Customer Reviews

Dark Requiems

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

 

 

You would never know this band was from England.

I associate English bands with oh, I don't know, My Dying Bride style doomy gothic music, not the cold, raw PURE EVIL black metal contained here! Hecate Enthroned do a SUPERB job of meshing furious blast beat drumming, swirling yet melodic guitarwork, screeching vocals, haunting melodies and yes, a touch of mesmerizing gothic imagery. It's a fantastic record, period.

Beginning with an almost soothing, keyboard laden intro, the album wastes no time in pulling you in, only to smash your cerebrum to pieces with the terrorizing wall of sound set forth in "The Pagan Swords of Legend." There is some seriously insane guitarwork and drumming going on here, and if I didn't know any better, a VERY Egyptian-sounding theme running through the background. The album progresses at a nice pace, never really letting up, laying intricate keyboard tracks when necessary, and just going all out with the layer upon layer of sound and fury. Most of the songs feature completely undecipherable vocals, Jon dishing out evil screech after evil screech. But Hecate does a great job of mixing things up a bit; for example, "Forever in Ebony Drowning" has a much more obvious Gothic feel to it and then out of nowhere, they break into some serious riffage for the headbanging faithful. It's one of the things that truly impressed me about the record; they aren't as predictable as other black metal bands and make you want to keep listening to see where the song - or part of song - goes next. Really good stuff. 4 tracks into the album and I'm already extremely satisfied, so what does Hecate Enthroned do? Lay down the strongest song thus far - "Upon the Kingdom Throne." I don't really know what it was, but this song has a serious Powerslave-era Maiden thing going on behind the scenes and is much more complex than one might think. I for one couldn't get that ancient Egyptian imagery out of my head.

There are other standout tracks as well, particularly "Thy Sorrow Bequeathed" and "The Scarlet Forsaken," both of which feature instantly hummable guitar melodies while at the same time retaining their apocalyptic and frenzied nature. This is war music people. Surely all fans of quality, talented metal will want this record, so go get it already!

Music: Uses the instruments well and varied - both guitars and keyboard. Vocals: Screaming and strident vocal. Lyrics: Long and varied. A variety of words. Quotation from #2: "Where whispers charm thy emptiness, and pierce thy tenuous membrane. That striketh through my anguished heart, and tainted skys, where once demons remained. As the silent darkness breeding, winters hate in silhouttic sky. Stained with blood of an ancient slumber, with such a passionate melancholy." Instruments: Guitar, bass, keyboard and drums. Themes: Wintry forest, anti christianity, satanic, and sinful symphonies. I give it 5 stars for a well-composed, and well-written album. Total time: 43 min.

These guys have a good sound for anyone into the more popular Cradle of Filth. Vocals are reminescent of Dani Filth's but the songwriting is decidedly more 'black metal'. This is just about as good as 'Slaughter of Innocence', so if you have that one and are undecided about 'Dark Requiems', go ahead and grab this up. A good buy.

I've listened to about everything Hecate Enthroned has had to offer, but this is by far my personal favorite. The atmosphere and mood that this album depicts certainly puts them ahead of the competition however contrary to other's beliefs. Everyone seems to be on Cradle of Filth's jock, but I think Hecate has a far better idea of what black metal is all about than Cradle. This album is a must for those who like the atmospheric angle of black metal.

Hecate Enthroned, a black metal band from the UK, have in this album created rather decent black metal. To compare them to some perhaps better known bands, their music is almost a cross between the earlier work of Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir, and Dark Funeral. The atmosphere is set with melancholy keyboard tunes and the guitars produce the rhythm and primary melody, though sometimes overpower the keyboards a little too much. I give it three stars because five should be reserved for the very few "greatest" albums out there in whatever given genre, and four stars for the very close seconds. An enjoyable listen in its own right, but also excellent background music.

If you like raw Black Metal, Hecate Enthroned are the ones to deliver it. In this album, their greatest, they go to where no band has gone before- with the gloomiest Black Metal album ever. This album has a gothic atmosphere and mistique like none I have ever heard. On the technical side: it's got awesome riffs, a sadistic pace, and sepulchered shrieking provided by that loveable John. It is gloomy, dark, and gothic- and it gives you chills to hear the sound of theses songs, and connect to the darkness which is "Dark Requiems... And Unsilent Massacres".

This album, by a British black metal band that will forever remain in the shadows of the much more skillful Cradle of Filth, is quite good. The production is not bad for a black metal release, and the musicians are somewhat good. Their song structure is relatively simple, but effective. They utilise the keyboards to create a gothic melody and a very gloomy atmosphere, then take on the tune with guitars - classic and uninnovative black metal guitars. Eventually the song climaxes into a blast beat orgy, and afterwards they reclaim the melody once more. I find the highlight of this album to be "Forever in Ebony Drowning," a song where the simple keyboard line invokes emotions of pure evil, and the guitars interact beautifully with the keyboards.

However, when Hecate is put in comparison with the more professional Cradle of Filth, the band that is the vanguard of symphonic black metal, they come apart. Their lyrics clearly make an attempt to seem macabre and romantic, but after a few lines it is visible that they are, well, amateurish. The vocals are extremely "FILTHy," and it becomes apparent that their singer is simply imitating Dani. Also, the musicians themselves are still developing, and the actual performance of the music is second-rate. For people who are able to enjoy Hecate, I highly recommend a much more innovative and talented band, Cradle of Filth, first. Nontheless, Hecate Enthroned is a band capable of producing solid symphonic black metal, but they have not yet reached the level of professionals.

I think That This album have nothing to do with Black Metal .. I don't think so . This is Like a Boiling Oil .. You Can't just Catch any Melody you Can hear .. The Very Best For them Is ( The Slaughter Of Innocence ) album