not the leads, but the melodies. The leads were poorly performed unfortunately and I would've given the band an even higher rating if they stuck with only the rhythms.

The production/mixing was brilliant. Everything was well heard on here. The vocals both screaming/hoarse fit in well, the guitar was highly audible, and the drums well meshed in together also. They really did a high quality job on here with the music. Nothing is left out or needs to be fixed. I figure that this band as described has enormous potential and it shines through this album. Really mature musicians even though they're quite new to the melodic death metal genre. Definitely worth checking out for sure.

In summation, I conclude that Thousand Year War has like I said before has enormous potential and it is shown here on this release. I'm hoping that the band would continue to dish out quality music and needs to come out from the underground and be better recognized. If you heard this album and scored it below anything like a 65% out of 100%, then melodic death isn't your forte. This debut shines strong and is amazing as previously mentioned. If you're a melodic death freak like me, then "Tyrants and Men" is a definite worth purchasing. You'll be amazed by the riffs, especially if you're a guitarist like I am.

Upon returning to the metal community after getting out of prison in 2004, Jon Nodveidt (RIP 2006) put together a fresh lineup featuring him on guitars/vocals, Sethlan Teitan on guitars/backing vocals and Tomas Asklung on drums. Definitely some solid melodic death metal featured here. There are some good songs on this release, but nothing compared to "The Somberlain" or "Storm of the Light's Bane". Jon sings about his belief in the occult. At a young age of 31, he shot and killed himself because he felt like he did enough in this world, which is a tragedy.

The music features guitars that are mostly medium paced with thick chords and melodies. The solos could've been a little bit better played out, they're just average. But the rhythm guitar goes well with the music. Palm muted frenzies, Jon's unique voice and an average production makes "Reinkaos" a little bit better than mediocre album. Some songs have great chorus's such as "Starless Aeon", but as a whole, the album falls a little bit short of worthiness. I'd say take out the solos and the rhythm guitars would've dominated.

Dissection didn't copy anyone on this album. Musically it's noteworthy, just not as good as past releases. There are some songs that feature an acoustic guitar which I found to definitely augment the album. Straight forth melodic death metal here, nothing else. Some songs just are totally awesome with the guitar riffs shining in sheer good spirits. As a whole, the album falls a little bit short of being a remarkable album like those in the past. But it isn't a total waste of a release, just not the best. There are a lot of songs that have a rhythm guitar with some melodies in the background.

I don't get into the lyrics because they're eerie and demonic. These writings reflected his belief in the occult. Very strange stuff. I'm assuming that he put them together while he was in prison. They're dark definitely and the music augments the demonic words Jon spewed forth. Some instrumental work which was featured on the title track. The musicianship was not at its peak though and I think that some songs should've just been omitted. Some tracks were boring and uninteresting, but as a whole "Reinkaos" is just okay, nothing special.

The mixing I have a beef with. The bass guitar was barely heard, the leads weren't very loud, and the same applies to the melodic guitar played in the background over the rhythm guitar bits. Other than that, the rhythms were very well heard and the same applies to the vocals and drums. I think that overall, the production was solid despite these flaws. I enjoyed the album as a whole even though a few songs were monotonous especially the instrumental. The acoustic guitar was very well heard and was highly original to listen to.

As a whole, "Reinkaos" is decent enough to purchase if you're a melodic death maniac like myself. Again, if there were no lead guitars, the album would've been much better. The solos just didn't hack it. The rhythm guitar was solid in there, but some tracks weren't very well constructed. Jon's voice was unique and appropriate for the music. On the last track there features a guest female vocalist. It was difficult to hear her though, another beef with the mixing. I would say that "Reinkaos" is worth picking up, but it's definitely not as good as the old Dissection releases.