Blacken the Angel

Agathodaimon | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 25, 1998)
• Original Release Date: August 25, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nuclear Blast Americ
• ASIN: B000009OL5
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #445,077 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark opus of Romanian Black Metal, June 1, 2000

By 

Hater of the Human Race (Under a Serpent Sun in Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blacken the Angel (Audio CD)

This is black metal with a strong gothic influence. These guys have not gotten the credit they deserve. This is a shame as Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, and Emperor fans would probably love this. The album opens with a very strong track "Tristetea Vehementa", that then fades into the shadows of a dark, evil, and punishing track "Banner of Blasphemy". Then comes the beautiful epic song "Near Dark" that clocks in at about 15 minutes in length, it's also one of my personal favorites. The sixth track "Contemplation Song" is an instrumental keyboard track which is eerie and mesmerizing at the same time. the vocals are done in a semi high-pitch manner and the guitarists play heavy riffs and catchy melodies throughout the album. This would most likely appeal to fans of the gothic, symphonic spectrum of black metal. Agathodaimon has created a dark masterpiece with "Blacken the Angel".

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A feast for the dead, January 3, 2006

By 

Alexx (Auckland, NZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blacken the Angel (Audio CD)

This German sextet bows to a certainly more atmospheric and harmonious dimension of Black Metal. Agathodaimon are a vehemently unique band that embraces elements of romanticism with a very dark atmosphere, and yes it might have a Gothic touch, but you don't get none of that moaning/sighing crap you get on stereotypical Gothic Metal.

Blacken The Angel does possess traditional Black Metal elements, and you don't have to be Satan's little slut with a 6-foot erection for setting local churches afire, to appreciate dark music. And neither do you have to be a depressed sociopath Boy George look alike, to appreciate the romantics of the Gothic era. Lyrics are written solely by Vlad, a former vocalist who due to severe immigration laws in Germany, was not allowed to return back when he had visited Romania (his native country) apparently because Vlad arrived during Ceaucescu's reign and while it was a now safe country, there was no apparent need for him to enter Germany ever again. You can however appreciate Vlad's keyboardist participation on track 6; "Contemplation song" that was apparently sent by him through regular mail.

All in all, Agathodaimon is a band on the rise, with an awkward finesse on a genre that can get somewhat monotonous and boring. Blacken The Angel is Agathodaimon's VERY best, for it is flawless anywhere you look at it. Their latter albums have little discrepancies I wish didn't exist, and while are kept to a minimum, bother me little. Agathodaimon is passion, eroticism, honest music and grounds for inspiration in what some of us regard as Religion; Heavy Metal.

"... When the cosmos will feature

the mankind's sadness of feeling

And its incomparable nuances,

One wish alone I'lll have,

Sweetened with death-desire, one dream alone,

That dits its broken wings into bitterness,

A dream longing for the perfect desire...

... lost within my darkness,

It is body of an angel with its soul deformed,

While you are the past,

Like the transitory preys of death without ending.

And you, pallid angel, angel of death,

You have fought your fight in vein on this bitter ground,

That of your body death, they may grow prosperous.

Yet, with angelic smile,

you'll put somber garment of images

Upon a sad and cold dead,

Stripping life of its clothes of gold,

Of heaven, of tears, of misery,

While I, entangled in dreams,

In my own kingdom,

Will reign inmutable and cold

(Nemuritor Si Rece)..."

I wonder if that was taken from the influences Vlad had on Mihai Eminescu, or if it was written by Vlad himself... it's seriously magnificent.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Listen to this requiem you always loved to hear..., February 5, 2000

By 

DeadlyFred - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blacken the Angel (Audio CD)

Simply put, a prime offering of dark, melancholic black metal. Agathodaimon blend together crushing guitars, soaring syth arrangements, gutteral growls and simply haunting verse into something truly memorable. Any fan of dark, heavy music should not let this album pass them by!