Watain – Sworn To The Dark
Posted by Mastema on April 5th, 2007
With the (early) exit of cult-band Dissection, Sweden has lost great and innovative black metal band. Cynically, you could say that was the kind of opportunity Watain has been waiting for! And let us be honest: listeners too. Dissection’s final album, Reinkaos, has been a huge disappointment, and fans were left with a sour taste in their mouth. Well it now seems Sweden has found an excellent replacement: Watain.
This band has been around since 1998 and already released two good but very underground studio albums and two live albums. But this new offering is way…way above what could have been expected. First of all, it has to be said the production is pretty much perfect, which is never guaranteed in the black metal-genre. Second: the atmosphere. No worries here, folks, this is all you can expect from an excellent black metal album: darkness, coldness and a healthy dose of hatred! Watain’s musical approach is quite pure: no fancy symphonic parts, none or little vocal effects, just awesome and inspired riffs, a few judicious leads, great vocals and a drummer who tries something else than endless blast-beats.
The music writing is really great, it’s usually dark yet catchy. Songs like Legions of the Black Light, The Light That Burns the Sun or The Serpent’s Chalice are a true headbanger’s treat while still being very black metal-spirited! The album’s highlight, however, certainly must be the combination of the two last tracks, Dead but Dreaming (chilling instrumental intro) and Stellarvore. This last track, a pure epic, is one of the best black metal tracks I’ve heard for a long time, really. The “operatic” vocals part which introduces us to the song is awesome, the main grind riff smells like goddamn Purgatory and the whole thing is really original, a mix of old and new school. An incredible song which lifts the album to a higher level than it already was.
Now are there any negative things to say about this release ? Actually not much, except maybe that a few songs aren’t quite as good as the others but, again, compared to the last track, it can barely be taken as a criticism…
All in all an excellent album, probably “the album Dissection should have released”: I know, that’s an easy thing to say and I don’t like it, but this time it’s very true…
Released: 19/02/2007
Style: Black Metal
Country: Sweden
Label: Season Of Mist
Website: www.templeofwatain.com
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this album is a top level black metal album,dirty and catchy,
in my opinion 5 stars :-)