Customer Reviews

Apocalypse Manifesto

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Once again I'm speechless! This beats Emperor, Marduk, etc. (Although they are great...don't get me wrong) Every metal fan should buy as much Enthroned as they can get their hands on!

This album is definitely not too much to be excited about. Most of the entire thing consists of almost identically sounding tracks and poor vocals. Despite the fact that the guitar playing is pretty well done and the drumming is just a bit above the line of being mediocre, this album truly doesn't have a whole lot to offer, except the illusion that your CD player is on rotate. I am a fan of Enthroned, however, and think they have a lot of potential- this LP just doesn't show too much of it.


Track reviews:

Whispering of Terror/ The Apocalypse Manifesto- The albums starts off with "Whispering of Terror" which is basically only a few layered guitar riffs and was most likely created for filler material. The LP then, without pause, breaks out into "The Apocalypse Manifesto", which offers some pretty rapid guitar playing and drumming. At about two minutes or so in, the song features some pretty impressive guitar solos, but then leads straight back into Enthroned's signature blast-beats. Not a bad song, but not something you wouldn't expect from Enthroned.

Death Faceless Chaos- Sounds as though it was supposed to be a continuation of "The Apocalypse Manifesto". There's seemingly no attempted effort to make the songs vary in sound, here.

Retribution Of The Holy Trinity- Begins with the repetition of a semi-interesting guitar riff and then offers Enthroned's usual vocals over some intense drumming. Presumably for musical variation purposes, a few differing guitar riffs were added into this song...but Enthroned still really doesn't seem to pull it off, despite the talent involved in the guitar work. Around the song's mid-point, Enthroned gets a bit more rapid in musical execution, yet still seems to fall short of creating something that utilizes their full potential as a band.

Genocide (Concerto No.35 For Razors)- Initiates with the likenesses of machine gun fire and distant exploding bombs, and then takes off into Enthroned's usual heavy guitar playing, drumming, and vocalization. While the instrumentals are amazingly performed (I do say so, myself) in this track, the vocals sound nothing more than a lunatic screaming "Genocide" at the top of his lungs while choking on poison.

Volkermord, Der Antigott- With the exception of the guitar arrangements present in the song's introduction, this song also does not offer too many attributes of contrast in comparison to the other songs.

Alastor Rex Perpetuus Doloris- This track almost immediately launches its vocals over, yet again, some trademark guitar work and harsh drum arrangements. This song too, though, seems to fail at setting itself apart from previous tracks. At this point in the LP, I found the lack of difference between songs to be almost ridiculous.

The Scourge Of God- This track gets the ball rolling in a way that no other song on this LP does. It actually begins without some insanely speedy guitar riff over hyper-speed drumming and wretched vocals. In the first 40 seconds or so, it actually starts off with a dull, ambient-type, moan of a sound, thereafter maintaining the same effect but also offering some demonically spoken words. I guess Enthroned just felt that they couldn't be Enthroned, though, without eventually adding the intensity of their guitar assortments and ultra fast drumming, since these elements soon appear over the usual screaming vocal lines. There are some changing guitar solos during the middle of the song, but at this point the solos make Enthroned look more like a one trick pony than anything else.

The LP that I have only contains eight songs, so I'm not sure where "Post Mortem Penetrations (Messe Des Saintes Mortes)" went. In recognition of the fact that most of the songs on this album sound the same anyway though, I don't think it'd make too much of a difference if "Post Mortem Penetrations (Messe Des Saintes Mortes)" had been included. Still, based on the eight songs, I definitely wouldn't recommend this CD to anyone besides hardcore, die-hard, "I live for raw black metal" fans or people who think they can look past the monotony, occasional awkward vocals, and similarity between songs. I highly doubt this would interest anyone else, in light of the fact that this LP's flaws have a tendency to outshine its good.

I am a big fan of modernday black metal and this is one of the most important torch-bearer in this genre. The music is as intense as it gets. Although I consider their sound a tad to light (more bass, please) they certainly make this up in speed and aggressiveness. In the near future I will definitely try out their other cd's. It surprised me to read that the members of this wonderful band are from Belgium. All hail and raise your banners for the apocalypse manifesto!!!

great album.all tracks are great.if you like true black metal buy it.