All Reviews
Arafel - Through The Flame Of The Ages
Release: 2005Label: SPG Releases
By: Anders
Posted: Feb 13, 2006
This black metal band hails from Russia, but is currently residing in Israel, the album is recorded in Poland and the music is drawing in influences from Scandinavia. Does that sound like an interesting blend? If you think so read on, and see what the album offers.
The music is pretty diverse, inside the boundaries Arafel have made, the base is laid upon some very Emperor sounding tracks, composition-wise that is, once in a while the Emperor influences shines through, though often they are used as the ideal for layering the music and ideas from the band. The music flows from blazing straight ahead black metal, cold and relentless, full of hate and frustrations, to folk-influenced parts, where the band's Russian roots shines through, there is a lot of great and very atmospherically violin-play through out the album, and Arafel has managed to work that part, great into the fast and at times noisy compositions. There some good guitar work here and there, often influenced by classic heavy metal and more traditional black metal. The drumming is varied and there are some good breaks, not a revelation, but it does its job. The different key-work ranges from good and fitting, while adding to the overall atmosphere, while at other times it becomes too much and takes too much focus away from the music. The vocals are good, they are screamed in Russian, and the pronunciation sounds good and actually adds a lot to the final impression.
The album is good and lasting, not all presented on it are the most original. Though the base is good and lasts, the many inspirations and pure folk-parts lifts the music a lot and gives it a great atmosphere. The melancholy shining through the music at most times, is a part of the main thing that keeps the listener listening to the album. The band has a lot of good features and this album could became a sought after item, if people used the time to give it a spin or 2, I have at least been enjoying it.
The music is pretty diverse, inside the boundaries Arafel have made, the base is laid upon some very Emperor sounding tracks, composition-wise that is, once in a while the Emperor influences shines through, though often they are used as the ideal for layering the music and ideas from the band. The music flows from blazing straight ahead black metal, cold and relentless, full of hate and frustrations, to folk-influenced parts, where the band's Russian roots shines through, there is a lot of great and very atmospherically violin-play through out the album, and Arafel has managed to work that part, great into the fast and at times noisy compositions. There some good guitar work here and there, often influenced by classic heavy metal and more traditional black metal. The drumming is varied and there are some good breaks, not a revelation, but it does its job. The different key-work ranges from good and fitting, while adding to the overall atmosphere, while at other times it becomes too much and takes too much focus away from the music. The vocals are good, they are screamed in Russian, and the pronunciation sounds good and actually adds a lot to the final impression.
The album is good and lasting, not all presented on it are the most original. Though the base is good and lasts, the many inspirations and pure folk-parts lifts the music a lot and gives it a great atmosphere. The melancholy shining through the music at most times, is a part of the main thing that keeps the listener listening to the album. The band has a lot of good features and this album could became a sought after item, if people used the time to give it a spin or 2, I have at least been enjoying it.
Rating: 7/10
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