| Agathodaimon - Blacken the Angel Nuclear Blast, 1998 Lord Pale: Symphonic slow to mid paced heavy brooding blackened metal from Germany. There are currently way to many of these bands around, however Agathodaimon still manage to retain an identity alongside their competition with a combination of well placed keyboards, chugging riffs, distinct vocals (a snat of course) and a truly dark feel and art work. One song even utilises female vocals, but not how you might think, definitely moving away from being generic. With lyrics in English, German and Romanian your head will be in a bit of a spin, but it adds uniqueness to the flooded market. Agathodaimon hold a lot of promise but although strong 'Blacken the Angel' can get a little tedious on extended listening sessions due to need for more variation. A band to watch. Favourite Tracks - Ribbons/Requiem, After Dark, Die Nacht des Unwesens Rating - 7.5/10 Agathodaimon �Higher Art Of Rebellion� Nuclear Blast , 1999 Lord Pale : Agathodaimon is a German based Gothic blackmetal band . Throughout the album the lyrics swing between English ( predominantly ) German and Romanian . The music is mid tempo blackened metal with plenty of varied Gothic sounding keyboards that complement the flow of the songs . Vocals are mainly a typical blackmetal snat but can range to a deathy growl to clear , spoken and soaring passionate Gothic vocals . The songs with the clear Gothic sounding vocals standout on this album as they have a lot of feeling and emotion behind them . Lyrically Agathodaimon focus on lost love , romance , vampirism and other dark themes . They sound very unique ( as much as a blackmetal band can these days ) and have definitely developed their own sound . The songs are complex and varied and have many layers of keyboards , vocals , and guitars and are always changing tempos , riffs , and adding dark keyboard passages as breaks which keep the songs from getting boring and may require a few listens to fully appreciate . That sums the album up , not immediately appealing but it just continues to grow and grow upon the listener until you find yourself singing a song or humming one of the riffs . The opening track is by far the most boring on the album so don�t let it put you off . If you liked their first album you�ll love this one , if you didn�t like their first album much ( like me ) then you may still like this , it�s a vast improvement in all aspects . Contains 13 tracks with a running time over 70 minutes . Note � this is a review of the limited edition release which contains 2 bonus tracks . Favourite Tracks � Body Of Clay ; When She Is Mute ; Ribbons / Requiem �99 Mark � 9/10 Agathodaimon - Chapter III Nuclear Blast, 2001 Lord Pale: Agathodaimon have really turned up the volume on their third opus aptly entitled Chapter III. The guitars are heavier and more crunching but there is also a new underlying rhythm section in the sound that adds melody to their newly invigorated aggression. The keyboard sound floats much more mildly in the background on this release and is less dominant than on previous efforts. There is a lot more structure to the new material too making it easier to get into. My only gripe however is the loss of Byron as their clean vocalist, instead of his powerful emotive voice, there are more generic clean vocals which is disappointing, but they still work well within the new style. What Agathodaimon have lost in the emotional stakes, they make up for in full frontal visceral energy. The song writing, cover art and lyrical topics all gel perfectly into a complete high quality dark package. Another fine addition to the Agathodaimon saga. Favourite Tracks - An Angles Funeral, The Ending of our Yesterdays, Sacred Divinity Rating - 8/10 Agathodaimon 'Serpents Embrace' Nuclear Blast, 2004 Tyrant: Agathodaimon's forth full length album is a further departure from their symphonic black metal roots heading in new directions. Serpents Embrace demonstrates a wider variety of influences sounding occasionally like In Flames 'Serpents Embrace', Hypocrisy 'The Darkness Inside', Oprhanage 'Cello's For The Insatiable', and even Monumentum's Ad Nauseum on the solely female vocaled 'Solitude'. Despite expanding from their original begginings Sepents Embrace still features Agathodaimon's signature sound and production and fans of the bands previous works will easily get into tracks like 'Faded Years'. The same clean vocals featured in Chapter III are still present as are an increased use of female vocals but Byron ( the clean vocalist from Higher Art Of Rebellion ) is still sadly absent, as is orginal Romanian vocalist Vlad ( although he still contributed lyrics for 'Light Reborn' and 'Bitter End' ). Serpents Embrace is still an innovative and enjoyable album that will appeal to fans of the bands earlier works as well as newcomers. Favourite Tracks - Cello's For The Insatiable ; Light Reborn ; Serpents Embrace Mark - 8/10 |
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