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Crimson Moon - Oneironaut review




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Reviewer:
7.0

10 users:
7.9
Band: Crimson Moon
Album: Oneironaut
Release date: December 2016


01. Gossamer Of Arachne
02. Molding Of A Spell
03. Seeker Of The 7th Gate
04. Weaver Of The Web
05. Urilian Worm
06. Oneironaut

Crimson Moon may not feature a prominent member of internationally successful bands or a robust track record of critically acclaimed albums, but its certainly trying something, and there's a method to the madness found within. How that translates really depends on your perspective.

Something any black metal musician can attest to is the difficulty of maintaining a sense of seriousness when trying something, as it can so easily be mislabeled as shtick, and therefore cast aside as gimmicky, immature, or silly. At times, Crimson Moon is such a project, relying too heavily on occult stereotypes and overselling the brand in the name of seeming true or evil or whatever the buzz words are for black metal these days. Oneironaut tends to lean in a more serious direction, with a professional, yet raw and grimy sound. It boasts tight musicianship and torturous raspy black metal growls, all performed by founding member Scorpios Androctonus. The overall message is delivered without an abundance of cheese in the name of going for that "epic" feel, despite a run time of just under 1 hour for 6 songs, closed out by a 20 minute acoustic-heavy closer worthy of its own EP -- though on its own the entire tone of this review would be substantially different (re: more positive).

What many will likely find so enjoyable about this release could just as easily be highlighted as a reason it failed to grab the mainstream black metal crowd. It either lacks variation, or it's a nonstop assault of buzzing guitars and blanketed blastbeats. Both are true, but what it really boils down to is a fairly anticlimactic writing style. Songs just kind of start and plod along, and maybe throw in a little breakdown or melodic section, and then go back to plodding along. And then they just end, until the start of the next plodding song kicks in. It's all very samey. The incantation type of background chanting synonymous with the modern style of Crimson Moon is also present but far from overused, which is nice. Earlier works focused on spoken word passages instead, which is an element that worked better stylistically and practically as it wasn't so distracting. A notable break in this formula is "Weaver Of The Web", a song that accomplishes the story-styled beginning/middle/end and also ventures into catchy melodic territory, introducing elements that will later come in to play -- alongside its follow-up track -- on the grand finale.

While Oneironaut is by far this one-man-band's strongest output to date, having improved upon early material in every significant aspect, save for the chanting direction over the spoken word passages, it still fails to generate much interest even after only one listen. Repeated listens further drive down its engagement factor as the monotonous 38 or so minutes leading up to the 20-minute title track become so easily overlooked by comparison, but one thing to note is the choice in track placement does help prepare the listener as if building up towards the best of what they have to offer, like a tutorial readying you for the game ahead. Sadly, it only works as a decent background black metal album with some moments worth paying attention to, but without the last track, it's just another run of the mill black metal release trying to capture the occult lightning in a bottle. Because of its end, however, it gets a pass as better than average.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 8
Songwriting: 6
Originality: 5
Production: 8





Written on 22.09.2019 by I'm total pro; that's what I'm here for.


Comments

Comments: 1   Visited by: 9 users
23.09.2019 - 16:29
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Not my fav, but to me band name works more as their music.
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