By: Anders

Posted: Aug 4, 2005

I wasn't too impressed by this Polish band's first release "Firefrost Arcanum", which more or less was a tribute to Emperor. Though now the band is back with a vengeance and their second release "God The Lux".

Some things has changed and the band has matured. The music is no longer a wash-off of Emperor, Vesania has slowly begun to find their own niche in the world of symphonic black metal. The compositions are built upon heavy and aggressive riffing, often more death metal sounding than actual black metal sounding. The black metal atmospheres are introduced with the keyboard parts and the screams from the singer. The at times lightning speed riffing, together with the blasting drums. It works very well together with the heavier parts.

The compositions are pretty good and quite varied. There aren't many dull moments on the album. The keyboards isn't as dominating as feared, the use of them are pretty clever. They are at times in the front, but often hidden right below the guitars. And at times the band even introduces industrial sounding parts, another element that works well on the album.

If all the tracks on "God The Lux" were as good as the opener 'Rest In Pain', the album would have been a nominee for the best album this year. Though that exact track is exceptional, and much of the rest of the material doesn't live up to its quality. And that together with the remains of the obvious influences and lack of creativity lowers the grade a bit. Though the band has developed a lot since the debut, and this one is recommendable for all fans of symphonic black metal, the best album within this genre for quite some time.

Rating: 7,5/10

Vesania website

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