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/:: Artist :: Mystic Circle ::\
:: Album :: ErzdΣmon ::
:: Year :: 2023 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Black Metal Source :: CDDA . ::
:: Label :: Shinigami Records R.date :: 2023.04.05 ::
_::__ Cat.nr. :: FRSR001 S.date :: 2023.03.17 __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: Encoder :: LAME 3.100 -V0 :\
..: Bitrate :: avg. 279kbps :..
. Quality :: 44,1kHz/Joint Stereo .
. Size :: 92,73 MB .
. .
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: 01. ErzdΣmon 05:39 ::
:: 02. From Hell 05:11 ::
:: 03. The Unholy Trinity 05:23 ::
:: 04. Scarecrow 04:37 ::
:: 05. Asmodeus and the Temple of God 05:19 ::
:: 06. Welcome to the Midnight Mass 04:52 ::
:: 07. The Mothman 05:46 ::
:: 08. Skinwalker 05:57 ::
:: 09. The Princess of the Deadly Sins 03:33 ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 46:17 ..
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
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+/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: ::
:: I can still remember where and when I first discovered ::
:: Mystic Circle. It was around the turn of the Millennium, and ::
:: I was at University in Canterbury. In the high street, as ::
:: was the way in those days, there was an independent record ::
:: shop. I forget the name of it, but it was always a good bet ::
:: for the odd gem. With money tight as a student, I ::
:: procrastinated long and hard before putting my hand in my ::
:: pocket. But eventually, I took a punt and bought æInfernal ::
:: Satanic VersesÆ, the third album by the German black metal ::
:: band. ::
:: ::
:: An entity unknown to me at the time, it was a combination of ::
:: a love of black metal coupled with a sense of daring that ::
:: made me give it a try. After all, it was before YouTube and ::
:: social media as a whole, so I had no idea what I was going ::
:: to hear. I hoped for melodic black metal and happily, thatÆs ::
:: what I got. Admittedly, the album had its ups and downs, and ::
:: it never became a cult classic in my collection. But there ::
:: were a few songs that I really liked and listened to quite a ::
:: lot, developing a soft spot for it in the process. ::
:: ::
:: A smattering of albums followed, but I never actually got ::
:: around to listening to any of them if truth be told. And ::
:: then came the sixteen-year hiatus that ended with the ::
:: release of their self-titled eighth album, which I missed ::
:: completely last year. Never fear though, because news of ::
:: their ninth album hit my radar early and I have not looked ::
:: back. Entitled æErzdΣmonÆ, it is once again the work of the ::
:: duo behind Mystic Circle, Beelzebub and A. Blackwar, ::
:: ::
:: According to the two protagonists, æErzdΣmonÆ sees the duo ::
:: returning full circle to their roots via a German title, ::
:: meaning Archdemon in English, and a sound that they say ::
:: recalls their early albums, æDrachenblutÆ and æInfernal ::
:: Satanic VersesÆ. Now perhaps my wandering tales of yore at ::
:: the beginning of this review make a little more contextual ::
:: sense? I hope so. ::
:: ::
:: Adorned with take-it-or-leave-it cover artwork, I had my ::
:: doubts when I first pressed play, but I felt I owed it to my ::
:: twenty-year relationship with Mystic Circle to check out ::
:: æErzdΣmonÆ. And, you know what? IÆm genuinely glad I did, ::
:: too. A world beating slab of black metal I donÆt think it ::
:: is, but in terms of solid entertainment within the realm of ::
:: melodic black metal, you could definitely do an awful lot ::
:: worse. IÆve certainly enjoyed listening to it, I must admit. ::
:: ::
:: To begin with, the sound of the album is great. There are no ::
:: wasps in biscuit tins here, as Mystic Circle have decided to ::
:: go with a strong, powerful production that fits their brand ::
:: of black metal perfectly. It isnÆt overly polished to the ::
:: point of numbing the impact, but it does carry some weight ::
:: to it, allowing the drums and the guitars in particular ::
:: plenty of clarity and muscle. This is particularly important ::
:: given that æErzdΣmonÆ is littered with plenty of lead ::
:: breaks, double-pedal attacks, and a classic heavy metal vibe ::
:: within their melodic black metal approach. ::
:: ::
:: Also to itÆs credit, æErzdΣmonÆ is a fantastically ::
:: consistent album, where the quality rarely dips from start ::
:: to finish. In fact, the only slight misstep that I detect on ::
:: this record is with the penultimate track, æSkinwalkerÆ, ::
:: which has a strange Western feel to it, particularly at the ::
:: outset. On a record that prides itself as dark, demonic, and ::
:: Satanic, the John Wayne-inspired intro is odd, and out-of- ::
:: place. Admittedly, it isnÆt long before weÆre battered with ::
:: an uncompromising blastbeat-led explosion of black metal ::
:: malevolence, arguably the heaviest on the entire album. But ::
:: the intro, alongside the fact that the melody is at its ::
:: least pronounced throughout this song, means that I have to ::
:: call it out as my least favourite of the nine on æErzdΣmonÆ. ::
:: ::
:: It doesnÆt help also, that it is preceded by my personal ::
:: favourite track, the wonderous æMothmanÆ. ItÆs easily the ::
:: most anthemic and immediate offering on the record, but itÆs ::
:: delicious. The mid-tempo sections are full of memorable, ::
:: majestic melody and when the pace increases, it skips along ::
:: with assured confidence, a counterpoint to the immediacy ::
:: elsewhere. And the guitar solo, when unleashed, is a thing ::
:: of utter magnificence, part classic metal flamboyance, part ::
:: sinister wailing to the underworld. ::
:: ::
:: As good as this song is, Mystic Circle do their best to push ::
:: it close with other tracks on æErzdΣmonÆ, as evidenced by ::
:: the likes of æFrom HellÆ and æThe ScarecrowÆ. In the case of ::
:: the former, the sounds of tortured souls can just be heard ::
:: over the ominous guitar-led intro thatÆs swiftly displaced ::
:: by a thunderous composition thatÆs dominated by a flurry of ::
:: blast beats and sharp riffs, not to mention some really nice ::
:: lead guitar lines that add memorability and theatre to the ::
:: song. Not content with leaving it there, the duo then inject ::
:: further resounding melody via a sumptuous mid-section, ::
:: frantic lead guitar solos, and heavily effect-laden spoken- ::
:: word elements alongside the more classic higher-pitched ::
:: rasping growls that feature throughout. ::
:: ::
:: As far as the latter is concerned, it sees Mystic Circle ::
:: arguably at their theatrical best, with swathes of keys ::
:: adding atmosphere and drama to a song thatÆs again melodic ::
:: in the right way, whilst also being fast and furious, dark, ::
:: and powerful at the same time. ::
:: ::
:: As I said before though, such is the consistency of this ::
:: album, the chances are that if you like one of the songs, ::
:: youÆre likely to enjoy the vast majority of them. æErzdΣmonÆ ::
:: is definitely one of the slickest, most consistent, and ::
:: enjoyable melodic black metal albums IÆve heard in a while. ::
:: It gets better with repeated listens too, meaning that there ::
:: is a lot to commend it for. A world beater it might not be, ::
:: but æErzdΣmonÆ is a very solid and highly competent affair ::
:: that comes with a firm recommendation from me. ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
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