This is an amazing CD! The crowning achievement of Doom Metal in the 90’s (indeed this is certainly the best Doom CD of the past decade) and a work of art. This was another one of those rare CDs that I liked upon my first listening and still listen to many years since I first bought it, the sign of an excellent CD. The music here is very simple and slow, but no matter how simple or slow it is, it is still full of emotion and rarely, if ever, gets boring. This CD completely projects a depressive, sorrowful atmosphere. The singing fits the music perfectly and is also perfect itself, (for the type of music) dark, sinister, Black Metal growls for the most part with the occasional scream or ‘clean’ bit. There are obvious goth influences on the music, but instead of making the music sound gay, the goth influences only add to the sorrowful atmosphere of this masterpiece. Truly technical riffs are non existent on this album, and I congratulate Blakkheim on having the good taste not to include them… the music is better off without fast, technical riffs and Blakkheim is a complete genius, being able to take the simplest riffs and making them sound fucking supreme! The drums were (I think) done by a drum machine, and even there the simplicity of the beats is genius… Less is more! Overindulgences with the double-bass or the cymbals on this album would lead to disaster; it would detract from the atmosphere of the CD in an unprecedented manner. The lyrics, too, are impressive. They read like poetry. An example:

‘We saw it all pass by and you went by and I can’t control anything
When you said life can’t be what you want and I really want everything
When I pray, when I believe
I saw it end long before it ended, life itself turned pale and ended’….

The production is done extremely well by Dan Swano. Everything sounds crystal-clear and in good taste (I’m using that phrase too much…). A masterpiece. The pinnacle of Doom Metal, and one of the best CDs of 1996 (tie with Setherial’s ‘Nord’). A must have!

Pros: Amazing, emotional atmosphere, simple yet beautiful riffs, fitting drumming, great vocals, masterful production, emotional lyrics, nice packaging, and if you buy this CD from amazon.com you get the also good mCD ‘For Funerals to Come’ free!
Cons: none significant (even though I hate goth [arrgh! It disgusts me!!] even it’s slight influence was done nicely on this CD)
Style of Music: Black and Goth influenced Doom Metal with a simple-yet-eloquent style, a depressive atmosphere, and perfectly done singing.

Final Judgement: This music is not for the closed-minded and many speed-freaks will hate it (out of their blind ignorance and lack of refinement), but every (somewhat) cultured and open-minded metal listener must have this CD!

Overall – Impeccable 10/10

© 2000 sauron anarazel