Agathodaimon - Serpent's Embrace

*=Staff's pick	Cellos For The Insatiable* Serpent's Embrace* Rebirth Light Reborn Faded Years Solitude* Limbs Of A Stare The Darkness Inside* Bitter End Feelings

Genre	Dark Metal	Sathonys, Frank N.	Vocals
Tracks	10	Sathonys	Guitar
Runningtime	48 Min.	Frank N.	Guitar
Label	Nuclear Blast	Eddie Smith	Bass
Release	21 June 2004	Matthias Rodig	Drums
Country	Germany	Felix Walzer	Keyboards
Similar artists	Dimmu Borgir, Borknagar

Never has the name of a genre that has been given a band more suitable than the dark metal as Nuclear Blast promotes Agathodaimon as . The band offers a mix of black metal, death metal as well as goth, all with symphonic elements and a an epic sense and they does it well.

Cellos For The Insatiable reminds of a lighter version of Dimmu Borgir at a more controlled pace, dark grunts symphonic metal with a keyboards, not black metal perhaps but as they say it is dark. The second as well as title track Serpent's Embrace continues in the same vein. They are dark and at the same time melodic and rather soft than evil as it has more goth to it than what it has black but it is still within the death metal. Light Reborn is after the speedy start a mid-tempo track that is neither death nor hardly goth either but more simply heavy metal with grunts mixed with great clean vocals in the melodic chorus.

Solitude is the ballad on the album and I, who ain't a big enthusiast of these slower romantic songs, have to surrender with this one. A beautiful piece with piano and an electronic rhythm replacing the drums, music wise it is close to The Gathering while the only vocals by the female guest vocalist reminds of Amy Lee from Evanescence and the result is a blend of those two bands. But just as you get comfortable with the sweet sound from the music and her voice next track starts with a black metal fury and with the strings supporting the music and the evil attitude Cradle Of Filth's romantic black metal isn't far away.

And so it goes, Agathodaimon is happily dealing out music from different styles combined with symphonic backing and epic songs with tasteful use of keyboards. The more straightforward tracks are The Darkness Inside that is death metal close to Hypocrisy but still with a black metal feeling, and there is the next one Bitter End which continues in the same path but in a more a technical style and with symphonic beauty. Even though a lot of different styles are taken under the wings of Agathodaimon it all works together, the songs are strong even though none of them makes me jump through the roof it is a good high quality all over the album, and whether it is black, death or goth it doesnt matter, Agathodaimon makes it to their own style.

Production	Vocals	Compositions
8	6	8

Summary
7 chalices of 10 - Thomas