Never before have I heard an album that struck me as hard as a perfect snapshot of the current Zeitgeist in which people’s compassion and concern for others doesn’t reach further then their penis length or breast circumference and Dark Age have evolved on many levels to serve us a gloomy and dark masterpiece that should encourage us to not just blame politics, corporations and wars for our misery, but to also take a good, deep and above all honest look at our own illusion of self-imputed views and readiness for change.
Dark Age have evolved so much so fast! From a relatively straight forward melodic death metal band with increasing use of clean vocals and a nice depth increasing electronic element, they take the world by surprise by offering an album with an array of differently structured and paced songs, each one with its own trademark(s), yet which always follows a common red thread. It appears that every instrument’s role in the band’s sound has been revised and its effects expanded by finding a better equilibrium. Guitars have taken a step back to form an alliance with the keyboard department that creates walls of sound so dark, viscous and nightmarish that you can’t help but have pictures of the scourges of humanity flickering in front of your minds eye (“Neon Gardens”, “Snake Of June”). Solos have been reduced in favour of epic melodic lines that interestingly have a very rooting effect instead of making you feel you just got shot into space. More the type of melody that appeals more to our inherent, primordial nature which I believe to be peaceful, happy and intelligent with and uplifting sense of confidence and bliss once we recognize it.
What I find hard to put into words is how the whole album’s artistic concept is so evident and yet full of detail. How…, yes, poppy it is without compromising speed, aggression, technicality and atmospheric and lyrical depth. In chemistry a dynamic equilibrium is reached when the rate of vaporisation of a liquid is the same as the condensation rate. This is exactly what is happening here. Hard and soft united in a perfectly harmonic equilibrium without compromising the integrity of the substance!
This is for you if you wondered what a band sounds like that could have done everything wrong a band can possibly do when doing the split I mentioned in the previous paragraph but succeeds so brilliantly that I can’t help but see this band and album at the head of a new movement in metal music!
-David
VITALS:
Release: 13.11.2009
Label: AFM Records
Avantgenre: Dynamic Equilibrium Reality Check Metal
Duration: 44:03
Origin: Germany
Official site: http://www.dark-age.de
Review online since: 24.12.2009 / 16:48:02
| TRACKLIST:
01 – Kingdom Nevercome |
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