Customer Reviews

Mesmerized

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

 

 

Extol is good, and getting better. Ole Borud is simply one of the best guitarists around, and David Husvik's drums are nothing short of INCREDIBLE. The vocals near the end of the first track are awesome: low, guttural growls, the way Death Metal was meant to be. One of the biggest things that separates Extol from mainstream Death Metal bands is the lyrics, Extol songs are obviously Christian; not the depressing, I-wish-I-was-cool, style that so many secular bands have. This CD is Progressive Death/Black Metal at its best.

Don't be distracted by the fact that these guys are Christians. The guitar-driven tracks on this CD are some of the heaviest songs I've heard in a long time. If you love bands like Celtic Frost, Enslaved, & Sepultura, you'll love these guys.

Let it be said that EP's are primarily made for fans of a band. Extol, a progressive deathmetal band from Norway, made a lot of fans quickly with their first album Burial, including myself. Thus, I was eagerly awaiting the new EP, which included a track only included on the Japanese edition of Burial.

The first three tracks are your standard new studio tracks and are every bit as good as songs from Burial. They do not disappoint! The remaining three tracks, however, have much to be desired. They are remixes of songs off of Burial. In my experience, remixes of songs which were great to begin with are never good, and this proves to be the case.

If you've listened to Burial and want more Extol, you'll want to pick up this EP anyway for the first three songs.

I love this cd! A must for any fan of progressive death metal. It's technical, yet very...very heavy. This is quickly becoming my favorite.

Alright the first 3 songs are very good. A little heavier than what you would've heard from Burial, but basically, musically, not much of a change. This is where they make the transition from meliodic deathmetal to progressive deathmetal. This is nowhere near as good as Burial or Undeceived, but it is better than Synergy, but like I said before, if you buy Extol, ya get em all!

This cd is so brutal, yet melodic and gracefull. I gave it a 5 based on the fact that im not counting the remixes which are awful pieses ..., they shouldnt of bothered to put them on here, but otherwise this is an awsome cd. \m/ metal

This album absolutely bridges the gap between Burial and Undecieved. The music is amazingly complex and beautifully played. It never ceases to amaze me that a band this talented exists in the current time period. I am not including the three industrial tracks in my rating. Those were horrible. Extol should have written three more songs instead of that. Unfortunately their musical genius, Ole Borud, has left the band. Hopefully their music will continue to amaze regardless.

I haven't been much into black metal, but when I first played this it all came to me, this cd is awesome. Fast drumming, stunning vocals and gripping guitars. It only has 6 songs, but for 6 bucks it's a good deal. And every song is good. I highly recommend this cd. If you like Borgir or Simon Dimmu, this would be an excellent alternative. What's most catching is how good and talented they are, for a new band that is young. If you like hard metal that's a different than what's average get this cd.

The 1999 EP Mesmerized was released as a follow-up to Extol's 1998 debut Burial. It was also my first exposure to the Norwegian Christian death/black metal band. Honestly, I didn't think it was possible for there to be such a thing as a Christian black metal band, but that's pretty much where Extol is coming from. They've since taken their sound in a more technical direction, but on Burial and Mesmerize Extol had a completely cold, completely evil sound that was somewhere between black and death metal. They did it really well too, considering the fact that they couldn't rely on corpse paint, arson or satanic gimmickry and had to let the music do the talking.

Back to Mesmerize. The EP featured six songs. The first three songs are studio recordings. "The Prodigal Son" originally appeared on the Japanese import version of Burial, and "Enthralled" and "Storms of Disillusions" are new to this EP. The studio songs are all extremely strong, and fit with the Burial style. The final three tracks are remixed versions of songs from Burial. As nearly every other reviewer has stated, they're pretty bad, and not something you need to hear more than once.

Extol is a Christian band, but unless you're reading the lyrics I doubt you'd ever know it. Like most death and black metal bands, you rarely have any idea what is being screeched or growled. You certainly don't have to be a believer to enjoy Extol's music.

Unless you're a serious Extol fan, you can probably skip this one, or at the very least download (legally, of course) the three new studio songs. Obviously Mesmerized was enough to hook me, but I think Burial or Undeceived would make a much better starting point for anyone new to the band.

There are really only three tracks on this CD. The other 3 are remixes that you will never want to listen to more then once. The first three tracks have a somewhat raw sound compared to their newer stuff. The remixes would not be bad if they would have left out the static and buzz sounds. The CD is not bad since the price is fairly cheap. You will like the two full lengths CD's much better.