On disc: Darkness Ablaze

 
 Darkness Ablaze
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 


 
 Shadowreign
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 


 
 Shadowreign
 
- Mike Thompson -
 
 

Shadowreign

(Black Bards - 2010)



 
 

 

For a German band Darkness Ablaze have a very Scandinavian feel to them. In certain parts of this album that influence shines through as many passages remind me of Scandinavian melodic death metal such as Dark Tranquility and Arch Enemy. Other songs, such as Reduced To A Beast, have strong connotations of the folk metal scene with the aforementioned track sounding very similar to bands such as Ensiferum and KromleK. The instrumental Interlude is yet another extremely enjoyable folk metal style piece incorporating some great keyboard melodies and a fantastic violin that came completely out of the blue! One thing this album is not is melodic black metal. That tag belongs to bands such as Dissection and Watain. What we have here is a very competent melodic death metal album with enough variation to keep things interesting even for those such as myself who have become largely apathetic to this over-saturated genre in recent years.

This is the bands second album and showcases a remarkable band who are focussed and have clearly found their own sound. The melodic death metal foundations support a number of other influences, from folk metal to black metal to doom metal. Walls even includes a female singer, adding yet another dimension to this bands sound. The guitars are great, capable of producing face melting solos, crushing riffs and adding to the overall atmosphere of the album. This is supported by some beautiful keyboard work. Drumming is also top class with, as you would expect, a good helping of double bass destruction! Theodoros 'Theo' Georgitsaros is the vocalist for Darkness Ablaze and he has a good, well-rounded, deep growl which is his main style but is not afraid to be diverse as he ascends into Petri Lindroos style rasps and very flat clean vocals. He is quite similar to Jari Mäenpää in his diversity but his voice is deeper than the Wintersun frontman.

This album didn't grab me at first, but it just gets better and better as it goes on. This is a band well deserving of success and if they can continue to put out albums as good as, or better than, this one then I have no doubt they will be at the forefront of the melodic death metal genre very soon.
 
 










Mike Thompson


  
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Shadowreign

(Black Bards - 2010)



 
 

 

The German band Darkness Ablaze presents their second full-length album. Shadowreign is combining melodic death metal with symphonic elements. It almost seems like this is another band - compared to their debut. So they show more variety, have some Scandinavian sounding elements and manage better to melt death and black metal elements into one. The opener Enclosure No 7. shows that quite well. At Zero the contrast between heavy riff-based death metal and symphonic black metal is even bigger. It's almost like a battle of two different bands. Especially keyboarder Jens Podzierski is doing a great job. Very cool tune!  Songs like Trail Of Lies and Reduced To A Beast show a different facets and due to the variety of sounds they an easily keep the listeners interest. At opening of The Might Of Repression you'll find some reminiscences to traditional heavy metal, but soon they head into more symphonic sounds - and they even push further. An epic musical journey. Slowly they kick off Walls, then speed up. The guitars of Christof Lorenz and Alexander Huber are giving the song a melodic edge while Theo Georgitsaros adds some deep, mean growls and harsh shouts. Later they slow down and add female vocals - and so create a different atmosphere. Hope they use more female vocals in future... Especially as it's not the typical 'beauty and beast' concept. But one song stands out, the closer Two Souls Marked By Sorrow! The song shows the whole spectrum of Darkness Ablaze - and more.

I'm glad the band took time to work on their sophomore release, coz it's more mature - so to speak. Great cover artwork, too. The package is much better this time and with this album they will be able to make new fans. Fans of black-ish melodic death metal should check them out!
 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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Darkness Ablaze

(Black Bards - 2008)



 
 

 

Darkness Ablaze were founded back in 2002 as Myrkwid, after they completed the line-up they renamed into Darkness Ablaze. After a few demos they recorded the self-titled debut which first was released by the band, later they signed to Black Bards Entertainment and so the album got overdone, they added some bonus videos, a booklet and a new cover - and that's what's in the stores now.

The sextet from Bietigheim combines black metal with some death metal elements, folk-ish parts and try to create something new. The Intro kicks off with keyboard, then it becomes symphonic with strings, etc. After the instrumental they head into Lonely I March. Fast drumming and heavy riffs accompanied by deep growls is what they offer here, soon Theo Georgitsaros adds some scolding vocals... Black-ish screams. After the fast part they slow down. They don't go to the extremes, the death metal parts aren't relentless enough and the black metal stuff isn't mean enough. Beside that Jens Pozierski's keyboard is too prominent, at least partly. At Dance Of Fire some folk / pagan melodies are added by the keyboard, but due to the up-tempo they don't have enough space. But they don't just have fast and blasting parts, they also slow down. They stay on the beaten track, these days that's not enough. The closer Once Called For Redemption starts with keyboard... Then the band joins in an it's a mid-tempo track with an epic element, then the growls set in. The song sounds too familiar... The vocals are repetitive or seems like that coz Theo's growls always sound the same. Then they storm of and add a black metal vibe - for a moment. Again they use the same structure and the same sound elements. And exactly that their problem.

I can't complain about the playing, but the songs seems to be too constructed and don't have a flow... Somehow it seems that the songs were down at the drawing table... Darkness Ablaze don't sound authentic, I might mistake them, but that's the impression I get of this album. Well, I think it won't be easy for them to stand up against the countless release... On the other hand this was a self-released album which later got overdone, perhaps they can improve with some guidance during production next time... Perhaps they should ask label mates Adorned Brood for some advice...
 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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