Post by frozenfire on Nov 18, 2020 15:52:51 GMT -6
I thought I'd make a separate thread for this album. Over the past few weeks I've been listening to it most every day. Frankly, I'm pretty shocked by it! I bought the previous two albums because I liked the band's sound. The chainsaw buzz of the guitar work, the aggression were welcome but the songs just didn't stick out for me. I was hoping to like them more than I did. I'd hit play and enjoy them but as the track list wore on they became more background music than anything to capture my attention (though I'm going back to them more now to revisit).
Vanquished Horrible Night is a different story with me. The difference is the diversity and craft of the songs. This is a full experience! I've gone through it beginning to end nearly every day and look forward to each new track. I might have expected something okay but I'll have this album as a top 20 CBM release for years to come! The concept album format really works well and the songs themselves ebb and flow within themselves just as the album does. The lyrics are straightforward, clear and the delivery is passionate and varied.
As for sound, I know that both "symphonic" and "catchy" are curse words for black metal but this album really is addicting. It's not over the top symphonic. That aspect of the sound, especially early on in the track list, is more of an accentuation of the music beneath. It gets in the way here and there but highlights and lifts more often. My favorite track "The Torment of Anti-Christian Souls" really doesn't even put it to great use and there's no loss in greatness. As for catchy, every song has lyrics that stick out, riffs the stand apart. It's incredibly memorable. It meets me in that weird spot that Grave Declaration's "When Dying Souls Scream Praise" did. The songs actually come back to my mind over and over again throughout the day. It's also produced well. It's dirty, loud and not so clean and mechanical. It retains enough blackened spirit to get an aggressive rise out of me.
Again, I really had not expected this. Cullen said this style was a one off and that each new album he planned to go in different directions but I am thoroughly pleased by the advance in the songwriting. I don't think future albums need symphonic elements. If they are written as well as this album is, I'm definitely on board for the long haul.
Vanquished Horrible Night is a different story with me. The difference is the diversity and craft of the songs. This is a full experience! I've gone through it beginning to end nearly every day and look forward to each new track. I might have expected something okay but I'll have this album as a top 20 CBM release for years to come! The concept album format really works well and the songs themselves ebb and flow within themselves just as the album does. The lyrics are straightforward, clear and the delivery is passionate and varied.
As for sound, I know that both "symphonic" and "catchy" are curse words for black metal but this album really is addicting. It's not over the top symphonic. That aspect of the sound, especially early on in the track list, is more of an accentuation of the music beneath. It gets in the way here and there but highlights and lifts more often. My favorite track "The Torment of Anti-Christian Souls" really doesn't even put it to great use and there's no loss in greatness. As for catchy, every song has lyrics that stick out, riffs the stand apart. It's incredibly memorable. It meets me in that weird spot that Grave Declaration's "When Dying Souls Scream Praise" did. The songs actually come back to my mind over and over again throughout the day. It's also produced well. It's dirty, loud and not so clean and mechanical. It retains enough blackened spirit to get an aggressive rise out of me.
Again, I really had not expected this. Cullen said this style was a one off and that each new album he planned to go in different directions but I am thoroughly pleased by the advance in the songwriting. I don't think future albums need symphonic elements. If they are written as well as this album is, I'm definitely on board for the long haul.