Slechtvalk - At The Dawn Of War
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From Out Of The Mist We Came Forth |
| Genre | Symphonic Black Metal |
Shamgar
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Vocals
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| Tracks | 11 |
Shamgar
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Guitar
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| Runningtime | 52 Min. |
Othar
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Guitar
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| Label | Fear Dark |
Nath
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Bass
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| Release | 18 Feb. 2005 |
Grimbold
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Drums
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| Country | Holland |
Hydrith
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Keyboards
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| Similar artists | Dimmu Borgir | ||
Slechtvalk from the Netherlands bring us their latest release up to date. At the Dawn of War is an epos filled with keyboards, angelic choirs and melancholies. Very Norwegian in style. Dimmu Borgir at their Spritual Black Dimensions era seems to have done deep scars in Slechtvalks musical influences.
I can't say that Slechtvalks music sounds fresh or creative in any possible way. The composing and arrangements feel very near to their Norwegian companions in this genre and the female choirs and vocals make me think of a certain British band. Just the Vampire theme missing. But sometimes the parallels are drawn in a positive way, as can be heard on songs like Mortal Serenity, Thunder of War and Black Raven Death, which are songs that stretch out in speed and aren't held back in any way. aprt from those it's very much in between considering the tempo of the songs.
The drummer, Grimbold, performs the most impressive work on this album. Aggressive and good variety in playing style. I think that Slechtvalk do their thing well, my point is that it has already been done several times and in order to keep it fresh my guess would be to add something out of the ordinary.
The members of Slechtvalk seem to be good musicians and
if you listen carefully you notice some really good individual performances
on this album. But when I am looking or listening at the whole picture
of this symphonic engine I can't ignore the fact that it's a bit weak
and are a little too much of everything. Like on the Under A Moonlit
Sky, which starts well and promising, aggressive and furious, but my
good vibes are suddenly destroyed as it ends up in a part with acoustic
guitars and keyboards that is way too catchy and la la la for my taste.
Perhaps the problem is myself and are mainly spelled as conservative
or old-fashioned, though I find it very difficult to enjoy this quantity
of keyboards, male and female vocals that goes on and on in sorrow in
steed of rage. If you like the elements that Cradle of Filth offer and
pieces of Dimmu Borgir and add a bit Folk music with flutes and acoustic
guitars, you probably will find this package very satisfying. apart
from the recommended songs, I don't.
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Production
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Vocals
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Compositions
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7 |
5 |
6 |
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Summary
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5 chalices of 10 - Tim |
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