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Borknagar - Epic


*
=Staff's pick

Future Reminiscence*
Traveller*
Origin
Sealed Chambers of Electricity*
The Weight Of Wind
Resonance*
Relate (Dialogue)*
Cyclus*
Circled
Inner Ocean Hypothesis
Quintessence
The Wonder


Genre Black Metal
Andreas Hedlund
Vocals
Tracks 12
Øystein G. Brun
Guitar
Runningtime 58 Min.
-
Guitar
Label Century Media
Asgeir Mickelson
Bass
Release 29 June 2004
Asgeir Mickelson
Drums
Country Norway
Lars A. Nedland
Keyboards
Similar artists Tristania, Sirenia, Dimmu Borgir

Norwegian band Borknagar caught my attention with their last album Empiricism with their grand music that combines black metal with more traditional metal containing clean vocals complete with great melodies. And with Epic they have taken a step further away from the blackness and has made even more melodic and beautiful music with more calmer parts.

Borknagar has its roots in black metal and to draw similarities towards Dimmu Borgir seems like an obvious choice, at least with the faster parts, yet not as complex as Dimmu. Although Borknagar is not afraid to break out of the boundaries. Building the foundations around aggressive and furious blast beating black metal they mix it up with an equal part of slower very melodic parts letting the keyboards succesfully play a big and important part in their music. In the track The Weight of Wind the music is far from the aggressiveness but more like progressive heavy metal and in Relate (Dialogue) the traces of black is few if any with a mid-tempo almost goth like style.

The vocals from Vintersorg is a great mix of growling and clean singing. Just as he sounds evil with the growls he has a great emotion in his clean voice. And the combining of them two really helps to lift the music. Despite of the title Epic it never becomes quite like that until with Resonance. That is without a doubt the best track of the album and it stands in a class of its own. It goes with a fast pace and with vicious growls leading up to a fast and melodic break. Epic and powerful with great melodies both from guitar and keyboard fueled by aggression. And with the organ parts reminding me almost of The Doors this tracks comes alive in a grand way.

The strenght with Borknagar is their ability to mix strong melodies and aggressive power with calmer melodic parts. While bashing it all out with furious speed they might as well be exploring calmer and progressive regions the next moment. Borknagar is both progressive and aggressive metal in perfect harmony.

See also review of: The Astral Factor , Crater

Production
Vocals
Compositions

8

7

7

 
Summary



7 chalices of 10 - Thomas

Related links:

www.borknagar.com