Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2016 8:24:40 GMT -6
Grave Declaration - When Dying Souls Scream Praise
Year: 2013
Genre: Symphonic Black/Death Metal
What better day than Easter to review an album like this? When Dying Souls Scream Praise is a worship album, something that you don't hear all that often in this scene. If you were to read the lyrics (to the English songs) without having heard any of the music or knowing that Grave Declaration is a black metal band, you might assume that it's typical church worship music. This certainly isn't the case. This is majestic, emotional black/death, and it creates what is in my opinion the greatest setting for worship themes.
I'm not entirely sure what you think of when you hear "symphonic black". It might be exactly like Grave Declaration, or it might be something more boring, like a black metal band with one symphonic keyboard line to accompany their playing. Grave Declaration doesn't bother with cheesy, simple, or boring synths. Though all the orchestral parts are obviously simulated, it still sounds very real, and there are a lot of different instruments playing. Additionally, the orchestration is actually part of the composition of each song. It doesn't just sit there in the background to create atmosphere. Yes, it does generate atmosphere, but it does so by contributing far more to the music than it would in most other bands. Violins will carry melodies from time to time, and sometimes in slower sections, a piano comes in. The intro to "In the Throne Room" is memorable for its flute part. Many songs also feature a medieval-style chorus. There is so much orchestration going on in each song that it leads to extremely complicated music, preventing the album from ever getting boring. That's not to say that the symphony is omnipresent, though. It does drop out sometimes (check out the intro to "Ærefrykt"), leaving technical guitarwork to make up for its absence.
You might think that the guitars take a backseat to the symphony, but thankfully that's not the case. The guitars are just as involved as the symphony, and there is a lot of variety within them too. Most songs will feature a lot of tremolo melodies that work really well alongside the orchestration, but more death metal-influenced riffs are in most tracks as well. During slower sections of some of the songs, soaring melodies will flow over the atmosphere created by the orchestration, and it creates a very light, airy, majestic feeling. Some of the songs have guitar solos towards the end, adding more death metal elements. The guitars are equally important to the symphony, creating further complexity and giving each song its own memorable melodies.
The drums are programmed, but unless you're a very experienced drummer, you probably wouldn't have guessed it. They are the most well-programmed drums I've ever heard. They're so good, in fact, that I wonder if the next album will actually be a little bit worse now that the band has a real drummer. The vocals are also fantastic. Ronny Hansen of Antestor and Vaakevandring is the band's current vocalist, but he didn't perform on When Dying Souls Scream Praise outside of some guest vocals on track one. Thor Georg Buer (also from Antestor) was the main vocalist of this album, and although I love Ronny's vocals, I wish that Thor would remain the main vocalist because he's better at enunciation, which is important for worship music. I can tell most of what he's saying for most of the album (except for the two Norwegian songs, of course), and his tone and pitch are perfect for this style of black metal. I do think that Ronny's voice will suit the music well in the future, but I doubt it'll be as good as Thor was.
By now, you understand that this album is very well-composed and complicated symphonic black/death. But what is it that makes this album stand out even more from the rest? What is it that makes it worthy of a score of 100? The pacing of the album. The tracks are arranged perfectly to create a variety of moods and emotions. The first five tracks all create an epic, grandiose feeling. But within those five tracks, there is no monotony to be found. Some of them are faster than others, and each has unique, identifiable characteristics that set it apart. "Change of Heart" has a lot of variety packed into it, from its Star Wars-reminiscent intro to its slower, death metal section in the middle. "Come, Let Us Speak" slows things down a little and features an awe-inspiring clean vocal section. "Fall Down" contains a rather bizarre, electronic introduction that resurfaces later in the song and sounds really cool. "Ærefrykt" has a raw, aggressive introduction with a soaring guitar solo over it. "Reach for the Sky" combines many of the aforementioned elements, such as the electronics from "Fall Down" and the faster and slower sections from "Change of Heart" and "Come, Let Us Speak". "Legacy" introduces the middle section of the album, which is slower and more emotional. The track itself is the slowest one on the album and is the only one that is more driven by piano than guitar. "Silence" features a slow, symphonic intro that adds more and more layers over time until the bulk of the song kicks in. "Instrumental #1" is a three-minute orchestral piece that provides an epic conclusion to the setup created by the previous two tracks. This section of the album sets the perfect mood for the last few songs. "Hardest Rocking God of All Time" is an upbeat, fast song, while "In the Throne Room" slows things down a little once again to create a slightly darker mood than the rest of the album. The forty-six-second "Interlude" is a simple, lonely piano that perfectly sets the stage for the beginning of the epic finisher, "Jeg Er Frelst, Å For En Nåde". Basically, the first section says, "We're Grave Declaration, and we can write awesome black metal." The second section says slows things down to make it emotional, and the final section wraps it up perfectly. The progression and variety within this album is something that I so rarely see, and I can't think of an example where it is more well-done than it is here (outside of some experimental bands like Kekal that are really off-the-wall and don't always stick to one genre).
When Dying Souls Scream Praise is a masterpiece of symphonic black/death, a future classic of Christian black metal, and something that you absolutely need to listen to if you haven't yet. It's an extremely accessible album, so even if you're not much of a black metal guy, you should give it a shot. I know that the band is currently working on their next album, and I cannot wait for it to be finished.
100/100
-CrimsonWarrior
Buy it from Metal Helm:
metalhelm.com/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&cPath=182_183&products_id=562&zenid=t0qgsn7ricv0cms9pl5lggeo52
Buy it from Nordic Mission:
nordicmission.net/ds_product_info.php?products_id=2669
Year: 2013
Genre: Symphonic Black/Death Metal
What better day than Easter to review an album like this? When Dying Souls Scream Praise is a worship album, something that you don't hear all that often in this scene. If you were to read the lyrics (to the English songs) without having heard any of the music or knowing that Grave Declaration is a black metal band, you might assume that it's typical church worship music. This certainly isn't the case. This is majestic, emotional black/death, and it creates what is in my opinion the greatest setting for worship themes.
I'm not entirely sure what you think of when you hear "symphonic black". It might be exactly like Grave Declaration, or it might be something more boring, like a black metal band with one symphonic keyboard line to accompany their playing. Grave Declaration doesn't bother with cheesy, simple, or boring synths. Though all the orchestral parts are obviously simulated, it still sounds very real, and there are a lot of different instruments playing. Additionally, the orchestration is actually part of the composition of each song. It doesn't just sit there in the background to create atmosphere. Yes, it does generate atmosphere, but it does so by contributing far more to the music than it would in most other bands. Violins will carry melodies from time to time, and sometimes in slower sections, a piano comes in. The intro to "In the Throne Room" is memorable for its flute part. Many songs also feature a medieval-style chorus. There is so much orchestration going on in each song that it leads to extremely complicated music, preventing the album from ever getting boring. That's not to say that the symphony is omnipresent, though. It does drop out sometimes (check out the intro to "Ærefrykt"), leaving technical guitarwork to make up for its absence.
You might think that the guitars take a backseat to the symphony, but thankfully that's not the case. The guitars are just as involved as the symphony, and there is a lot of variety within them too. Most songs will feature a lot of tremolo melodies that work really well alongside the orchestration, but more death metal-influenced riffs are in most tracks as well. During slower sections of some of the songs, soaring melodies will flow over the atmosphere created by the orchestration, and it creates a very light, airy, majestic feeling. Some of the songs have guitar solos towards the end, adding more death metal elements. The guitars are equally important to the symphony, creating further complexity and giving each song its own memorable melodies.
The drums are programmed, but unless you're a very experienced drummer, you probably wouldn't have guessed it. They are the most well-programmed drums I've ever heard. They're so good, in fact, that I wonder if the next album will actually be a little bit worse now that the band has a real drummer. The vocals are also fantastic. Ronny Hansen of Antestor and Vaakevandring is the band's current vocalist, but he didn't perform on When Dying Souls Scream Praise outside of some guest vocals on track one. Thor Georg Buer (also from Antestor) was the main vocalist of this album, and although I love Ronny's vocals, I wish that Thor would remain the main vocalist because he's better at enunciation, which is important for worship music. I can tell most of what he's saying for most of the album (except for the two Norwegian songs, of course), and his tone and pitch are perfect for this style of black metal. I do think that Ronny's voice will suit the music well in the future, but I doubt it'll be as good as Thor was.
By now, you understand that this album is very well-composed and complicated symphonic black/death. But what is it that makes this album stand out even more from the rest? What is it that makes it worthy of a score of 100? The pacing of the album. The tracks are arranged perfectly to create a variety of moods and emotions. The first five tracks all create an epic, grandiose feeling. But within those five tracks, there is no monotony to be found. Some of them are faster than others, and each has unique, identifiable characteristics that set it apart. "Change of Heart" has a lot of variety packed into it, from its Star Wars-reminiscent intro to its slower, death metal section in the middle. "Come, Let Us Speak" slows things down a little and features an awe-inspiring clean vocal section. "Fall Down" contains a rather bizarre, electronic introduction that resurfaces later in the song and sounds really cool. "Ærefrykt" has a raw, aggressive introduction with a soaring guitar solo over it. "Reach for the Sky" combines many of the aforementioned elements, such as the electronics from "Fall Down" and the faster and slower sections from "Change of Heart" and "Come, Let Us Speak". "Legacy" introduces the middle section of the album, which is slower and more emotional. The track itself is the slowest one on the album and is the only one that is more driven by piano than guitar. "Silence" features a slow, symphonic intro that adds more and more layers over time until the bulk of the song kicks in. "Instrumental #1" is a three-minute orchestral piece that provides an epic conclusion to the setup created by the previous two tracks. This section of the album sets the perfect mood for the last few songs. "Hardest Rocking God of All Time" is an upbeat, fast song, while "In the Throne Room" slows things down a little once again to create a slightly darker mood than the rest of the album. The forty-six-second "Interlude" is a simple, lonely piano that perfectly sets the stage for the beginning of the epic finisher, "Jeg Er Frelst, Å For En Nåde". Basically, the first section says, "We're Grave Declaration, and we can write awesome black metal." The second section says slows things down to make it emotional, and the final section wraps it up perfectly. The progression and variety within this album is something that I so rarely see, and I can't think of an example where it is more well-done than it is here (outside of some experimental bands like Kekal that are really off-the-wall and don't always stick to one genre).
When Dying Souls Scream Praise is a masterpiece of symphonic black/death, a future classic of Christian black metal, and something that you absolutely need to listen to if you haven't yet. It's an extremely accessible album, so even if you're not much of a black metal guy, you should give it a shot. I know that the band is currently working on their next album, and I cannot wait for it to be finished.
100/100
-CrimsonWarrior
Buy it from Metal Helm:
metalhelm.com/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&cPath=182_183&products_id=562&zenid=t0qgsn7ricv0cms9pl5lggeo52
Buy it from Nordic Mission:
nordicmission.net/ds_product_info.php?products_id=2669