Image from Osmose Productions
Artwork by Panos Sounas
Year Released: 1995
Genre: Doomed Black Metal/Sludge Metal
Country: Greece
Medias that have this album: Grooveshark, iTunes, YouTube, Google Play, Spotify, Amazon
Similar Artists: Barathrum
Vocal Style: Raspy
Members you might know:
George Zacharopoulos
- Played keyboards for the black metal band Rotting Christ from 1991 to 1995 under the names “Morbid” and “Magus Wampyr Daoloth.” He also made a guest appearance in their 2010 album (doing vocals under the name “The Magus”), 2013 EP (doing keyboards and backing vocals), and their 2016 album (doing additional vocals on track one).
- Sang backing vocals for the death metal band Septicflesh on track three of their 1994 album.
This is what black metal sounds like when the guitars are tuned to drop C. Not only does it create a sludgy sound, but, because of the fast picking on the guitar, it creates a floppy sound at times. This floppiness makes the production quality even worse than it owuld be if it were just normal black metal.
Despite the poor production and the sloppy guitar, this album has a few gems in it including “Devilskin” and “Black Mirror.” Most of the tracks include a segment of chants or normal vocals. These small segments surprisingly fit in with the rest of the track. They give this album charisma. Except track four. “The Arcane Light Of Hecate” isn’t even good on its own. When the song starts, it’s not that bad. It sounds like it’ll pick up after the second verse, but it keeps going. It’s four minutes and twenty seconds of lame sound effects and narrations.
Another part of this album that stood out are the guitar solos. Most of the guitar solos in this album make my ears cringe. The solo that introduces “Scarlet Witching Dreams” is off every other note and the one in track three is just all over the place.
Overall, the album isn’t bad. It has some major flaws, but there are some good guitar riffs here including “Devilskin” and “Scarlet Witching Dreams” (not including the guitar solo).
Highlighted Tracks: Devilskin, Black Mirror, Scarlet Witching Dreams, Pretender To The Throne (Opus I)
Best Guitar Tracks: Devilskin, Black Mirror, Pretender To The Throne (Opus I)
I. Devilskin 9/10
II. Black Mirror 8.5/10
III. Pretender To The Throne (Opus I: The Usurper’s Spawn) 8.5/10
IV. The Arcane Light Of Hecate 0/10
V. Scarlet Witching Dreams 8/10
VI. The Serpent And The Pentagram 7/10
VII. Pretender To The Throne (Opus II: Battle At The Netherworld) 7.5/10
VIII. Spiritdance 6.5/10
Overall Album Rating (minus track four): 79%
Overall Album Rating: 69%
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