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Rating:
8.5 |
Watain - Sworn To The Dark
19 February 2007
01. Legions Of The Black Light
02. Satan's Hunger
03. Withershins
04. Storm Of The Antichrist
05. The Light That Burns The Sun
06. Sworn To The Dark
07. Underneath The Cenotaph
08. The Serpent's Chalice
09. Darkness And Death
10. Dead But Dreaming
11. Stellarvore
I'm sure most Black Metal warriors already know Watain; but in case bells are not ringing in your head, this band saw their big (dark) light back in 2003 with a very promising album called "Casus Luciferi", an album that was used as a big plateau to launch potent and dynamic music for us to react in an eager way. Of course it worked, that album became a classic piece in the genre, still quite underground, but classic none the less.
The band took three years to make a follow-up to "Casus Luciferi", it seems they sat down and began throwing fresher and fresher ideas to finally come up with a very surprising album, an album that might not be as aggressive as their masterpiece but surely it's a big step towards the right direction.
If this is the first time you ever hear Watain you'll be more than pleased, in fact you'll be even overwhelmed by its content, this record is a unique raging black metal assault, an album that has that astounding punch that most Black Metal bands lost in the late 90's, true Black Metal from hell that's what I mean. But now, if you discovered and loved this band in their early stage, you could found yourself asking "What happened to their utter and incredibly raw brutality?"
What happened is that they evolved into a more structured machine; if you're nostalgic and you're longing for their hostility and rawness you're already drowning yourself in self-demise, the production is way better so why is that a problem? The music shows a more experienced band, the riffing is incredibly catchy and the overall scheme is way more complex than before, it's just natural progression ladies and gentlemen.
To tell you the truth I see a great album in my hands, the scary thing could be their forthcoming pieces as they might move into a Marduk type of sound instead of the early Mayhem influenced style they have now. But let's stay in the present for now, "Sworn To The Dark" is a must for every Black Metal aficionado, it's just what they like to call "True Black Metal"…if you ask me, you can't be truer than this actually.
Best Tracks: "Underneath The Cenotaph", "Legions Of The Black Light", "Storm Of The Antichrist"
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Performance:
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9 |
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Songwriting:
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9 |
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Originality:
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7 |
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Production:
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8 |
written by Herzebeth | 03.06.2007 |
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Comments
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10
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Users visited:
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183 |
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early Mayhem style? Never heard that in their sound, I somehow ALWAYS get stuck in their Dissection-style BM.
Great album btw, and agree on the review, except on the aforementioned early-Mayhem comparison. |
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Basso - 04.06.2007 at 00:28
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I have to agree, Casus Luciferi had a very obvious Mayemic sound (Devils Blood sounds like the De Mysteriis Dom... riff backwards even), but Sworn To The Dark have a very dissectionish sound.
I liked this album really much the first week I listened to it, but it grew old the same week so it didnt really tickle my fancy to much. I dare say however it is a must to check out if you are a fan of dissection.
More on topic:
A good review Herz...keep at it. |
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| I didn't like this album, coming from Watain... I'm a sucker for Casus Luciferi, and in comparison this one sounds more generic, less daring. I still think it will be among my favourite black metal pieces this year, but I still expected more. |
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Awesome, fantastic, amazing, astonishing...
This album is one of the best Black Metal albums I've heard. Watain is one of my favourites and this is their best album, it also means a lot to me. |
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| This album is good, much more melodic compared to Casus Lucefiri in general. Some songs reallly stand out and is a very solid album, but alike Southern Wind Im addicted to casus luceferi. |
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| This album is definitely among my Top 5 black metal albums EVER. |
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| Looking back at 2007 I could say that this album does stand out in its own way. Definetly a solid release in the end... |
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Written by Sunioj on 08.01.2008 at 23:53
Looking back at 2007 I could say that this album does stand out in its own way. Definetly a solid release in the end...
agreed. i got bored with it for a while, but now i like it once more. also, compared to 90% of last years releases, this is very good. |
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| When I heard "Casus Luciferi", it was like an early Chrismass present (or not, I don't think that holyday is very black metal...) but this one just sounds somehow.... generic. |
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| This is a FUCKING fantastic album |
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