Customer Reviews

Verbia Daemonicus

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This is one of my favorite black metal releases of 2007 so far. (Only the new Mayhem lies ahead of this unknown diamond in the rough). Obscurus Advocam is French, and fans of the French black metal scene should like this (especially fans of the almighty Deathspell Omega).

This is their debut, but you wouldn't think it (owed largely to the fact that the members come from bands like Glorior Belli and Black God, who I have yet to hear). The songwriting is very mature. It's not a blast-beat fest by any means. The songs are mostly mid-paced and longer, but the tempo often perks up or drops down for some very eerie and effective dissonant and almost doom-ish sections. The change of pace keeps things engaging, and it really highlights the many wonderful melodies and riffs that move over the pummel of the drums, especially on "Starlight to Twilight." (Check out "Endarkment" for the album's coolest dissonance and subsequent rocking riffing). The drumming deserves a special mention for being so varied. It's tasteful, but it definitely plays a more important role in the music than merely supporting the guitars. Impressive.

The vocals are convincing, harrowed, and evil sounding - just how I like my black metal. The production here seems somewhat typical of the French scene (as far as my experience goes with it) in that the bass lines are audible. It's a good mix, and sports surprisingly high production values for black metal. But don't worry - Dimmu Borgir this is not. There's still a dark and raw aesthetic to the production value that firmly cements this release in the trve black metal camp, if that's your thing.

I can sit through this album front to back and not only remain focused with my head steadily banging and my metal grimace firmly in place, but I usually want to hit the play button for a second go. This album is more than solid; it's fantastic. This album is more proof that France is ruling the black metal world right now.