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| Artist..: One of Nine |
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| Album...: Eternal Sorcery |
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| Genre...: Black Metal | Label...: Wolves of Hades |
| Year....: 2023 | Cat.No..: |
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| R.date..: 2023-10-26 | S.date..: 2023-10-27 |
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| Source..: WEB (24bit) | Encoder.: libFLAC |
| Bitrate.: 1693kbps avg. | F.Rate..: 44.1kHz |
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| http://play.qobuz.com/album/rfowvsoe0ol3b |
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| Disc 1 / 1 |
| -------- |
| |
| 01. Lurkers of the Half-Light 1:15 |
| 02. The Silence of Heaven 3:55 |
| 03. Dark Magic River 5:04 |
| 04. Mother of Shadows 3:50 |
| 05. Moonlit Sacrifice 5:09 |
| 06. God Chain 5:06 |
| 07. Wrathful Rebirth 3:16 |
| 08. A Hunter Rides the Night 7:05 |
| |
| |
| --------------------- |
| (448.52MB) 00:34:40 |
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| The writings of J.R.R. Tolkien have been a staple of black metal, and |
| heavy music in general since forever, be it Black SabbathÆs classic song |
| æThe WizardÆ, or the entire discography of Summoning, and the countless |
| artists and bands named after Middle-Earth characters and locations. So it |
| was a matter of time before a new black metal band would emerge thatÆs |
| completely Tolkien-themed. Which brings us to One Of Nine, a promising new |
| group out of the US, who emerged fully formed with a striking debut album |
| titled Eternal Sorcery through Wolves of Hades. |
| |
| One Of Nine are exactly what it says on the tin, theyÆre melodic and |
| sorrowful black metal with a thing for the darkness of Melkor, and while |
| many would bristle at a band doubling down on fantasy books as the |
| foundation of their lyrics and image, what truly matters is the music, |
| however, and to this bandÆs benefit, they do a damn good job of their |
| music and image being perfectly linked since the songs truly evoke the |
| fell presence of the most vile denizens east of Gondor and the darkest |
| caves of Dor Daedeloth. ThatÆs to say I donÆt think the music on Eternal |
| Sorcery would work with the usual blasphemous and satanic lyrics of |
| traditional black metal, unless you do a lot of rewriting and pivoting. |
| |
| But with that out of the way, how is this record musically? Well, this is |
| some quality melodic black metal thatÆs equally depressive as it is |
| furious. The band obviously check all the marks, pay due respect to their |
| influences, particularly mid 90Æs Swedish black metal from the likes of |
| Marduk and Dissection, but also with the grim aggression of Gorgoroth, and |
| the band also add their own American flavor in the form of intense riffs |
| and desolate atmospheres. The guitar work especially is the major |
| highlight throughout, as expected, but at the same time, the rest of the |
| instruments are equally impressive. So if you want a dark and intense |
| record, One Of Nine definitely has you covered. However, while the band |
| are devout and talented adepts of black metal and were able to distill it |
| to its most efficient and impactful elements, where this band truly shines |
| is with their atmospheric and acoustic leanings. The major highlights of |
| that are the intro track æLurkers Of The Half-LightÆ and second-to-last |
| interlude æWrathful RebirthÆ, the former being a synth, riff and ambiance |
| driven preamble to the bandÆs sonic darkness, and the latter being a |
| beautifully morose palette cleanse in the form of an acoustic melodic |
| dirge, and if that wasnÆt enough, the band incorporate those atmospheric |
| tendencies into their pure black metal songs, such as the coda on æThe |
| Silence Of HeavenÆ and the opening of æMoonlit SacrificeÆ, and their use |
| of synths are perfectly applied throughout the album, making the whole |
| thing cohesive and consistent. |
| |
| The last aspect to highlight is the production, which is actually perfect |
| for the band. Granted, this production will be a bit too clean for some |
| folks but make no mistake, the band do an excellent job of their sound |
| being enhanced by the production as every instrument pops. The sound of |
| the drums especially, the sound so massive and overwhelming and yet they |
| donÆt overshadow the rest of the instruments, so yes, this is definitely a |
| modern sounding record, but it's actually a GOOD production and a well put |
| together record, as it not only sound great, but you can feel the |
| intensity of the performances, which is ultimately what you would want. |
| It's not a plastic and manufactured sound, and it also isnÆt an awfully |
| atrocious recording so as to hide subpar musicianship. |
| |
| One Of Nine is frankly one of the better surprises of this year, doubly so |
| considering how many legacy acts are putting stellar records around the |
| same time. So yes, this oneÆs highly recommended and One Of Nine are a |
| band to look out for. |
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