Darkest Era - Severance
New on the Cruz Del Sur Music label is that massive cd from Ireland’s Darkest Era entitled “Severance”. While this band is labelled as heavy/celtic folk metal, there is no doubt that they draw from a number of other genres and influences that make this release an absolute necessity in the collection of every metal head out there. Cruz Del Sur Music has been releasing some really awesome albums as of late and this one is no different. This label is one of the few underground labels that sign bands who actually take pride in their work. That’s exactly what Darkest Era does with this release. From beginning to end, the pride and hard work just simply oozes from the speakers in pure metallic glory. The sounds on this album are of such godliness that has not been heard since the late 80’s and early 90’s.
I usually start off talking about the riffs, but in this case the drum work needs to be spoken of first and foremost and in high regard. Like the pulsing of blood through the veins and heart, the drums on this release are presented in such a deep, bombastic way, you would swear that these tracks become the very beat within your own body that gives you life. Starting out in a typical fashion for this particular genre, the rhythm quickly switches unbelievably into a progressively brutal death metal type beat, then just as quickly as it changed, it changed back. Ranging in styles from the one I just mentioned all the way to classic heavy metal and dare I say even a twinge of doom metal. While the vibe is ever-changing the rhythm continues to pull you in and once this happens, you are at the mercy of the beautiful brutality of this album. The guitars are the same way. The influences are ever so true to form with riffs that tend to stay within the confines of the classical heavy, progressive, and folk type genres, yet are played with such a technical precision that adds an undeniable depth to the material on this album. The solos are extremely passionate almost to an insane degree and there is no doubt that the emotion with which they are played are no doubt the result of the bands pursuit of perfection and love for this form of music.
I just could not get over the genre crossing going on here. It is subtle in some areas and not so subtle in others. This cannot simply be labelled as “folk” metal nor can it be simply labelled as heavy or Celtic. There is just so much going on here with the vibes and the sounds and influences for such a simple description. Imagine if you will the glory of Iron Maiden’s “Seventh Son..”, Candlemass “Epicus…”, Crimson Glory “Transcendence”, and various other bands such as Hammerfall and the like, all wrapped up in a nice little package then someone comes along and shakes the ever-loving hell out of it. That is what you have in this album. Overflowing with passion and artistic display that is more than enough for even the most sophisticated lovers and critics of this type of music, Darkest Era’s “Severance” leaves nothing to miss. Carefully constructed and forged, this album is the sword that the band carry into battle and now that they have done so, victory is a foregone conclusion. This is definitely in my pics for the top 10 underground metal albums for 2014.
I usually start off talking about the riffs, but in this case the drum work needs to be spoken of first and foremost and in high regard. Like the pulsing of blood through the veins and heart, the drums on this release are presented in such a deep, bombastic way, you would swear that these tracks become the very beat within your own body that gives you life. Starting out in a typical fashion for this particular genre, the rhythm quickly switches unbelievably into a progressively brutal death metal type beat, then just as quickly as it changed, it changed back. Ranging in styles from the one I just mentioned all the way to classic heavy metal and dare I say even a twinge of doom metal. While the vibe is ever-changing the rhythm continues to pull you in and once this happens, you are at the mercy of the beautiful brutality of this album. The guitars are the same way. The influences are ever so true to form with riffs that tend to stay within the confines of the classical heavy, progressive, and folk type genres, yet are played with such a technical precision that adds an undeniable depth to the material on this album. The solos are extremely passionate almost to an insane degree and there is no doubt that the emotion with which they are played are no doubt the result of the bands pursuit of perfection and love for this form of music.
I just could not get over the genre crossing going on here. It is subtle in some areas and not so subtle in others. This cannot simply be labelled as “folk” metal nor can it be simply labelled as heavy or Celtic. There is just so much going on here with the vibes and the sounds and influences for such a simple description. Imagine if you will the glory of Iron Maiden’s “Seventh Son..”, Candlemass “Epicus…”, Crimson Glory “Transcendence”, and various other bands such as Hammerfall and the like, all wrapped up in a nice little package then someone comes along and shakes the ever-loving hell out of it. That is what you have in this album. Overflowing with passion and artistic display that is more than enough for even the most sophisticated lovers and critics of this type of music, Darkest Era’s “Severance” leaves nothing to miss. Carefully constructed and forged, this album is the sword that the band carry into battle and now that they have done so, victory is a foregone conclusion. This is definitely in my pics for the top 10 underground metal albums for 2014.
- Sorrow's Boundless Realm
- Songs Of Gods And Men
- The Serpent And The Shadow
- Beyond The Grey Veil
- Trapped In The Hourglass
- The Scavenger
- A Thousand Screaming Souls
- Blood, Sand And Stone
