Artep - Thy Will Be Done On Earth As Is Done In Hell
Artep's debut may seem like one of those Satanic promoting black minimalist bands, but they're something a bit more... dramatic. Aside from the corpsepaint and all that is. 'Thy Will Be Done' opens up with "Birth Of The Antichrist" which is a gothic, scary intro much like one would hear on a Cradle Of Filth album that leads into its second half, "Antichrist." And considering the music... the guitars and drums tend to sound quite a bit like Cradle Of Filth. The only difference is the drums tend to have that 'clanking' sound to them rather than a steady beat. The vocals are ugly and visceral, almost sounding mechanical at times, but thankfully not too high pitched. They keyboards are almost always used for brief, mystical iterudes on each of the tracks along with this one. "Crossing The Archeron" is perhaps the only straightforward melodic black metal track without any spooky interlude; instead the keyboard is used subtely throughout.
"Eruption" is a powerful track, but if it was minus the screaming introduction it might not have come off as annoying. Here the guitars pull off some more melodic moments, and during the keyboard the interlude are particularly demonic with their deepening echo effects. "Armageddon" features some excellent symphonic moments once the drums slow down and a hyperaggression of tremolo pickings for the first and second part of the track. "Black War," the album's epic, starts out slow and builds up, but overall tends to sound more like a typical Dimmu Borgir track with how much the keyboards are used, and even the vocals which suddenly take on this clear, Shagrath-like quality. Indeed, it may be their most well produced track, but at the same time lacks that underground feeling the album held for the earlier tracks. "Eyes Of The Serpent" starts out minimal and doomy before erupting into a quickened drum pedal fury amongst the other beats. The vocals still sound like DImmu Borgir, but overall the music is much more chaotic and crushing with a veil of keyboards.
Dreamy and annihilating. That would be the best way to sum up 'Thy Will.' Some may have issues with the transition from Cradle of Filth alike to Dimmu Borgir, as both are considered somewhat cheesy bands at time. However, these elements are also very creative and not overused concerning Artep's sound. Each track is very engaging and also haunting, as melodic/ symphonic black metal should be. Trade in raw 'kvlt' power for story and flaire, and that's what one gets. Thankfully, Artep can be just as raw as they can be at creating a mystic atmosphere.
"Eruption" is a powerful track, but if it was minus the screaming introduction it might not have come off as annoying. Here the guitars pull off some more melodic moments, and during the keyboard the interlude are particularly demonic with their deepening echo effects. "Armageddon" features some excellent symphonic moments once the drums slow down and a hyperaggression of tremolo pickings for the first and second part of the track. "Black War," the album's epic, starts out slow and builds up, but overall tends to sound more like a typical Dimmu Borgir track with how much the keyboards are used, and even the vocals which suddenly take on this clear, Shagrath-like quality. Indeed, it may be their most well produced track, but at the same time lacks that underground feeling the album held for the earlier tracks. "Eyes Of The Serpent" starts out minimal and doomy before erupting into a quickened drum pedal fury amongst the other beats. The vocals still sound like DImmu Borgir, but overall the music is much more chaotic and crushing with a veil of keyboards.
Dreamy and annihilating. That would be the best way to sum up 'Thy Will.' Some may have issues with the transition from Cradle of Filth alike to Dimmu Borgir, as both are considered somewhat cheesy bands at time. However, these elements are also very creative and not overused concerning Artep's sound. Each track is very engaging and also haunting, as melodic/ symphonic black metal should be. Trade in raw 'kvlt' power for story and flaire, and that's what one gets. Thankfully, Artep can be just as raw as they can be at creating a mystic atmosphere.
- Birth Of The Antichrist
- Antichrist
- Eruption
- Desolate Lands
- Cross The Archeron
- Armageddon
- Black War
- Eyes Of The Serpent/Oko Hada
Bleak Art Records
Reviewer: Colin McNamara
Dec 17, 2010
Dec 17, 2010
Next review:
Adversarial - All Idols Fall Before The Hammer
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