By: Anders

Posted: Nov 20, 2005

Finally, one can say, is the Swedish hell raising machine Dark Funeral ready with their new album "Attera Totus Sanctus", the follow-up to 2001's "Diabolis Interium", which has been delayed a lot, due the band's hassle to get out of their old label's claws. Though the band succeeded and is now in a more friendly environment on Regain Records and ready with their so forth most fiery album.

The compositions are angry, the vocals are spit forth very harsh and more hateful than usual from Emperor Magus Caligula. His vocal performance is more varied than before, as a supplement to the fierce and frustrated raspy scream he is known for, he is using a deeper more guttural vocal as well, a bit like a growled scream, it sounds great, evil and even more angry than the usual black metal rasp, and it gives a lot to the quite pissed off and hateful aura surrounding the album.

Musically the album is an outlet of anger as well as vocal-wise. The guitar work is blistering, hard hitting and straight in your face. The main riffs are dirty and raw, delivered from lightening speed-fast to a more mid-paced speed, the trademark melodies are still in the picture, though they are darker and more aggressive than heard before from the band. Overall very aggressive compositions, displaying angered performances from all the musicians. The drumming is also impressive, we all know that Matte Modin is one hell of a drummer, fast and very technical in his play. Though the sound he has on this album is impressive, very raw and dirty as the rest of the sound, almost like a "garage" recording. And even though the drum sound is like that, it is easy to pick up all the details of his slaying of the drums.

The album is produced by Daniel Bergstrand and Ørjan Örnkloo, a pair not known for their work with black metal bands, but more modern metal bands as Meshuggah, In Flames, Strapping Young Lad etc.), so I was quite sceptical towards that choice of producers. Though they proved me wrong, the sound is fierce and aggressive, dirty and raw, just like it should be. There is a lot of power behind the music and the mix of the material is good as well.

This is quite an album the Swedes has made, they are back, more aggressive than ever and that fits their music very well. They still have all their old trademarks, as the speed and pace shifts together with their swirling melodies, even though they are more aggressive on this album. This is a feast for Dark Funeral fans and will most likely also speak to some of them who found Dark Funeral a bit too polished in the past.

Rating: 9/10

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