DARK FUNERAL - The Secrets of the Black Arts
Tracklisting:
1)The Dark Age Has Arrived
2)The Secrets of the Black Arts
3)My Dark Desires
4)The Dawn No More Rises
5)When Angels Forever Die
6)The Fire Eternal
7)Satan's Mayhem
8)Shadows Over Transylvannia
9)Bloodfrozen
10)Satanic Blood
11)Dark Are the Paths to Eternity (A Summoning Nocturnal)
Lineup:
Blackmoon - Guitar
Ahriman - Guitar
Themgoroth - Demonic Bass and Vocals
Equimanthorn - Drums
Wow! If you like your black metal violent and aggressive with little in
the way of keyboards, then Dark Funeral are for you. This Swedish 4 piece lay on
the brutality in layers from start to end. Themgoroth doesn't scream or screech.
His style is more of a loud growling, but you can understand the lyrics without
reading the lyric sheet. Speaking of lyrics, they are extremely well thought out, most of which are courtesy of Blackmoon. He seems to be the creative core of the band. The guitars are excellent, but Equimanthorn, in my opinion, is the best musician. He is one of the fastest drummers I have ever heard, and is easily in the same league as Hellhammer and Faust. This is another of those "must have" albums, and the quality of the recording is excellent, thanks to Peter Tagtgren and Studio Abyss. These days, only Ahriman remains from the original line up, as three of the band members quit. Shame.
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DARK FUNERAL - Vobiscum Satanas
Tracklisting:
1)Ravenna Strigoi Mortii
2)Enriched By Evil
3)Thy Legions Come
4)Evil Prevail
5)Slava Satan
6)The Black Winged Horde
7)Vobiscum Satanas
8)Ineffable King Of Darkness
Lineup:
Lord Ahriman - Guitars
Emperor Magus Caligula - Bass/Vocals
Typhos - Guitars
Alzazmon - Drums
Just over two years after the release of the hugely successful 'The Secrets Of The Black Arts', Dark Funeral are back with this, their second full-length album and third studio release. Although 3 quarters of the band left after the recording of 'The Secrets Of The Black Arts', Dark Funeral have not changed, musically speaking. The fast-paced speed is still there, with some superb drumming. The vocals are slightly less aggressive than Themgoroth used, but the formula as a whole seems to be no different from the last album. Really, this album could have been called 'The Secrets Of The Black Arts...Part 2', because they sound almost the same as last time, but the quality of material is better. This is a surprise, because after Blackmoon quit, I had visions of Dark Funeral quitting altogether. But it seems as though Dark Funeral was more, much more, than just Blackmoon. So, what we have here, then, is an album of fast, aggressive, professional Black Metal, which is, as always, superbly produced by Peter Tagtgren. The album pulls no punches, but lacks that certain killing element to make it a classic. To summarise, this is not bad at all, although not really different from the last album.
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