Symphonic Black Metal is a hard genre
to get right. From a compositional standpoint the amount of know how
needed to execute is impressive. From a purely moral standpoint it is
hard to stay trve to 'real' black metal when so many technical frills
are employed. Yet Xanthochroid manage to do it with aplomb. Their
music fuses pure black metal with more symphonic and even cinematic
elements. A healthy dose of post black metal magic helps to keep the
music vivid and shows how powerful they can be. With Blessed He
With Boils Xanthochroid prove
themselves to be capable and intelligent black metallers ready to
take the genre by storm.
This
album features lots of fancy keyboard passages reminiscent of Dimmu
Borgir. Yet they seem to be much more cinematic than those of Dimmu.
Instead of going for a epic and medieval atmosphere Blessed He With Boils could very well
accompany a movie. The dynamics employed are also very interesting
with lots of acoustic passages and even Gregorian chants which are
immediately contrasted by ferocious black metal. The end result is a
musical roller coaster that spins the listener around and disrupts
them from any form of perceived rest.
In
conclusion, Blessed He With Boils is
a brilliant symphonic metal statement that grabs the listener by the
throat and shows a group of stellar musicians at the peak of their
art. Ever fresh and ever shifting this is a wild musical ride that
many fans of black metal will enjoy. The journey between haunting
melodies and harsh black metal is a wondrous one and Xanthochroid are
capable guides. This odyssean quest is worth taking many times and
will continually leave the listener astounded. I can't wait to see
what this band does next!
Find them on Facebook!
Great content! Super high-quality! Keep it up! :)
ReplyDelete