Customer Reviews

Empiricism

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a great CD; very melodic, with great vocals, admirable percussion, and above-satisfactory guitar work. The keyboards and synths really help out too. I don't see how this is black metal, as it doesn't seem to fit the bill for that subgenre. The extreme vocals are definitely black-metal style, but other than that, it seems like it's one of those albums that you just can't categorize within one subgenre. Vintersorg is a great vocalist in both the extreme and clean regimes. I haven't heard Simen's or Garm's work with Borknagar yet (but will be buying those albums soon), so I can't really compare them to Vintersorg, but I know that the vocals on this album only add to a brilliant layer of melodic metal majesty. The opening song is the best, but there aren't any bad songs. The lyrics are a little difficult to understand, but they beat the usual black metal array of satanism and misanthropy. That gets really tiresome after a while. This is a great album and I recommend it highly to anyone interested in high-quality melodic metal. But it's not for you soft-hearted whiners who are offended by the 'screaming' vocals.

Borknagar's new release is their first offering with new vocalist Vintersorg. i bought this the day it came out because i love all that Borknagar has done in the past and i am a fan of Vintersorg's solo project.

the album is the best produced offering they have released and it is also their most technical. if you are a fan of the new style black metal (good production and heavy keyboards) then you will surery love this disc.

i was dissappointed to learn that Vortex would not be handling the vocal duties this time around, but Vintersorg is a great successor. his clean vocals are a real treat and his growl is strong as well.

one reason that i like Borknagar so much is that their lyrics are not typical black-metal lyrics. it is refreshing to hear about something other than Satan. actually, their is not much about this band that is typical at all.

overall, i would say that this cd doesn't immediately have as many stand-out tracks as Quintesence, but it is a more consistent album all the way through. i jope this line-up lasts because they are making a really great sound together.

i sometimes feel silly describing metal as being beautiful, but i will go ahead and label this disc as such. Borknagar is a awesome band. Empericism is really great.

This cd sees the appearence of Vintersorg on vocals instead of the vocal genius Vortex who did vocals on the last 3 Borknagar albums. This puts off many of the hardcore fans of the band and I am also a great fan of Vortex but i must say that the vocals on this album are excellent. Vintersorg has a strong clean voice and a good black metal rasp, and these both are blended to good effect on some of the tracks. Overall the music is a extreme hybrid of traditional black metal with ambient overtones especially on the keyboards. The drumming by Asgeir Mickelson who is also from Spiral Architect is flawless and his blasting is also very good. The guitar work is amazing, Oystein brun who is also the mastermind behind the band weaving some complex riffs and song structures. The bass work is very professional and adds to the overall atmosphere on the album, it is done by Tyr who is session bass player for the now split up Emperor and Satyricon. The production is fairly standard black metal production with a slight bit of fuzz but not overbearing and a mix which fades out the guitars a little bit but just enough so the vocals can stand out. The whole album is pretty much outstanding and there are no filler tracks but my favourites are tracks 1,2,6 and 7. Highly recommended to black metal fans and also fans of intelligent music.

I bought this album when it first came out and still listen to it. The first time I heard them I was on their web site and got a sample of Genuine Pulse. It impressed me enough to buy the CD. The best way I can describe it is symphonic black metal. Somewhere someone may have broken it down to something a little different, but that is MY description.

The music is heavy on keyboards with strong guitar background. The lyrics seem mystical, dark, and beautiful. I guess they are lyric poetry set to very heavy music. I don't really know the deep meanings of any of the songs but I like them all. The album rocks right through to the last cut, which is kind of mellow.

These guys may be black metal but they go beyond that. They're a great introduction to black metal without all the pseudo "Satanic" overtones. Highly recommended.

A brilliant avante garde approach to black metal. Beautiful and melodic, yet cruel, and eloquently dark. Flawlessly executed guitar parts combined with both Vintersorg's beautiful and gruesome vocals; handsomely written organ and choir parts all surrounded by a wave of ambience seamlessly carrying you through the song. This album is one of the greatest contributions to the Norwiegan metal scene. Shifting smoothly between soft flowing melodies to crushing, yet still elegant brutality. Empiricism is a big step from Quintessence, and I think the addition of Vintersorg had alot to do with that. Although Borknagar is like no other band, you can tell the similarities between Vintersorg and Borknagar in the lyrics, though the music still carries Oystein's and Lars' trademark sounds. This album, not unlike Vintersorg, explores the depth and reach of humanity through it's theology, history, and philosophy in a very avid and complete manner. "The tellar dome" and "Gods of my world" are my two favorite tracks. I can listen to them over and over and never get tired of them. The flowing shifts in each between the hard parts and the soft parts, intricate harmonies, and the gentle use of choirs and calm soothing vocals just draws you in and paints a picture of what the song is about. This band is one of my favorite bands because of their avante garde style- it still contains the elements of black metal, but yet not really. It holds the potential to be grim and evil, but never fully crosses over. It's so technical and precise. Borknagar is one of the bands that confirmed my belief that metal is THE best music out there. Metal is the most-experienced, complicated, technical and expressive genres of music period. In addition to "Empiricism", I reccomend their latest, "Epic", which really continues many of the thoughts and philosophy's started in "Quintessence" and "Empiricism".

I bought this album about a month ago. only a few days back did I fully grasp its complexity. That is why few people listen to this type of music: YOU HAVE TO LET IT GROW ON YOU! You are not going to appreciate it after 5 or 6 listens.

As far as the individual members of Borknagar go, I will list them each now. Aspgair Michelsen, the drummer, is not the worlds best; however, he keeps the beat going and has VARIETY. He doesn't do 4-6 minutes of blastbeats or machine gun double bass bursts. He does slow, midtempo, and fast druming- often in the same 30 or 40 seconds! Lars A. Nedland, the keybordist, does amazing playing. If you listen to this and think it's easy, try playing it yourself. I did, and it ain't easy at all. The keyboards don't dominate, yet they don't submit. They complement the reast to create an amazing atmosphere of melody and complexity. Vintersorg, the vocalist, is an anomaly in BM- he actually sings! This dude, while he has an amazing clean voice, has a rather plain and typical BM growl when he's not singing clean. Occasionally, he does choirs. This guy is awesome! Not only that, he never sings about satan, sex, vampires, sex with vampires, or any typical BM fodder. He sings about the complex, fierce, yet beautiful aspects of nature and humanity. The two guitarists, Brun and Ryland, are a perfect duo- they complement each other, and create wonderful polyrhythmic musicalities. In fact, Brun writes the music. He has amazing songwriting abilities that few can compare. He leaves Emperor in the dust! In addition, they can do asome pretty cool licks with great rhythmic complexity. Tyr, the bassist, does lots of runs, and his bass is rather prominent, but it isn't all low bass. It includes some Higher bass licks, and a few fretless licks. Overall, the band known as Borknagar creates amazing music with great complexity that will always provide new nuances and cool discoveries.

However, they are not Mayhem or darkthrone, and they are much better songwriters than Dimmu borgir (Borknagar came first anyway) and they are not Cradle of filth. They are actually , believe it or not, most like Tool. If you like Tool, you'll like Borknagar.

First off, these songs stay with you. I regretted trading my copy to a friend until I recently got it back. Amazingly enough, I still knew most of the rhythms and notes after not hearing it for half a year. Also, it's very refreshing to hear something besides "satan is great" or "go out and kill people" executed very well in times when few can. That type of music(Dark Funeral, goatwhore,gorgoroth) does have its place in the scene, but it gets old after a while. Highly recommended.

This a an album that has managed to be entirely different from other Black Metal bands, while still satisfying those who love heavy music. Headed by the famous Vintersorg, this band's vocals take a different direction than those of almost any Black Metal band I can think of. This band has a bright future. They do not follow the norm, which is a good thing in this CD. Most of the songs are catchy, and the sound of the album gets better with each listen. I highly recommend this album to any fan of Black, Death or Progressive Metal, or for any metal head with an open mind.

Continuing where they left off with Quintessence, Borknagar has opted to drop the organic sounds of their brilliant Olden Domain and the remarkable Archaic Course, for a more technical approach. In simpler terms, if ya didnt like the last album you wont like this. It might be worth mentioning that Vintersorg (whose solo efforts are worth checking out) has replaced I.C.S. Vortex on vox, but it doesnt really matter since the vox are a tad to low in the mix.(Another thing about the vocals is that Vintersorg has fallen into the same trap as Vortex, both possess monumental clean vocal stylings yet they rarely employ them opting for the more generic black metal screech instead. This album would've been that much better if the clean vocals dominated the mix.) The addition of Lars Nedland on synth and Asgeir Mickelson on drums, while very talented in their own right, only add to the overall confusion of the album with their technical playing. There are a lot of good melodic ideas on vox and guitars that are never fully developed and the keyboards are too overbearing for my taste. The bass, however, is handled very well by the skillful Tyr who has also toured with the almighty Emperor, and Oystein's guitar playing is rivaled only by that of Ihsahn and Daemonaz. In short, a decent effort and worth the money for long time fans, but doesn't hold its own against the recent efforts of Emperor(Prometheus is brilliant), Immortal(watch out for the new "Sons of Northern Darkness"), and Dark Funeral(the new breed of true black metal). Choice cuts: "the genuine pulse" and "the black canvas."

My introduction to Borknagar was this 2001 release by Century Media. I had heard Vintersorg's vocals before with his own band, but I was immediately blown away by his performance here. While many have referred to Borknagar as black metal, it is hard to really put this band in that category. Borknagar have many elements in their music and Vintersorg's screams only seem to fit in the black metal category. His clean vocals are heavenly and extraordinary.

'The Genuine Pulse' is a great opener with soft keyboards followed by black metal screams. Vintersorg has a wonderful gift to sing beautifully and to scream brutally. This album starts to shine with 'Gods of my World.' Keyboards play a delicate role on this stunning recording. Songs such as 'The View of Everlast' and 'Liberated' are filled with graceful, yet haunting keyboard compositions.

One thing to note about Empiricism is that Tyr, the former live bassist for the mighty Emperor, took over bass guitar duties on this album. He plays very well and unfortuneately he agreed to leave for personal reasons during the recording of the later album, Epic. The main composers of Borknagar are Øystein G. Brun and Vintersorg. The lyrics are very philosophical and usually discuss the universe and origins. These men are gifted musicians and make wonderful melodic/symphonic metal.