By: DeathViking

Posted: Aug 15, 2006

The Imperial Hyperborean Philharmonic Orchestra and Choirs, and purveyors of "extreme avant-garde baroque metal" that is Bal-Sagoth have unleashed their sixth opus of metal grandeur upon the world. Byron Roberts brings us a new chapter from the epic fantasy world from which this band flourishes. Byron has made an effort in the vein of a Tolkien-esque fashioned map in the center of the booklet titled "The Ancient World: Before the second great cataclysm" tilted compass, labels to places foretold by the lyrics and even used different language texts within the inserts to give the idea that there were several other ancient languages from dead cultures, not to mention those occult pictograms from the ancient texts. There are even hieroglyphics for one part. The lyrics are this time fuelled by a few actual places and times in the real world, blurring the edges of the fantasy once told by this band bringing up places such as London and Egypt. This has to be one of the strong points in Bal-Sagoth. They, along with a few other bands have decided that they will create a story and use music over the course of however many albums to tell it.

One of the great parts about any of the Bal-Sagoth albums is the amount of textures that have been created. Over the years the band has taken the sound from a heavily orchestral, slightly black metal sound to an over the top orchestration based in the metal world making songs as epic, fantastic, and sometimes garrulous as they possibly can. For this album they have kept the same basic formula for their song writing, however they have added a few extra things for this album. Towards the middle of the album there is a track that almost gives the feeling of a trance record, however they have made it fit the sound of the album quite nicely. It does not have the often times offensive techno stigma attached to it as one might assume.

This album has pushed their sound even further than "The Power Cosmic" did when it was released. The orchestral sound that comes across in the album does not sound as studio created as previous albums. There are still a few problems with having some of the instruments sounding computerized or over produced, such as the drums. There are a few parts when the drums really do not have the quality of sound that they deserve, lacking some of the bombastic emphasis that pieces of the songs where the benefit would have been tremendous. This band has also never been known for their impressive guitar work, but it seems on this album that the guitars have nearly been forgotten. They are still there adding some rhythm to the music but the riffs do not come out of the mix screaming at you. Perhaps that is a good thing for them. Too much of one thing coming out of an album that has this many layers and variety could have sent it spiralling down. The vocals this time around are almost purely done in the lower register, half spoken and half sung. There are not very many parts where the harsh vocals are heard on this album. It appears that they are trying to phase it out as much as they can.
   
Overall, this is a high quality album. Bal-Sagoth has done it again. They have surpassed their previous albums in the overall production quality adding a brilliance and enjoyment to their albums. This is an album where a few spins in the player just will not suffice. It is going to take multiple listens to gain the full appreciation. Every listen brings something new to the ears from beginning to end.

Rating: 8½/10

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