This new demo from Finnish BM band Wrathage, to put it rather bluntly, easily falls under the Dimmu Borgir worship section. Everything sounds either like A) A mimic of some 'classic' of the genre, B) Overproduced black metal (and generic, to say the least), or C) Keyboard-driven melodies that remind you of most Symphonic BM bands that have emerged as of late. The drummer is in Kalmah and used to be in Catamenia, but what we have here is just simple blast-beats with some very so-so production. Nothing sticks or makes the music worse, but you can tell he's just there. I personally think he does great with Kalmah, but not in here. His drumming here is just unoriginal and unfullfilling. When it comes to keyboard of guitar melodies, they go in one ear and go straight out the other.

The intro 'Entering' doesn't sound half bad, if only it wasn't done by every single symphonic BM band there is right now. Simple keyboard melody which is later joined by a symphony to create a majestic and dark atmosphere. Not bad at all, even though I see intros as a way to set the tone for the whole album/demo. 'Before the Monumental Beast' - The production a bit 'too good', but at least it's not as bad as a 5$ microphone type of production. The structure is good, if only the riffs had any substance/originality. I keep on saying this over and over again, originality is what misses most of time. At least some dark atmosphere could be created, but this music doesn't really move. Hellworlds - Random piano intro which is soon accompanied by drums, which sadly sounds like Janne really didn't know what to do here. Random riffs and keyboards. 'Terra Limbo' is the same as the previous song, minus the unoriginal drums. The last song, 'Death', tries something a bit more experimental in the intro, but it fails.It actually sounded like a MIDI keyboard in certain parts.When the actual riff comes in, this isn't bad, it would probably sound 10 times better without keyboards.

Overall, there is talent here, just too many keyboard and random wacky drums. I would recommend it to those who still enjoy Dimmu Borgir, but everyone else shouldn't try this.

[This review was first published on the now defunct scandinavianmetal.info webzine]