Posts by gothic

gothic · Cd | DVD reviews

This blackened Funeral Doom debut from Polish solo project Thorns Of Grief is a great mix of brutality and forlornness.

'Anthems To My Remains' is the debut release of Polish one-man band Thorns Of Grief, formed by Nebiros. A decade or so back, you couldn't move in the Doom scene for stumbling over one-man Funeral Doom bands but that seems to have dissipated somewhat now, based solely on my own experience. Therefore, it's with a delightful irony that I say that having the opportunity to listen to one now makes a lovely change for me!

Yes, that's right - Thorns Of Grief is 100% Funeral Doom, and if that's not your thing to begin with, then this release won't change your mind. Nebiros sticks to the core principles of Funeral Doom rather rigidly, as all must to an extent I suppose, given the vast number of sub-genres of Doom Metal now. Still, some bands push it and attempt to fuse new elements, but that's not the case on 'Anthems To My Remains'.

Some of you might find this release boring for that reason; I can't deny that. Personally speaking, however, I'm a fan. I like all forms of Funeral Doom with the proviso that it's done well, and I'm pleased to say that Nebiros ticks each box on that front here.

What I found interesting about this album is that he opted to switch between a very forlorn yet longing atmosphere and an altogether more brutal sound with pained harsh vocals and some early '90s raw fuzz to accompany it. I like both but to see them together isn't all that common, in my experience, because it's hard to pull off. The more 'longing' feel fused with some beautiful piano interludes and acoustic guitar makes for natural bedfellows - but not always the aggression that Nebiros has utilised here. It works, though - I could listen to this album whether in a more angry mood or relaxed mood because of it.

In terms of production, I think it could be considerably better than it is, especially when I heard how the fading screams sounded on 'Till Our Rebirth'. Having said that, I believe that having a poorer production aids music of this nature because of the atmosphere it generates so although I mention such, I do so in more of an observational manner than as a criticism. The only real criticism I have of this album is that I found it to be quite short, at least by Doom standards. The growled vocals convey the desired emotion well enough, the guitarwork is good, and none of the instruments are overbearing/too low in the mix often enough to be annoying.

If I had to compare Thorns Of Grief, I'd say that you'd find similarities to the music produced on 'Anthems To My Remains' on early Funeral releases, Ornamentos Del Miedo's 'Este No Es Tu Hogar', and littered throughout the career of Mistress Of The Dead, to name but a few that come to mind. Obviously I could by no means could I call 'Anthems To My Remains' original, but I enjoyed it a lot for what it was. No complaints here!

To summarise, this is a hauntingly beautiful piece of Funeral Doom that we've all heard before, but one I personally will never tire of hearing.

Tracklist :
1. Thorns Of Grief
2. A Longing
3. Till Our Rebirth
4. The Deceit Of Materiality
5. Illusions

Duration : Approx. 48 minutes

thornsofgrief.bandcamp.com/releases

gothic · Cd | DVD reviews

The latest full-length from Our Survival Depends On Us is a fascinating, sweeping, cinematic Post-Metal opus.

'Melting The Ice In The Hearts Of Men' is the fourth album by Austria's Our Survival Depends On Us. Generally, I consider myself well versed in the ways of Metal. I am usually quite comfortable at evaluating and reviewing Metal albums from a myriad of genres. This album was a bit of a new challenge for me. It made me feel like an outsider looking in, usually I'm in the deep end of Heavy Metal swimming happily. 'Melting The Ice In The Hearts Of Men' put me on the pool deck, wearing water wings, trying to find a safe place to hang my towel. That is not to say the album was unwelcoming or harbored a pretentious eliteness, I think this album just operates on a different scale than I am used to. Think of combat; there are MMA fighters and boxers who specialize in one on one combat, there are security forces such as SWAT that are a small, elite, skirmish units, then there are full blown armies. I feel that this album operates like full scale invasion of a continent, while I'm a guy getting punched in the gut by a ham-and-egger in some dank, musty, boxing ring somewhere. 'Melting The Ice In The Hearts Of Men' operates on a huge scale and occupies a much larger space and breadth then I am used to Metal doing. It is a little intimidating and not my usual listening wheelhouse, but those feelings come from my own shortcomings, not a lack of accessibility by Our Survival Depends On Us.

To craft something on the level of 'Melting The Ice In The Hearts Of Men' it takes talent, artistic vision and first rate production capabilities. Typically, I prefer distorted, stripped down and bluesy over the orchestral, eerie, and atmospheric this album serves up. Our Survival Depends On Us has a way of seamlessly blending dashes of Black Metal rawness, Doom riffage, progressive drums, sports arena organs, and an array of percussion. They whirl all those components into something new and fresh. There is a lot packaged in there, it creates a haunting, dark, piece of art that is breathtaking, they just used way more colors then I am accustomed to.

At times this album feels like it could almost fall into the "soundtrack" category but it has some inexplicable elements that make it seem a bit more multifaceted then what would generally be construed as its peers. It does however beg to be overlaid with visuals.

The second track 'Gold And Silver', my favorite track, is an amalgamation of many different genres. It takes a cheap, tin-can, circular Black Metal guitar opening and quickly shifts lanes into Candlemassian beefy riffs and a huge crying guitar solo. Although the song clocks in at over 10 minutes, tempo changes and elemental genre fluidity that are all beholden to a driving percussion make the song worthy of its length. The run time allows the band to find little pockets and corners within the song to jam out, exploring different sounds yet all under the same banner. It is like riding a train, each town or stop along the way is different and diverse but still lies on a single track. There are many different vistas here but they are all connected.

In some ways this album has left me trying to define the undefinable. 'Melting The Ice In The Hearts Of Men' is an incredibly unique, massive, opus style piece. If I had to categorize it into a genre I would lump it into "Post-Metal". It was interesting and enlightening to listen to, I'm still not sure I fully understand what message it's trying to convey, but it was inspired and entertaining nonetheless.

Tracklist :
1. Galahad
2. Gold And Silver
3. Song Of The Lower Classes
4. Sky Burial

Duration : Approx. 47 minutes

oursurvivaldependsonus.bandcamp.com/

www.facebook.com/oursurvivaldependsonus

gothic · » 2020-09-15 08:42:49

thank you! smile

gothic · General questions

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gothic · Metal bands biographies

Defision were created in Alexandroupolis, Greece somewhere in 2013 as the evolution of a jam project already counting about two years of existence. Armed with our experiences from previous bands in which we participated and after some experimentation, we settled on the musical style we wanted to go. Our influences derive from different styles of metal (heavy, thrash, melodic death, progressive) as each of us has a completely different musical background.

On January 2016 we released the EP "A Thousand Bullets", which is our first album, and a couple of months later our first video clip for the song "World In Chains". At this time we are preparing for live shows in northern Greece, while working in a more complete presentation of work by releasing a full length album.

The Band Members Are:

George Keivanidis - Vocals
Stratos Vrachiolias - Guitar
John Kaltsidis - Guitar
Periklis Epitropou - Bass Guitar
Chris Panagis - Drums

Links:

Facebook

Youtube

Twitter

Youtube video links:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtl0sN2E274
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gu1zKDkbFc

gothic · Cd | DVD reviews

A good, solid Death/Doom debut from the mixed French and Colombian Ceremonia.

Ceremonia's album 'La Existencia Humana Debe Ser Un Error' is a great example of Death and Doom metal music to come from Colombian/French musicians. The opening track 'Amanever Fallido' is a blend of cold darkened passages. It haunts your mind. Tempos change, and you never really know what to expect. I love the feel of this and it's balanced really well. The changes are quite dramatic and interesting to listen to.

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gothic · Cd | DVD reviews

An energetically melodic Gothic Doom debut from 2013 by Анклав Снов aka Enclave Of Dreams.

Opening with the sounds of running water and desperate breathing, 'Дорога в неизбежность' (Russian: 'Doroga V Neizbezhnost', meaning 'road to the inevitable') quickly exposes itself as a melodic piece of Gothic Doom once the first song hits, one that is mixed well and accompanied by catchy vocals. The cover art is a little misleading, as the Анклав Снов (the band also use the translation Enclave Of Dreams) logo looks like it belongs more so in the world of Slam and Death Metal, but the imagery itself is quite accurate, and it evokes the same feelings as the music does. The album overall is an energetic, but Doom filled lamentation that only falls short because of a few poor melodies and uninspired songs.

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As already mentioned, the mix, while not exceptional, is fairly clear. The first song's intro exhibits some satisfying bass work, and the rest of the band soon follows behind. Palm muted riffs are a key feature in the writing, and the rhythm section as a whole sounds crisp and well put together, meeting the 'chuggy' parts in an appropriate way. The riffs themselves can be a bit on the bland side at times, though none of them are bad; their simplicity is forgivable because there is a lot else is going on in the arrangements. The only detrimental attribute of the instruments is the compositions of some of the lead guitar and violin parts, which play a few bad and repetitive melodies throughout the course of the album. But this isn't always the case. For example, on the sixth song, the orchestral arrangements are quite complimentary to the structure of the piece, and the song might suffer were it not for their presence. The same can be said for the lead guitar work on the penultimate track.

The vocals are my favorite aspect of the album. Swinging back and forth between cleans and screams, as is common with Gothic bands, the vocal parts are always catchy. The screams are usually layered, and the different tones the male vocalist uses mesh together in a way that makes the arrangement sound more full. The cleans could stand to show a bit more range, as some of them seem to be more rhythm-focused than melody-focused, an odd attribute for sung vocals, but one that isn't necessarily bad as they are executed competently. Unfortunately, some of the vocal melodies across the album sound almost identical to the others, and because the songs don't show too much variety, this can be a damning thing depending on your taste.

Though far from original or exceptional, 'Дорога в неизбежность' doesn't have any bad moments, just a few dry ones. The songs could stand to differentiate themselves from each other more, but each one of them is catchy, and each one on its own could be called a solid piece of music. Another interesting thing about the album is that it seems to get better as it progresses; more variety comes out in the later tracks, in both the instruments and the vocals. Maybe if Enclave Of Dreams had attempted an EP rather than a full length, focusing more so on the themes of the album's second half, the album would have come across better. Despite these shortcomings, 'Дорога в неизбежность' still exhibits some memorable moments, you just have to wait for them.

gothic · Cd | DVD reviews

Extremely competent, but a bit too familiar-sounding: Verdun's debut full-length.

France's Verdun have been going for around half a decade, in that time releasing a single EP/Demo before the subject of today's review 'The Eternal Drift's Canticles'. They seem to share their name with at least two other bands, so be wary when hunting them down on Spotify – I was stumped how they had gone from Black Metal to Oriental-tinged Gothic Metal (covering Classic Rock tracks no less!) to their current form before I realised that I wasn't listening to the same band.

As for their current form this Verdun are a thick 'n' heavy Sludge/Doom band. Whilst possibly lazy to describe a band in such a way, I think if you took YOB, deleted the high pitched wails, and mixed with one of Neurosis's more recent efforts, say 'Given to the Rising', you would have a pretty clear picture in mind of how this sounds.

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gothic · Cd | DVD reviews

More modern-day Anathema atmospherics than Doom, Iran's The Unknown deliver a polished debut.

Want a serious challlenge in life? Well, consider being an Iranian Doom band - currently, the only one - where you're not even allowed to distribute your own CDs, but need to go through an Italian intermediary to get them to the outside world (I'm still waiting for my 'real' copy to trans-ship via that route, as it happens). Hard to imagine those kinds of restrictions? Well, welcome to Aria Moghaddam's world. Kudos, quite frankly, for making any effort at all to transgress those boundaries. And double kudos for making a pretty decent fist of it, musically, in the process.

Whilst I would normally wait for sight of the full product, as that may still be some way in the future, for now I'll stick with the more simply-obtained digital download of what The Unknown describe as "a post atmospheric doom dark symphony". It may come as no surprise, with that sort of intention, that one of their major influences - and, in fact, previous collaborators - is Anathema, whilst Danny Cavanagh appears as one of the several guest musicians on this album.

You do have to wait for the closing track for that to become especially relevant, however, with its 'We're Here Because We're Here'-era proggy guitar and piano workout. To begin with, if you were going to pick a musical comparator for the almost-Funeral opening instrumental, it'd be something more like The Howling Void's more ethereal and melodic moments. In between, it travels a logical enough progression that passes through a similar, longer, track with vocals, and into one dominated by more-or-less Dark Ambient textures. Perhaps the most concise summary would be that it's an album which gets steadily lighter and more hopeful as it unfolds. It makes sense, given that the underlying concept is one of humanity striking out to explore the possibilities of existence, to discover purpose beyond immediate gratification, and to become more enlightened and understanding of its place in the cosmos and the future.

It does, however, mean that the doomiest moments are front-loaded, in the descriptions of the world as it is now, which fairly comfortably fits into a label of Atmospheric Doom, while the second half of the album is perhaps better classed as Post-Rock. It's a transition that's handled well enough: there's no obvious break to the flow, or contrived change of direction to the music to get it there. Impeccably orchestrated and mellifluous as it the music is, it simply drifts with an easy, airy familiarity through the various phases, the 'symphony' of the description reflecting that there is no real hard division between any of the four movements.

Vocals only make two significant appearances, in parts 2 and 3. Both are clean male recitations, the first setting out the sorry state of earthbound history, the second more of an exhortation towards the stars. To give them credit where it's due: the clear intonation of the lyrics is almost spot-on, with effectively emotive use of inflection in their delivery. On the downside, they do fall on the verbose side, to the point where it's easy to lose track of the lengthy sentences, and - to a native English speaker, at least - some of the actual constructs and pronunciations - particularly in the longer 'part 2' speech - veer between quirkily odd and just plain wrong. Still, that's not something I'd consider a serious detraction from the listening experience: more of a feature than an issue.

On that subject, I'd only have one real complaint - in both the choice and extent of sampled effects, used extensively to link the tracks together. And whilst I get how they fit into the narrative, such sounds as 'heart monitor', 'baby crying' and 'man weeping in rain' are all, by definition, not only intrusive and attention-demanding, but largely compel a response of wanting them to stop. Unfortunately, they're all dragged out way too long - well over a minute, in most cases - to the point where they simply becoming tedious as well as aggravating.

I don't want to be too harsh on 'In Search Of The Unknown', recognising its unique origins and the struggle to get it made at all. And in many ways, there's very little to criticise it for, assuming that you want a short, accessibly light, and often quite optimistic, keyboard-led piece to chill out with. In that, it succeeds admirably, and were I writing from anything other than a Doom perspective, I'd score it more highly. But, at the end of the day, it never delves much deeper than a lugubrious sorrow, emotionally, nor does it musically bring on any of the threatened heaviness from the opening few minutes. There are still plenty of Doom fans who've stuck with Anathema throughout their career, and The Unknown should find some favour amongst that cohort: for everyone else, it's unlikely to be a particular head-turner. Still, now that the precedent has been set, perhaps that will open the way for some welcome darker explorations, and I do have to especially commend the band for that particular achievement.

gothic · Cd | DVD reviews

Suffer In Paradise offer a melodic but somewhat pedestrian Funeral Doom debut.

With this release, Suffer In Paradise gives a therapeutic glimpse into the world of slow, crawling Doom, one whose home lies in longevity. The songs are tragic and woeful pieces, only half of which make it under the ten-minute mark. 'This Dead Is World' is full of crunching, or roaring guitar chords, synth interludes and accompaniments, and deep, growling vocals, which mesh nicely with the open, but forbearing sound of the album. While most of the songs are drawn out, crawling pieces of Doom, the track 'Suffer In Paradise' picks up the pace a bit - its approach reminiscent of My Dying Bride, at least as far as the riffs are concerned. All these efforts across 'This Dead Is World' are mostly successful, but some are muddled by the abuse of a few melodic themes, and what I would call the tasteless use of keyboard in some spots.

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The natural, and raw sound of all the instruments is one of the most notable things on the album. The distortion on the rhythm guitars gives the chords a crushing feel, and the reverb on the lead guitar parts hits just the right balance, making the soaring, but deliberate melodies sound distant enough to evoke feelings of tragedy, while still standing firm and clear in the mix. And while the bass guitar seems to be lost for the most part as far as distinctiveness is concerned, the drums are quite coherent. The combination of minimalism the drums use, and their excellent treatment on the soundboard - particularly on the cymbals - makes for pleasing percussion in the arrangement.

Sadly, the keyboard/synth effects are a hit or miss depending on the song. What's most notable are some poor piano interludes, like towards the end of track one. These could be called minimalist, or atmospheric, but in my opinion they are painfully simple, and uninteresting. A few other interludes follow in these footsteps in much the same manner, whether they be on the settings of pipe organ, choir, or piano. This is not to say the album would be better off without these arrangements, but that the album would benefit from a more deliberate, and tasteful use of its keyboard effects.

Vocal-wise, Suffer In Paradise's singer could stand to show more variety, as the vocals hang on exclusively growls, but regardless, their placement and usage is appropriate, and I found myself entertained by their booming sound and slow rhythms. The growls follow behind the music, never drawing too much attention to themselves, often taking quite long breaks while the instruments play by themselves. There is a good bit of bass to their tone on certain words, but they are still enunciated well.

One salient thing about 'This Dead Is World' is its longevity, which isn't quite justified. Repetition is a key feature here, and certain songs, notably 'Somnambula' and 'Insect', seem to squeeze their main melodic themes as much as possible. The melodies themselves are great, but their repetition leaves me bored after a few minutes, and usually by this point the song is only halfway over. Thus, 'This Dead Is World' may not be an album to actively listen to, but its beautiful melodic approach is unforgettable at certain moments. To me, the highlight of 'This Dead Is World' was the song 'Archetype', the fifth song of the album.

gothic · Cd | DVD reviews

The sophomore from Wolf Counsel reaffirms their commitment to old-school Trad Doom/Heavy Metal thunder.

Sometimes, it's nice to just set everything else aside, drop a no-frills, back-to-basics, rock-'til-you-drop kind of release into the CD tray, and wind the volume up. Which makes it quite convenient that Wolf Counsel's sophomore release 'Ironclad' is sitting on my desk at the moment. It's something I've been keeping a casual eye out for since reviewing last year's self-titled debut: an enjoyable and enthusiastic take on classic footprints-of-Sabbath anthemic riffing.

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Released on the Czar Of Bullets sub-label, the packaging is again an understated and slightly ambiguous design on black - at first glance, the Satanic-looking skull and bone juggernaut adorning 'Ironclad' has more of a Death flavour than Doom - but it's a nice, tidy presentation providing the full lyrics and basic credits with old-school Heavy Metal unfussiness. And, on that, the contents pick up pretty much exactly the same vibe.

Returning to the fray are band founder Ralf Winzer Garcia and drummer Reto Crola, this time joined by guitarists Ralph Huber and André Mathieu, both from Swiss technical Death Metallers Punish. The personnel changes haven't actually made that much of a difference, but the thicker, heavier and louder mix gives a first surface impression that there are fewer lead solos and more riffs involved, whereas it's more the case that the former don't stand out as obviously against the beefier backdrop of bass and drums.

If you've been paying any attention over the past forty years or so, there's not going to be much of a surprise lurking anywhere in the seven hefty slabs of slow-to-medium tempo Trad Doom Metal on offer. There are some individual moments, with featured bass runs and lead lines taking the stage, but, by and large, this is classic Metal four-piece territory, all instruments riffing like concerted thunder behind quite plain, precise clean vocals. There's a loose theme to it, with the titular 'ironclad' apparently referring equally to either - as on the back cover illustration - knightly armour, or indomitability of spirit: the tracks conjuring images of both battlefield strife and hope for mankind. Not that there's anything particularly martial about the music, its solid heaviness marked by perhaps more of a weary fatalism than any great bursts of aggression. A lot of that is in the vocals, so often the make-or-break for any Trad-style band: whilst not covering a tremendous range, they make good use of inflection to compensate for that, and the baseline of sonorous sustain sits well within the mix rather than powering over it.

The tracks may not be surprising in themselves, but there's a fair bit of variety between them to keep the album interesting: the slow and steady chug of 'Pure As The Driven Snow' and 'When Steel Rains' mixing it up with faster and more rousing pieces like 'Ironclad' and 'Shield Wall', and a couple of more experimental ventures in changing tempo and texture in 'The Everlasting Ride' and 'Days Like Lost Dogs', before closing with the soaring 'Wolf Mountain'. It makes for a competent and professional balance to the album: none of the tracks are fillers, albeit it does feel like a couple could have been tightened up a little and held to around five/six minutes like the majority.

All in all, though, there's very little to complain about. It's a slick piece of work that ploughs a well-established furrow with vigorousness that doesn't really require much thought or analysis: you'll either enjoy the pummelling heavy groove of it, or you won't. Compared to the debut, it offers enough of an improvement in production to get past the 'difficult second album' hurdle - despite their largely similar spread of compositions and techniques, the two end up sounding fairly different. That does come at a small cost, given it was some of the rough edges that contributed to the authentic charm of 'Vol 1 - Wolf Counsel' - 'Ironclad' trades off some of that exuberant charisma for a greater polish, and some of the raw anthemic quality of the tracks for a more serious-sounding bigger stage. To me, that leaves it just a little more stolid an offering, not quite igniting the same hell-yeah spark, though that still puts it several notches above average, and a worthy contender for your attention during those more Metal moments.

gothic · Cd | DVD reviews

A little lacking in unique identity, Fading Waves compensate with excellent Post-metal compositions and production.

The clue is in the name, and the title come to think of it. There's also another one on their Bandcamp page where it says 'atmospheric post-metal' in the tag line. Despite all this I still wasn't all that prepared for just how 'delicate' some of the music played by Russian entity Fading Waves really is. It doesn't start out that way, but it isn't very long before the realisation dawns; this one is going to be emotional.

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gothic · Lyrics

album: "Glory To The Brave" (1997)

The Dragon Lies Bleeding
The Metal Age
Hammerfall
I Believe
Child Of The Damned
Steel Meets Steel
Stone Cold
Unchained
Glory To The Brave
Ravenlord

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1. The Dragon Lies Bleeding

[Stromblad / Cans]

Ride through the valley in thunder and rain
The battle is raging, redeem this domain
The castle of Eden lies silent above
Darkness surrounds us, away we must go

I look through the eyes of the world
I see there's a stranger among us
Awaiting a sign from above
To conquer the power and the glory

Enter the battle, our will to enchain
bringing us forward, defeating the pain
Into the meeting with swords made of steel
We're standing together, the secret reveals

I look through the eyes of the world
I know who's the stranger among us
Awaiting a sign from above to conquer
To conquer the power and the glory

Come across to the promised land
Close your eyes I will take your hand
Through the river of steel we'll go
When the dragon lies bleeding

Above the glory we'll carry on
Now the time has come to return back home
The setting sun illuminates the dead
On the battlefield it's shining red

Silent lies Eden on top of the moor
We're fighting with honor protecting our Lord
The last one survivor lies bleeding, I kneel
Into his heart I settle the steel

I look through the eyes of the world
There is no stranger among us
we march through the end of the world
in search of the power and the glory

Come across to the promise land...

2. The Metal Age

[Stromblad / Dronjak / Cans]

Icy water on my hands
The roar of thunder everywhere
I close my eyes, I realize I'm far away from home
In the twilight zone, the shadows mourn

Out of the night came the shining...(from)
The metal age

Ivory towers conceal my eyes
Caught up in a long lost time
Where no one speaks, at liberty, they guard their destiny
To forge the steel, they will reveal

Out of the night came the shining...

I'm falling into the breach
I'm a stranger in this land, I'm falling

Standing strong , the brave and the elder
With scars seldom forgotten, above it all
Come with us, offering shelter from the icy wind that shiver
Come with us to the twilight zone

You're welcome to The metal age

Hear the bell begins to chime
The moonlit skies burst out in flames
The time has come, it must be done, let the power be unchained
By the force within, let the war begin

Out of the night came the shining...

3. Hammerfall

[Stromblad / Dronjak / Cans]

Silent screaming, you're on your own
Balancing on a blade
Between what's right and what is wrong
Don't loose your faith, don't sit there in silence
Show your strength, let's hail the metal Gods,
Bare your heart

All for one, our burning hearts will live forever
One for all, together standing strong

Hammerfall - we will prevail
Hammerfall - let us hail

We share a dream, the future is ours
A Metal Heart is hard to tear apart, heed the call
A flash of light calls out the providers
We run this race, but we will never crawl, all hail
Hammerfall

All for one, our burning hearts will live forever
One for all, together standing strong

Hammerfall - we will prevail
Hammerfall - let us hail
Hammerfall - we will prevail
Hammerfall - let us hail

Just follow your heart, don't listen to the crowd
The wisdom, the voice is calling from inside
The time long forgotten will soon come again
Prepare for the meeting, the Gods of Metal reign

4. I Believe

[by Cans / Stalfors]

Is is too late to go in peace, I wonder how
how these things did start anyway
Maybe too late to find a way, when the
trail of grief is marked with memories

Now when you're gone, the warmth
of the sun seems so faraway

I believe - in everything I see, every
second is a miracle for me
I believe - after sunshine comes the
rain, and when it's pouring down
the only thing I feel is pain

I walk alone through shapeless dreams
my only home is the wasteland that I cross
I close the door and turn the key
those days of joy are barely memories
Now when you're gone, your star will
shine on, wont you shine for me

I believe- in everything I see, every
second is a miracle for me
I believe- after sunshine comes the
rain, and when it's pouring down
the only thing I feel is pain

5. Child Of The Damned

[by Bill Tsamis]

You made me see right past myself, well beyond
my fears, realized I'm synchronized, far beyond my years
I'm so guard unto them, I serve unto their souls
now that I'm addicted, my hunger only grows

I'm a child of the damned, I follow where I go
rigging to the cross, as holy as a whore
I'm just a child of the damned

Witches coven, the time has come for those sabbatical
years, revelation is the message, for all in all to hear
Prophets slayed, mankind arrayed into mass submission
evil's here, the lord of hell gives you the proposition

I'm a child of the damned, I follow where I go
rigging to the cross, as holy as a whore
I'm just a child of the damned

Give away your life goals, your meaning and ambition
it means nothing to you, after all it's superstition
Do not be afraid, the world is near the end
is it better to rule in hell, than it is to serve in heaven?

I'm a child of the damned, I follow where I go
rigging to the cross, as holy as a whore
I'm just a child of the damned

6. Steel Meets Steel

[by Dronjak]

Back in 1095, when the call to arms came
we had the red cross sown on
Sent to save the holy land and crush the infidels
with strength from above

STEEL MEETS STEEL

On towards victory we march, the guiding star
lead us to the battle field
There, the heathens were subdued, and in the end
we forced them all to yield or die

STEEL MEETS STEEL

In July in '99, the Holy City was stormed and won
Jerusalem was freed, we thanked the lord for our glory

We, the Templars, have survived by honor and pride
and the blessing of the sword
The quest of the war, forever sung
to the sound of steel meets steel

STEEL MEETS STEEL

7. Stone Cold

[by Stromblad / Dronjak / Cans]

Outcast a time of war, when mankind lost control
of life and death, under surveillance

I watch the children pray, while god just turns away
out in the ruins they seek shelter
These streets were once my home, but those
golden days are gone, now I'm fighting to survive

Stone cold, man or machine
Stone cold, the end of our dream

The word is on the street, it's kill or to be killed
with no exception you are on your own

We should have seen it all along, the writings
on the wall, tell me what have we become

Stone cold ...

Who do you believe in now, when the prophecy
came true, the final deja vu

These streets were once my home ...

Stone cold ...

8. Unchained

[by Stromblad / Dronjak / Cans]

Undying nightfall, a king with no crown
dethroned, imprisoned in chains
Duel the black horse, the Swordsmen must kneel
condemned to serve within the shadows
Put 'em next to their King

Out of the fire and into the night
a handful of brave men appeared
Crimson thunder running through their veins
a bond that will last forever
Nothing's stronger than ...

Brothers in arms are fighting tonight
the Forces of steel meet again
born in the fire, they look to the sky
power of metal unchained

Time has come, break out of these chains
FIGHT! proud for your kingdom
Behind the defenders the king marches on
by divine intervention
They are fighting with ...

Brothers in arms are fighting tonight
the Forces of Steel live again
born in the fire, they look to the sky
the power of metal unchained

Past many nights they fought on
and by the moonlight the battle was won
but still the black horse is running
knowing were the power will lead

Brothers in arms are fighting tonight
the Forces of Steel live again
born in the fire, they look to the sky
the power of metal unchained

9. Glory To The Brave

[by Dronjak / Stromblad / Cans]

Snow is falling down on this glorious land
colors fading, turning into white again
To fallen heroes angels sting, they cry their winter tears
endless mourning days will turn to years

So this is goodbye, I take leave of you and
spread your wings and you will fly away now, fly away now

Nothing on earth stays forever
but none of your deeds were in vain
Deep in our hearts you will live again
you're gone to the home of the brave

Every solemn moment I will treasure inside
even though it's hard to understand
that a silent wind can blow that candle out
taking everything leaving the pain far behind

You call out my name, but your voice is fading
into the wind, embraced, you'll fly away now, fly away now

Nothing on earth stays forever
but none of your deeds were in vain
Deep in our hearts you will live again
you're gone to the home of the brave

My eyes are closed I feel you're faraway (so close)
far beyond that shining star
I know you'll find what you've been fighting for
far beyond that shining star

Down on bended knee I pray, bring courage to these souls
make 'em live forever in the heart of the bold
So I say farewell my friends, I hope we'll meet again
when my time has come to fall from the grace

So this is goodbye, I take leave of you and
spread your wings and you will fly away now, fly away now

Nothing on earth stays forever
but none of your deeds were in vain
Deep in our hearts you will live again
you're gone to the home of the brave

[Dedicated to the memory of Klas Fors]

10. Ravenlord

[Bonus track, Stormwitch Cover]

Grey morning, dawn won the fight
Daylight drives away the night
Fog's rising out in the fields
The birth of winter is in sight
Dark shadow's fall from the sky
They alight on gallows tree
Black feathers, amber beaks
Waiting for their Deity
Leaves are spinning 'round
Lost and never found
When the King takes the Crown
Can you feel
The autumn wind blowing
Ravenlord is coming to stay
Can you hear
The passing bell tolling
Ravenlord - takes you far away
Sharp talons, pinions of ice
They obscure the new-born day
Hot breathing freezes to snow
Piercing caws lead you astray
Leaves are spinning 'round...

gothic · » 2016-09-06 08:12:16

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Country: United Kingdom

bandcamp

Tracklist:
1. Forever Disconsolate 5:31
2. Reminiscence 9:26
3. Engulfed In Apathy 7:26

Download fo review

www.youtube.com/watch?v=INBcIRVkN7I

gothic · » 2016-09-06 08:09:39

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Country: France

bandcamp

Tracklist:
1. I 23:08
2. II 22:03

Download fo review

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot5JHqZ521U

gothic · » 2016-09-06 08:08:20

Genre: Atmospheric Black / Post-Black Metal
Country: USA

bandcamp

Tracklist:
1. Guilt Had Ambushed Me Once Again 04:42
2. Being Is Desire/Desire Is Suffering 04:36
3. My Purest Heart for You 10:25

Download fo review

www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-kOUkDHCQY

gothic · » 2016-09-06 08:04:58

Genre: Atmospheric / Depressive Black Metal
Country: Brazil

bandcamp

Tracklist:
1. Indeterminado 07:22
2. Réquiem 05:46
3. A Vida é Uma Doença Eterna 06:42
4. Children Orphans 10:19
5. Cinzas 07:06

Download fo review

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge3guVBw8Io

gothic · » 2016-09-06 07:59:20

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Country: Russian Federation

bandcamp

Tracklist:
01. November Days I 09:26
02. November Days II 08:46

Download fo review

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ltfw4o3Sf10

gothic · » 2016-09-06 07:57:33

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Country: USA

Tracklist:
01. Gestaltung (Part. I) 09:35
02. Gestaltung (Part. II) 09:52

Download fo review

gothic · » 2016-09-06 07:55:49

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Country: Sweden
facebook

Tracklist:
1. The Moon Lights Up The Sky
2. I Watch It Burn
3. It Awaits
4. Carved In Ice

Download fo review

www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1oskLYYrPQ

gothic · » 2016-09-06 07:51:06

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Country: Sweden
bandcamp

Tracklist:1. I 09:56
2. II 07:24
3. III 07:25

Download fo review

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQZRl8HAJbA

gothic · » 2016-09-06 07:49:21

Genre: Atmospheric / Depressive Black Metal
Country: Spain

bandcamp

Tracklist:
1, Confessions Of A Man In Fear (Part I)
2. Confessions Of A Man In Fear (Part II)

Download fo review

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgsqkvWwovk&feature=youtu.be

gothic · » 2016-09-06 07:47:08

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Country: Slovenia

bandcamp

Tracklist:
1. The Roamer's Curse 08:33
2. Void Path King 09:51
3. To Ruins of Throneless Realm 07:31
4. Dust Scatterer 10:00
5. Crowned in Oblivion 06:02

Download fo review

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rh2Yj7tE0o

gothic · » 2016-09-06 07:45:26

Genre: Atmospheric Pagan / Black Metal
Country: Germany
bandcamp

Tracklist:
1. Et in Arcadia Ego 11:09
2. Himeros 08:56
3. Trúwen 08:00
4. Lichtträger 09:50
5. Persona 08:42
6. Station 05:40

Download fo review

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIUtCfFetho

gothic · » 2016-09-06 07:43:59

Genre: Epic / Atmospheric Black Metal
Country: USA

bandcamp

Tracklist:
01. Shadow Embrace 02:03
02. Throne of Souls 03:04
03. Surge of Corruption 04:54
04. The Sundering 04:49
05. On Fiery Plains 04:30
06. Coalescent 02:48
07. Azure Skies 04:15
08. The New Age 06:03
09. Arcane Silence 06:30
10. To Unchain the Oblivion 11:03

Download fo review

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxrmzgVQ0O8

Metal Music forum - reviews, interviews, downloads

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