Customer Reviews

Black Opera

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

this disc is gothy, spooky, and haunting.

it's certainly black.

I bought Opera IX "Sacro Culto" about a year ago. This band is truely amazing, Cadaveria's demonic growl along side Lunaris keyboards make this album one of the best of 1998. But with the bad production of their label cause "Sacro Culto" not to be the intense ear bleeding death it should be. Since that Opera IX inked a deal with Avantgarde Music their production problems have seemed to have journied elsewhere. "The Black Opera" the latest of Opera IX, and with gripping riffs and strong brutal vocals with better production make it a classic to the underground realm. Each song has its own beauity, Cavaeria's voice is so entrancing. Each song is around the 8 to 10 minute mark some of it tends to drag but everything meshes well into each sound. A true cult classic, I would also recommend the other album they have out, "The call of the Wood".

This is the first time i've ever heard this band, and upon listening to the whole cd several times I'm very impressed. They are somewhat difficult to describe, but they do remind me a great deal of Cradle of Filths "Principle Evil Made Flesh" . Slow to moderate speed, grinding guitars, and overlaying keyboards (which tend to get in the way on a few tracks). The vocals are exceptional and very aggressive, if you like evil growls and screams then you will enjoy the vocals on this record. Overall I would say its a must buy for any Black or Dark Metal fan.

Wow! This is great. This is probably one of the top 10 metal Cd's I have dicovered recently. Along with Windir who is also great. This isnt the first music I heard from OperaIX. My friend once found another one at a used music store. For some reason I cant find it here on amazon. Anyways If you have looked this up you probably already know that it is fronted by a female vocalist. In my opinion I think she is superior to the more popular Angela Glossgow. Cadevaria can scream with the best of them, yet she can still sound sexy while doing it. In addition to her screams she also uses a wide variety of moaning, and singing voices. The other strenghth of this band is the keyboards. They create a otherwordly atmosphere.The guitars have more of a thrashy feel as compared to the more Black Metal sound on the other Cd I heard from them.

Act I: The First Seal 10 Perfect opening song. It starts off soft. Cadevaria has a low dreary sexy voice. Than the guitars start with a heavy choppy riff. For most of the song the guitars have a very heavy thrash feel. Definantly not on a Slayer level but pretty Godd@^n good if you ask me. Lots of choir melodies and rich keyboards. The last two minutes are freakin awesome.

Act II: Beyond The Black Diamond Gates 10 Just as good as Act I, but darker. Cadeveria can go from a sexy seductive moan to rabid vicious vampyric vocals in seconds. This one has more keyboards than Act I. Also this one has some decent solo's.

Act III. Carnal Delight In The Vortex Of Evil 9 Heavier and shorter than the first two. The lyrics are about her having sex with the devil. Some cool short squiggly solo's add some variety to the jagged riffs in this Act. Even though I would say that this one is more metal oriented it still has rich keyboard atmosphere.

Act IV: Congressus Cum Daemone 10 Favorite song on this Cd.Opens with some cool guitar melodies similar to the Cure(dont ask me how I know of the Cure). The main riff is supreme. Plenty of dark keyboards. There is a lot of tempo and style changes.

Act V: The Magic Temple Eerie creepy opening. Cadevaria uses some latin invocation. At 4:00 there is a great solo. Other than opening vocals This is just a shorter instrumental song.

Act VI: The Sixth Seal 9 Great closing track. This song has all the good qualities as the other songs. It doesnt stand out as being anything outstanding. It is still great. The closing Choir is my favorite part.

Bela Lugosi's Dead 9 Unlike most metalheads I actually like the original song too. But this makes that one look like [...]. Most wont like this song, but i think it is a great cover. Cadevaria sounds so sexy in this song. Much like the succulent succubus that she is.

This is definantly worth buying if you into the whole symphonic metal thing. All the songs flow well together like a opera. Only this would have to be a opera from hell.

If you haven't gotten this album already, get it. It's a great album for those who are into the hard and heavy death metal. The whole setting is that of taking a journey through the dark realms of evil. Cadaveria has matured in her vocals since the last one, but that's not supprising. She has a lot to sing about. The rest of the band does great. This is just a great album.

Unpredictable is an understatement. This band throws in so many tempo changes and vocal style switches that they make even Opeth seem predictable! Unfortunately, they don't always put the changes together without some rigidity, but the nice thing about that is that it catches you off guard, and you won't fall asleep. Of course, with these guys (and girl), you're not going to fall asleep, because they keep it nice and heavy. They do a little thrash deal mixed in with black metal, so don't expect a Dimmu Borgir sound, and while it's not a very evil sound, it sure as hell isn't for pansies. Cadaveria is an amazing vocalist (and she's hot too), and unlike other extreme female vocalists (*cough* Angela Gossow), she actually maintains a hint of femininity even in her most extreme moments. She does the clean vocals well, and the screams sound absolutely possessed. The band uses keyboards, but they don't overpower the guitars like in some bands (*cough* Cradle of Filth). They don't have the best drummer in black metal, but I guess it's pretty hard to beat Nicholas Barker, and Flavias is pretty good. I'm not wild about black metal, but this is one that really stands out. This album delivers a kick in the stomach that you just won't get elsewhere.

This album is simply amazing. Cadaveria's vocals really draw you into the music. I used to think female vocals didn't belong in Blackmetal music. That has changedafter I bought Black Opera. The songs are long and have that classic thrash metal sound to it.If you don't mind female vocals, I would highly recommend this cd.

Incredible. Opera IX is dark and heavy, and it gets better. With these wicked female vox, you won't be disappointed. I also recommend 'A Call To Irons', a tribute to Iron Maiden, for their excellent black metal version of 'Rime Of The Ancient Mariner', and of course some other great stuff (Opeth, Morgion, etc), although I think they are one of the highlights. The Bauhaus cover on this cd is decent too, although their original stuff is much better. Congressus cum demonae ad Opera IX! Nemo me impune lacessit!

Though I'm quite young and a fairly new fan to the extream metal genre, after listening to this album I could already tell this was one of the best out there. From start to finish, The Black Opera is an ecstatic, intoxicating, voyage in to a dark tale of warriors of the occult and the vortex of evil. The music is heavy, melodic and powerful in the symphonic black metal way but is arranged so beautifully it takes you on eerie and misty mental voyages. Everything, the guitars, bass, drums and keyboards are perfect on this album. And the singer, Cadaveria (who has now left to her new band, named after herself) is seriously one of the best frontwomen out there (seriously, folks, shes one helluva vocalist) with the way she is able to go from assaulting, rasping screams to misty wails and moans, she does great clean vocals also and her accent is prominent in her singing, which I think sounds beautiful and makes the music all the more "penetrating". Just listening to the audio samples isn't enough to tell you whats in store for you before listening to the Black Opera. To put it into simpler words, I don't bother writing reviews anymore unless something to my taste is exceedingly impressive, and this has definetly been one of the best albums I've ever gotten my hands on. So if you're into the occult, magick, mystery, symphonic music, black metal, or just any good extream metal in general, Opera IX's The Black Opera: Symphoniae Mysteriorum In Lauden Tenebrarum is crucial that you own. Buy it and listen to it from beginning to end, every song is beyond incredible, even the Bauhaus cover of "Bela Lugosi's Dead". This is one album that is definetly worth every penny. This album deserves 7 stars. I'm just sorry that Amazon doesn't carry in stock Sacro Culto and Call of the Wood.

Finally, Dwell Records have something to be proud of. After all those horrid tribute albums (most would say the worst per label this side of Cleopatra), Opera IX emerges as the first feather in the label's cap. Taking the haunted house hybrid of doom and black metals to an even lower plateau, "Black Opera"'s six acts encompass (what else?) the usual obtuse concept tale with convincing musicality and an earnest aplomb that should net them so of that coveted Cradle of Filth revenue.

Opera IX have been a fixture on Dwell's cover band roster for some time, and with the literally dozens (well, almost) of tribute albums the label has put out you'd think the band would have to know their metal to have made it this far. The danger with that kind of encyclopedic know how is that the end result often resembles little more than a loose conflagration of disparate influences. Not so with Opera IX. Focusing purely on those influential elements which complement their brand of atmospheric dread, the quintet prove the sword is mightier than the pen, hacking away at the human consciousness with unrelenting, powerful horror metal. With no less than a cover of "Bela Lugosi's Dead": you know, in keeping with tradition