Apart from hardly being an eye-brow raising listen, "On wings of mercury" lacks a congruent and coherent backbone to sustain the momentum on par with its musical predisposition, which is a particularly plodding black metal of sorts (Monsieur Quorthon has the lion’s share in the influences dept.) with a heavy/thrash slant. It is most interesting the fact that ‘Necromantic Rituals’, the band's debut and one of my personal favorites for 2003, attained a much more menacing and convincing demeanor than its successor; this sort of devolution if you will, could be attributed partly to a frugal utilization of interesting elements to augment their musical presence in their latest release. Gone are the cleverly placed Samael inspired riffing (save perhaps one or two tracks) and the ominous atmosphere of the former. Of course keyboard interludes and harmonized vocalizations are present but instead of enhancing they encumber; the album seems to be languidly carrying itself throughout its time-span instead of ripping through with conviction. As a result I found myself halfway through the album wondering if it was worth another spin. I guess every band is allowed a “flop” in its discography, let’s hope this is Anael’s only one.
(originally written for Tartarean Desire - early 2006)
No comments:
Post a Comment