Customer Reviews

Quintessence

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Where "The Archaic Course" showcased Borknagar's fascination with nature and took more of a majestic Viking metal route, the sound on 2000's "Quintessence" is more focused on songwriting, and is, simply put, more aggressive and well... heavier!

Speeding down a path of musical and intellectual evolution, Borknagar changed themselved from the inside out here. The lyrics focus on science and universal mysteries rather than nature-themed lyrics on previous outings. Definitely provokes the listener to think, despite their obscurity, which may caise a few eyebrows to raise. But the lyrics are descriptive and beautiful nonetheless. These are by far some of the best lyrics I have seen in metal, alongside Agalloch, Dissection, and Emperor, among others.

The guitars and drums have sped up consistently and now collaborate together impeccably. There are a lot of intricate fills on the drums, and much more in-your-fave double bass. All around, it's a fresh awakening from the "wall of noise" production used on previous albums. However, the guitars are a little too distorted and muddy for their own good, and sometimes clashes with the keyboards, which are more up-front than "The Archaic Course". They weave pompous and majestic melodies throughout the album, giving this album quite an ethereal atmosphere.

Vortex now does bass and vocals. He still has one of the best clean voices in metal, but he does more screaming, which is much more visceral and venomous than before. His all-around vocal job is more steady, and he busts out some beautiful vocal harmonies on "Colossus" and "Revolt".

1. Rivalry of Phantoms- Storms into a frenzy of triumphant guitar melodies, with some great organs underlying the storming and intricate drumwork. A strong opening track, and shows what to expect on the album. 5/5

2. The Presence is Ominus- Vortex double-layers his vocals here of clean and his hateful rasps. The guitars weave some great melodies, and the drums are outstanding! The lyrics are really good too. 5/5

3. Ruins of the Future- My favorite song. This song is faster with some catchy guitar work and stampeding drumwork. It later breaks down and Vortex gives one of his best performances here. 5/5

4. Colossus- Stunning! A pounding rhythm coupled with Vortex's opeatic clean vocal create a larger than life atmosphere, and you just feel like raising your fist to the sky when hearing this. The best song on the album. 5/5

5. Inner Landscape- A nice little interlude that showcases the somewhat hidden keyboards. A nice break from the chaos, but a bit unfitting. 3/5

6. Invincible- The pace picks back up with storming double bass. The verses shows a nice technical side of the band, and the keyboards add a triumphant feel here. The guitars are great as well. This song isn't too memorable, but the lyrics compensate for it. 4/5

7. Icon Dreams- More double-layered vocals here, which are interesting but catchy, and the tempo sets an epic mood. Again, not very memorable, but it has its moments. 4/5

8. Genesis Torn- Another great song. Has a booming chorus which will stick in your head for days, and the keyboard work woven with the guitars is impeccable. This sums up the album best, and has a lot of tempo changes. A great song. 5/5

9. Embers- Serves as somewhat of an intro to the grand finale of "Revolt". Truly beautiful guitar work.... 4/5

10. Revolt- Awesome... Vortex gives his most emotional vocal performance here, and the mood is almost mournful. A great closing song. 5/5

My only complaint here is the crowded production. I would reccommend this to fans of avant-garde or proggressive metal. Another great CD from Borknagar.

If you enjoy black metal with a more melodic approach, you may enjoy this. Borknagar use pretty standard thrash style guitars, laced with keyboard/synth music, and fast rhythmic drumming. On this album the band seems to wind in and out from sudden bursts of chaotic noise to dark melodies. Borknagar do not stay on one musical path, you don't know what to expect on the next song or even the next chorus. You can here the "old-school" influences but they have an original take on black metal. The album goes in all directions! One problem with the album I found was that the vocals strayed to almost ridiculous at some points (kind of like a whiny six year old with mucous in his throat), but they have superb vocals through out most of the album. The band does not stick to one vocal style, there are clean vocals, black metal vocals, and average heavy metal vocals. The lyrics are excellent and poetic, the music is complex and varied. My favorite songs are "Colossus," and "Revolt." I'd say that if you are into Agathodaimon, EmpEroR, CoF, Dimmu Borgir, or maybe Gorgoroth, or even some who are into melodic death metal would probably want to check this CD out!

This is the first Borknagar album I was privy to, and the first black metal release I actually enjoyed.

Listeners that are new to black metal may not quite appreciate the raspy, harsh "black metal" vocals at first. However, they are an acquired taste, and one would soon prefer them to any other sort of vocal style, in the metal genre. The operatics found in "Colossus" and "Revolt", most notably, are quite stunning; singer I.C.S. Vortex is quite easily one of the best vocalists in the metal style of music. Another point of interest is the actual overdubbing screaming vocals with clean vocals, such as on "The Prescence is Ominous", and "Rivalry of Phantoms". A good mix, but an odd one nonetheless.

Oystein G. Brun's guitar work and songwriting/arranging is impeccable on this album, leaving no flaws that I can detect. The lyrics make no sense whatsoever, but they do flow quite well. I don't believe that he has a very good grasp of the english language. There is enough synth on this album to make it incredibly complex, but it is still not overpowering.

All in all, this is the best album for you to buy if you are new to Black Metal, and you want to ease yourself into the sound.

Man, I didn't realize how long I've had this album...I'd say about two years or so. Two years. And it spent about 9/10 of that time sitting on my shelf collecting dust. Thank God I decided to give it another listen; it'd still be there if I hadn't.

Borknagar, upon first listen, may sound like just another black metal band. They sure did to me. I saw nothing of revelance to them when compared to other black metal bands, so I put this CD on the shelf and forgot about it. Only a few months ago did I decide to give it another listen, and because I did, I'm now a pretty damn big Borknagar fan.

Yes, the songs are black metal, but different from the standard BM in a very hard to describe way. Let's call them progressive black metal. They are to black metal what "Tales From the Thousand Lakes" era Amorphis was to death metal. They create super complex music with layers of melodies and lyrics that go far beyond that of the typical genres. At the time this record came out, preaching Satan and ranting about killing Christians was the black metal norm. Borknagar dared to write more poetic lyrics. And it succeeded.

The first track is a heavy one, starting right off with rapid riffing and drumming, as well as a high pitched shriek from vocalist / bassist ICS Vortex. After 22 seconds, we are led into the first verse, with Vortex's screaming accompanied with an effect that he uses throughout the album. To the unobservant listener, this particular verse could very well bore you, as it did me; the fast pace keeps up, and hey, it is just super fast drums, guitar and screaming: typical black metal But it's much more than that; listen closer and notice the layered keyboards, the numerous guitar harmonies, the tastefulness in drummer Asgeir Mickelson's beating: all leaning more towards progressive metal than anything black. The second track is more melodic, with lyrics completely sung cleanly as opposed to screamed. It starts with a beautiful hearmony between the guitars and the keyboards, leading into the first verse, and the song builds upon itself, until reaching the status of being an epic. And this is not the only song on this album to reach that status: "Ruins of the Future", "Colossus", "Genesis Torn" and "Revolt" could all very well be considered metal classic. That is, if you give them a chance to grow on you.

Because of the complexity of the music in question, Borknagar will not be a band to immediately strike you. They're like Meshuggah, in that you have to study their music, notice all the little things, to fully appreciate their art. There's nothing predictable about this album at all music wise. Any skilled musician should give this band a listen.

The lyrics on this album, as I said before, are all very well written. Dealing with matters like the vastness of time, the forces of nature, the feeling a human mind experiences...it's all extremely poetic. Being a fan of poetry and a lyric writer myself, I never like to see bands let their lyrics skip, especially when the music is exceptional. The lyrics simply must be as thought-filled as the music, or the full effect just won't be so powerful.

This is a very highly recommended album. If you are a musician at all, PLEASE give this album a chance. This is an extremely talented band that deserves your attention. For fans of ALL types of metal.

This amazing release was vocalist and bassist ICS Vortex's last one with Borknagar before he departed for a permanent bass post in Dimmu Borgir. The vocals he did are perfect for this album, a lot of soaring clean singing and also a lot of the standard black metal rasping all multi layered and mixed into a very powerful and wraithlike voice. The vocals are quite unsettling the first time you hear the album but after a few listens their majesty and power sinks in and hooks a listener forever. They especially shine on "Colossus' and also the last track "Revolt" which is my favorite on the album. The drumming is well executed by Asgeir Mickelson with appropriate tempo changes and good rhythm. The bass work is mostly inaudible in the chaotic guitar mix but this is quite a standard occurrence for black metal. The riffs are very twisted and at times very intricate, and are some of the best I have ever heard. Keyboards are not overbearing as they can sometimes be in the genre and complement the main melodies and riffs to create quite a symphonic and majestic atmosphere. The lyrics are top notch as usual and are in line with the regular borknagar theme of space, time, philosophy, astronomy etc. The final sound that comes out of the speakers though is godly, no other word for it. And the replay value is excellent. Every time one replays this album it is easy to discover new hooks and melodies which do not stand out at first listen alone. In conclusion...one of the best metal albums ever and a genuine classic.

I was looking forward to the new Borknagar album, wondering what new transcendental path the band would take me on. Swords and heroes, ancient gods and the power of the elements - Scandinavian mythology had been at the core of the previous albums, The Olden Domain and The Archaic Course.

With Quintessence, the underlying theme has changed - not a bad thing in itself. One thing you have to give Borknagar is that they are not simply presenting us with yesterday's leftovers i.e. there are some new ideas, apart from the theme change in this album. The 'sound' of Borknagar has changed - maybe something to do with Peter Tagtgren. The singing style on 'The Presence is Ominous' and 'Ruins of the Future' are unique to this album. Ruins features what I call a 'trying to speak in water' effect, with the last word in each line being distorted in a staggered kind of way. The former has two layers of sound, one voice singing 'clean' and one growling, synchronized and layered in such a way to produce an interesting effect. I couldn't help but feeling that the new album had a positive feel about it - no gloom and doom here. Even the synth recorded on the album, while being used only to produce more or less one kind of sound, feels overly positive. Also, this album features three new members.

Despite all the newer elements, I can't but help feeling disappointed. If you were to ask me what were the highlights on this album, I couldn't tell you. Almost all the songs sound pretty similar, and they are all Very Average. No particular song stands out, which is not a bad thing if all the songs are great, which unfortunately is not the case here. Most of the songs get boring about half way through. The Presence is Ominous, is a nice uplifting song, but after the third verse, it starts feeling repetitive. Ruins of the Future has an interesting vocal effect, but is again mired in mediocrity. Revolt fails to marry the clean and unclean vocal sound successfully, something which has not happened in a Borknagar song before. Inner Landscape is the only piece, which is good and that too is a short instrumental. Previous albums nicely balanced slow and fast bits; here it seems forced.

The vocals are pretty average too, which is surprising considering ICS is singing, whose contribution in Spiritual Black Dimensions made the album even more outstanding. The guitar work is uninspired. The drumwork is tedious, which is surprising since the last two albums had some of the most imaginative drumming in the Black MEtal scene today (maybe due to Grim's death).

The compositions overall are very average. Distortion is used a little too much in the vocals on this album, which is a trap a lot of bands fall into (Sepultura's Roots). The production is high quality, as is usual in Borknagar.

If you are a Borknagar fan, you will pick up the CD regardless of this review, as I would. I just hope I am wrong, and this is a refreshingly new approach by Borknagar, rather than a step in the wrong direction by one the better bands in the Black Metal genre. Two stars for trying something new; no more than that for failing. Perhaps Oystein has run out of ideas, something that is common when only one person is doing the songwriting for the entire band.

Borknagar is the all star band that tends to create a more mature and experienced take on blackened metal. They focus more on the meat of the music rather than the church burning and corpsepaint associated with this form of music. Borknagar has always had a sort of elder-like leadership role in their music making and their albums are great testaments to their outstanding song craft and ability to draw you into their misty, murky, dark world. while most of their albums have a bit of a grey like quality to them, Quintessence is the odd album out for this band. the colour scheme for this album is red and the music reflects that same feeling. first off, the production of this album is unique. all the instrument and the vocals (especially the vocals! yikes!) are all pushed waaaay up into the mix giving the record a very aggressive and claustrophobic feeling. you can almost feel the white hot heat from the fiery performance of the band. this may turn off alot of listeners who like their black metal music crystal clear and/or utterly productionless. in any case, it works well for this particular album for Borknagar. they took a chance with these sort of production values and (in my opinion) it pays off in spades. the band rocks hard on this album...exploding through the songs like they were blasts of molten lava shot straight from hell's cannon squad! the vocals are great! very hearty and passionate, there are alot of effects used on the vocals which at times, tends to hamper the impact, but at the same time gives some of the songs a very "cosmic" feel to them. this would be the last album with I.C.S. Vortex on vokills, which is unfortunate b/c he gives quite a stellar performance. overall, this is an album to be purchased immedietly by those with adventerous tastes in metal music!

In general, this is probably one of the best black metal (or whatever subgenre this stuff fits into) bands I've heard. I especially like the occasional clean vocals and keyboard parts. However, the real downside of the CD is its unbelievably bad mixing job. The guitar parts sound MUDDY, and at times sound just like complete noise (some of you less musical types may like this, but I think it would sound a lot better if one could actually make out the melodies, which in general are very well written and interesting). The same thing goes with the vocals, they're really muddy and at times impossible to make out, even though Vortex has a great voice. Buy this CD only if you really like darker metal stuff, or if you want something melodic and can put up with the bad production.

This was my introduction to Borknagar and I have to say at first the only three songs I could listen to on the CD were Colossus, The Presence Is Ominous, and Rivalry of Phantoms. I then grew more accustomed to B's style, and began to enjoy the rest of the CD. One thing that might scare off listeners is the chorus like distorted vocals that are sung when the clean vocals are not. It really sounds different, and at first makes you neglect listening to the CD. But other than those complaints this CD is awesome. The keyboards are some of the best, and provide a wide arrange of sounds. The clean vocals are spectacular and, once you get used to them, the multi-layered vocals add a lot the CD's atmosphere. The guitars rule, and it's cool to black metal guitarists playing solos again. The drumming is excellent as well.
The Band-
I.C.S Vortex- Though Vortex now contributes his bass work and clean vocals to Dimmu Borgir, I believe his style of playing and singing really fit this band. I have listened to the material the Garm sang with Borknagar, an though I like Garm's vocals, I think Vortex fit the band perfectly. His distorted bass gives a very nice support to the drums and guitars.
Oystein G. Brun, guitar- Ripping Norwegian black metal points should go to Brun for writing completely some of the coolest songs on this album. Brun really has an intriguing style of playing, which is great in a genre where guitarist usually sound the same.
Jens F. Ryland, guitar- Jens doesn't write much on this album, but his presence is still ominous (pun intended!). I'm not sure if Jens is just a session guitarist or what, sinc he actually doesn't anything on the album! It's always good to have two guitarists though, especially in a band like this.
Lars A. Nedland, synth- Lars creates some very cool synth lines on 'Quintessence', as I stated before. He also creates the awesome instrumental Inner Landscape, and writes some intellegent lyrics on Genesis Torn. Lars has a very unique style of playing when it comes to the effects he uses and basically how he plays. Very cool!
Asgeir Mickelson, drums- The good think about Asgeir is that his drumming is not boring. It would be very easy to make the drumming boring on this album, because most of it is not fast, which means there's gonna be a lot of space to fill up thanjust the regular ole' blast beat. His percussive drums really stand out as well, thanks to Tatgren's production.

'Quintessence' is for those who are looking for either a new creative band in the black metal scene, or just something new! This I do not recommend for new listeners though. And if you find this disc dissapointing, give it time and I'm sure it'll grow on you.

Man, I love Borknagar, this review might sound a bit biased, but just wanted to say that I own all of Borknagar albums, and they're yet to disappoint me. I absolutely love this style, melodic, catchy (!?), even groovy black metal, clean vocals mixed with raspy typical BM vocals, and powerful riffs create quite an atmosphere. As most probably know, Vortex, who performed as bassist and vocalist, left Borknagar for Dimmu Borgir (and recorded Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia with Dimmu), but he did quite an astounding job on Quintessence. Very interesting vocals. My favorite songs from this album would be "Colossus", "The Presence in Omnius", "Revolt" and "Genesis Torn". This type of Black Metal is a bit easier on the ears for someone who's new to the genre, than, say Darkthrone, Satyricon or Emperor. Very melodic, changing moods, perfect vocals, in short, a masterpiece!