Wednesday, 12 August 2015

Album Review; As Light Dies - 'The Love Album Volume 1'

As Light Dies - The Love Album - Volume I
Released Via Maa Productions
Genre: Avant-Garde Dark Metal

Track Listing:

1. We Are All Destined For Grief
2. Orpheus Mourning
3. Blow Of Loss
4. Together As One
5. When Distance Becomes Real
6. Your Wake
7. No Pain At Sleep
8. Nemesis
9. Acceptance
10. Farewell From Distant Shores


What As Light Dies have achieved on album number three causes a split reaction; this record clearly has a certain intent behind it, and that is to create a bleak mood, which juxtaposes with the theme of love that is constant through the album. It’s an interesting conceptual idea that certainly gains enough growth, with no small amount of help from the short interludes that precede each song, further building a gothic aesthetic. The problem lies in the songs themselves; the band have clearly gone to great lengths to try and incorporate as many different styles of metal music as possible within the sonic cacophony present on this album; black metal, death metal and scattered moments of gothic doom further mixed with disjointed keys, atmospherics and violins that are unfortunately hidden by frenetic lead guitar lines, rendering them almost redundant. However, the crux of the problem is that instead of refining these musical ideas and influences into a cohesive sound, the majority of the music sounds disjointed or confused. It’s not unlistenable by any extent of the imagination, but while some may revel in the unorthodox, if not frustrating structures, others will be baffled and potentially leave this album behind without a second glance.

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