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Bergraven - Dödsvisioner review




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Reviewer:
7.6

9 users:
8.33
Band: Bergraven
Album: Dödsvisioner
Release date: May 2007


01. Döende
02. Av Saknad Släcker Jag Ljuset
03. Ondkall
04. Känsla Av Livets Nästa Skede
05. Den Svarta Angstens Essens
06. Det Man Med Själen...
07. Ekot Av Bikt
08. Döende (En Avslutning)

Some bands just want to be compared to a single band and be judged solely on that comparison. Ok, perhaps it's not their actual intention, but when they'd take a step away from their own music and give it an objective look, they'd realize themselves that the critics are right. Such a band is Bergraven, a one-man-project from Sweden that plays Black metal. Black metal with warped vocals, strong influences from a-typical sources and a lot of calm, brooding parts. Does that ring a bell already? Yep, Bergraven is the counterpart of the notorious Swedish Suicide Brigade Shining.

Is that bad? Not per sé, as there aren't many Shining-fuelled bands out there, but Bergraven has a different problem. In my humble opinion, the band does well in most of its calm parts, where eerie droning guitars and demonic vocals reign supreme. This band has a knack for creating those upsetting and off-putting moments, just like Shining does. But where are the fucking outrageous, hatred-fuelled pitch-black whirlwinds of snarling nightgaunts and their slicing claws? I mean the riffs man, the riffs. The magic that makes Shining so incomprehensibly evil, cause they actually allow themselves to let everything go in a fit of sheer frustration and relentless blind maddened rage. Yeah, occasionally Bergraven stirs the fire up a bit, but it rarely lasts and often the music still sounds restrained. This entire thing is just too timid. It's quality stuff, mind you, but with a severe lack of hatred.

I'm sorry for Pär Gustafsson, sole member of Bergraven, as it's obvious he poured his heart and soul into the music. But if he doesn't change a thing or two, or suddenly becomes a pure musical genius, he's not going to be able to step out of Shining's shadow. If there would never have been such a thing as "Shining", he would probably appeal to me a lot more, but then again, without Shining it's quite possible he would never have been able to create music such as this... Now where's my copy of "The Eerie Cold"?!?


Rating breakdown
Performance: 8
Songwriting: 7
Originality: 5
Production: 7





Written on 26.04.2009 by If you're interested in extreme, often emotional and underground music, check out my reviews. I retired from reviewing, but I really used to be into that stuff.


Comments

Comments: 2   Visited by: 35 users
26.04.2009 - 23:56
Rating: 9
Doc G.
Full Grown Hoser
Yup, I guess it all depends on whether your into Shining or not...theres nothing I can really argue against this, although I did love it, but as we discussed, I don't listen to Shining.
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"I got a lot of really good ideas, problem is, most of them suck."
- George Carlin
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01.10.2009 - 18:23
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
IMO... you were too hard with that "Shining clone" thing.
Yeah, the style is pretty similar but there are differences that can't be ignored. The production sounds waaaay cleaner and the music itself sounds way more progressive and technical as well...

But yeah, I agree with most of the review anyway. The music sounds great, I'll check this out for sure.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass
Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.
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