Customer Reviews

In Defiance of Existence

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

...Well, maybe it did, but not to your humble reviewer. Anyway, Galder [is awsome] in this project, and with Nicholas Barker on the drums, it's not an album to put yourself to sleep to ... The first song isn't an immediate catcher (although it's not bad once you get into it), but skip to track two and, unless your preferences in music include MTV rap and pop, you're not going to be pressing the skip button any time soon. The maelstrom lets up only toward the end with "In Quest of Enigmatic Dreams," which was certainly worth the break for. "Black Seeds on Virgin Soil" is the highlight track, but just about every song is good and worth playing through all the way. There's much more emphasis on guitar and percussion than you'd find in Dimmu Borgir (the two are always compared, especially now that Galder and Nicholas have taken full-time parts in Dimmu), whereas the more popular band places its weight behind the synthesizers too much of the time. Vocally, Galder can't quite match Shagrath, and he sticks to the black metal scream without venturing toward the death growl. Galder and Jardar nail the guitars, so music critics will find a lot to comment upon in that area. So, if you're a black metal fan, or want to become a black metal fan, then IDOE is a marvelous album, and since it's quite melodic, it's more accessible than, say, a later Emperor album for people new to BM. If you're a Christian and are offended by the first song title, well, [that is too bad]; you're missing out on some great music. The cover art is nice... cute little succubus! Anyway, get this album now... Satan wants you to... okay that was stupid... but get it anyway because Galder is amazing!

i have never listened to an album that left me as awestruck as this one did. there are so many subtle and amazing things that occur within the composition of the songs, variations of patterns and harmonies, tempos and timings--and it all sounds incredible. i bought this album expecting it to be good, and it absolutely floored me. unbelievable. every time i listen to this album in my car i find myself babbling outloud to myself "good god that's incredible." this approaches the pinnacle of what i always hoped music could be.

In 2003, three years after Old Man's Child's last album and two years after Dimmu Borgir's latest, Galder returned with two new discs (the sixth C.D. from his side project, OMC's "In Defiance Of Existence," and Dimmu Borgir's "Death Cult Armageddon"). As on other Old Man's Child releases, Galder handled nearly every instrument on this album: second guitar, vocals, bass guitar, and synthesizers. But he is, unexpectedly, not the only one on here who really gets to show off his talents: Dimmu Borgir/Cradle Of Filth/Benediction alumni Nicholas Barker (who had been hired to pound the skins on this album), goes completely nuts, beating the stuffing out of his trapkit, and driving most of these rhythms with remarkable, fast, thumping blast beats.

Like all great melodic black metal, "In Defiance Of Existence" has several pretty, tranquil parts, but it's first and foremost brutal. The heavy parts feature Galder spewing his venomous, kind of snarly vocals over cold, opaque soundscapes of fiery guitars and ultra fast double kick drumming.

But this album also has a lot of great, very refined texture and variety because several of these songs subtly slip in a touch of moody keyboards and/or acoustic guitars. And OMC aren't like some dark metal bands who either make a song completely melodic or completely heavy (with no middle ground), because many of these tracks, like "Agony Of Fallen Grace" (which has a walloping, machine gun rhythm but also includes some spacey synths), are brutal and ambient at the same time.

The record's best song might be "Black Seeds On Virgin Soil." After a melodic intro, a surging, whiplash onslaught made up of a hurricane of guitar riffs and extremely busy double bass work bursts onto the scene. Similarly, "The Soul Receiver" begins with the sounds of a symphony, but then catapults into a heavily churning, pummeling rhythm. Track seven, "In Quest Of Enigmatic Dreams," is an interlude consisting of a very pretty string arrangement, but the album goes out with a bang: "The Underworld Domains" and "Life Deprived" are both scorchers, bursting with thrashy, scalding riffs and ultra-fast, skull-cracking blast beats.

It's a shame that Dimmu's "Death Cult Armageddon" and "In Defiance Of Existence" came out the same year because when someone releases an album from both of his projects, the side project will probably always be overshadowed by the main one. Thus this disc is sometimes overlooked due to DB's bigger, wider selling, and all around better release. But, regardless, OMC is as good as any melodic/symphonic black metal group on the market today, and "IDOE" is easily one of the genre's finest releases of the past several years.

I am not a huge black metal fan, my extreme metal taste is rather limited, but includes records by OMC, Immolation, Entombed, Emporer, Witchery, and At the Gates. I have a couple records by DM and this is the 2nd OMC record I have bought.
Very rarely, do I purchase a record and I am clinging on with intensity to every guitar note and musical soundscape as this record. It is extreme, dark, sinsiter, and beautiful all at the same time. Despite the numerous times I have listened to this record, there are still new musical textures I hear anew with each listen. The lyrics to the first track, "Felonies of the Christian Art" make me feel vile, but still, they make total sense. The keyboards on "Agony of Fallen Grace" haven taken me on a spiritual sojourn and the unrelenting groove of "Black Seeds of Fallen Grace" are bowel dropping. Just purchase this record.

I myself tend to stay away from bands in the pseudo black metal genre (Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir) because they are basically all boring and repetative. I used to place Old Man's Child into this catagory. When I put on 'In Defiance of Existence; my opinion changed dramatically. Unlike Cradle of Filth's latest 'Damnation in a Day', 'In Defiance of Existence' stays true to the black metal genre but mixes it with Euro-Black metal sound of bands like Samael. It is strange to see a band go from pseudo black metal to the purist state of the genre (most bands go from pure to pseudo - In Flames for example). The mix of cold, harsh black metal and electronic keyboards is perfect for the atmosphere that this album is meant to delineate. Vocally this album is very strong, better than they have ever been. Musically 'In Defiance of Existence' shows major steps forward into the black and dark abyss. The best tracks are "Sacrifice Of Vengeance" (my favorite), "The Underworld Domains", and "In Defiance of Existence". Old Man's child have improved vastly, and have released both their best album and the best of of the year so far. 'In Defiance of Existence' is a prime example that modern black metal is just as good as the original.

This is one awsome cd. It might end up being my favorite OMC cd. Only time will tell if thats the case. Either way Galder delivers again. Nick barker ex Dimmu,ex Cradle is the new drummer and does a great job blasting the skins for OMC.
Felonies Of The Christian Art- 8.4 Fantastic opening song. Its a typical OMC song done well. I particularly enjoy the swirling soloing between 3:14 and 3:40. Although the rest of the song is just as good.
Agony Of Fallen Grace-10+ It gets a 10+ because it might be my favorite OMC song ever. Although it does have much competition. The guitar section between 1:20 and 1:37 is especially noteworthy. It encompasses such emotion and sorrow yet beauty and grace as well. Thank god it shows up again toward the end of the song although it could have probably been made into an entire song itself. Also the drums of Nick Barker bring this song to life with a fury I havent felt in earlier OMC cds.
Black Seeds On Virgin Soil-8.2 Not as good as the previous two but hardly a letdown. OMC just dont have any filler songs. Everything has its own place on the cd. This starts out with some acoustic guitar but than bust loose into black metal intensity. Good variety of guitar in this song.
In Defiance Of Existence- 8.7 It opens with guitars and drums that evoke images of splashing waves on rocky norwegian fjords. Than Nick kicks a$$ with some double bass. Overall many fine riffs, melodies and blastbeats.
Sacrifice Of Vengeance- 9 Dont let the tranquill accoustic opening fool you. This is OMc not John Denver. 20 seconds in the riffs begin with a vengence. Nicks Drums are so good you can almost feel his sticks stinging your flesh. Thats a small sacrifice to pay to have the hellish pleasure of hearing this viking vengence. At 3:27 to 3:50 there is a magnificant seering, squawking sounding solo that blows my mind away.
The Soul Receiver 10 Awsome. Reminds me of old Dimmu. This experiance is all about the melody and the melody is good. This is a fitting anthem to the raping, pilaging reapers that once were the terrors of northern europe. Hail the vikings!
In Quest Of Enigmatic Dreams-7.5 Even the vikings needed some tranquility I guess. Pretty acoustic interlude.
The Underworld Domains-9 If in quest of enigmatic dreams was tranquil than this is a nightmare. Maybe the hardest song here or maybe not. Either way this is the underworld so what do you expect.
Life Deprived-9.5 The drums are so cool on this one combined with the buzzsaw riffs and some well placed solos. I get this mechanical impression with this one. Very hard song. A violent end yes, but what do you expect with a title like In defiance of Existance.

at it's finest. This is my favorite album of the genre second only to (maybe) Dimmu Borgir's "Death Cult Armageddon" or "Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia". Excellent.

I grew up a death metal/grindcore kid, but eventually diversified my musical tastes as I got older. Up until about a year ago I've mostly ignored Black Metal. The keyboards and spikes and corpse paint and leather and cheeseball cult/satanic image have always kept me at a distance. Recently I've put aside some of my biases and have come to find some pretty amazing artistry in the form of Dimmu Borgir and a few other Black Metal Artists.

Old Man's Child can be considered Black Metal or Symphonic Black Metal but I think that label does an injustice to this band, because its too limiting. "In Defiance of Existance" is a record that should please anyone who is interested in extreme music. Consistently brutal and fast, yet containts moments of beautifully haunting melody - moments which augment the sound without taking center stage. This record is about destructive guitar riffing and pummeling percussion. And lots and lots of blast. Songs are consistently interesting and catchy.

This release by Old Man's Child is rapidly threatening to overthrow Dimmu's "Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia" as my favorite all time Symphonic Black Metal record. A few song reccomendations: "In Defiance of Existence", "Black Seeds on Virgin Soil", "Felonies of the Christian Art".

4.5 stars. By the time "Black Seeds on Virgin Soil" begins, a very special feeling ensues, giving the impression that a new genre is unfolding before our eyes: Melodic Black Metal. The music here is extraordinarily dense and well produced, mixed with power, subtlety, and speed. I was reluctant to try these guys out at first, but when I read of their association with Dimmu Borgir, I changed direction and am now the gleeful owner of a solid piece of memorable darkness. Another example of this emerging style of music is "Oracle Moon" by Garden of Shadows. I highly recommend both CDs. May this new darkness embrace you.

I have listened to OMC since their first cd and I personally think this band just gets better with each release. This particular album really shows the talent and scope of Galder..and I think Nicholas' drums are a perfect fit as well. I find this cd to be one of their best to date as it seems to have it all. Good melody and lots of harmony yet it still maintains the dangerous quality that we all love in black metal. It's ominous, beautiful and in your face. If you are a fan of any type of metal that shows a lot of talent..I highly recommend this cd. Good (or should I say Good and evil!) stuff!