Now here's a relatively unknown band from the UK that has had some history in their over a decade of activity, Eden's Curse. Originally formed with vocalist Michael Eden, he left the band after their first 3 albums and formed his own US incarnation. The original UK band would carry on with a different vocalist, Marco Sandron, who was the lead vocalist for Fairyland in their album Score to a New Beginning. However, he only made one song with Eden's Curse then left. And then came this album Symphony of Sin, their first album with new vocalist Nikola Mijic (Alogia). Also joining was Steve Williams, keyboardist of Power Quest, his spin-off band from DragonHeart (later DragonForce).

OK, before anything else, I would like to say this is way more than just the hard rock that people have described this album to be. I say it has more AOR-infused melodic heavy metal, taking some cues from Power Quest and Balance of Power. And it's not highly symphonic, despite the album title and that cover artwork with the cello girl (nude with leaf pasties, basically if Eve played cello).

The title opener is the one track to actually have symphonics, mostly in the intro. Other than that, it's a long 7 and a half minute epic that perfectly represents the band's sound. I'm already hearing Steve Williams' keys have that blended vibe of AOR and power metal. Nikola Mijic has a similar tone to Tobias Sammet (Avantasia, Edguy) which definitely sets the band away from those hard rock comparisons. I mean, his vocals don't have too much strength, though it can surpass how other classic hard rock/metal bands' vocalists do in their songs. A fantastic start! "Break the Silence" is more of a rock-on banger, but it's metal enough to sound similar to the catchier songs by Seventh Wonder and Heavenly. "Evil & Divine" pushes the power metal aspects further in the bass and drum kicks, despite being more mid-paced. Sadly, "Unbreakable" is not aptly named as similarly titled songs from other bands. While the melody is enjoyable, it's too cheesy and predictable, sounding too 80s for modern production.

"Fallen from Grace" is aptly titled in the sense that the song does fall from grace, yet it doesn't sound too far off from some of Vision Divine's ballads. And "Losing My Faith" has also made me lose some faith in this band. Then when we get to the next track "Rock Bottom", they've pretty much hit rock bottom. The hard rock side is more blatant and tiresome than they could ever get, not to mention formulaic. It was around this time when I was thinking this could be mainly a hard rock album after all. Luckily, the following track "Great Unknown" blends that part of their sound with the upbeat metal of their first 3 tracks, bringing back some hope in me enjoying this album and counting it as metal. "Turn the Page" switches back to mid-tempo rock, only this time it's more anthemic. That track and the previous one have given the album more strength.

"Sign of the Cross" has more of those catchy Avantasia and Heavenly vibes, though it's a little tiring at this point. Same with "Wings to Fly", though it has some progressive melody that can be heard from Threshold. "Devil in Disguise" has the best of that band can do in this offering. If I were to pick a song that summarizes the album other than the title track, it would be that one. And finally, "Where is the Love?" More like WHERE IS THE METAL?!?! I mean it still has some heaviness, but it's more of a hard rock tune than anything! Can we at least please have some symphonics and female vocals to make this sound like Delain? Such a disappointing ending for this album...

All in all, Eden's Curse's 4th album Symphony of Sin is a pretty good one. As much I enjoy it though, it is a little long and contains several flawed tracks. I've actually just listened to their sole single with Marco Sandron, "Time to Breathe", and let me tell you, that could've been a far better, more logical closing track than "Where is the Love?" There's definitely some potential in this hard rock/heavy metal band, and I would recommend Symphony of Sin to fans of that style. If they can get past the inconsistency....

Favorites: "Symphony of Sin", "Break the Silence", "Evil & Divine", "Great Unknown", "Turn the Page", "Devil in Disguise"

Black metal is a genre which may be problematic for the more conservative listeners due to its anti-religious satanic lyrical themes. However, if any open-minded metalhead can give it a try, they're bound to get some rewards from the music. Dimmu Borgir is known to some as the go-to band for starting their black metal journey.

I've barely had any experience with Dimmu Borgir, and I didn't dare to because... well, black metal. They've always have been. More specifically symphonic black metal. Upon listening to their new album Grand Serpent Rising, I gotta say, it's very strong! And the emphasis on symphonics and a bit of classic heavy metal elements almost makes it Guardians-worthy. When the symphonic are blended with the guitars and drums, it's more than just symphonic black metal. It's an amazing cinematic experience!

"Tridentium" is the 4-minute intro. Despite being a little long for an intro, the dramatic orchestration leading into the metal instrumentation should get you pumped. The furious "Ascent" is a killer start to the symphonic black metal action. The raspy harsh vocals are accompanied by fast guitars and drums, even having some shredtastic soloing. Variation can be heard in the different moods and pacing. Very well done! The different elements each have their own standing point in the 7-minute "As Seen in the Unseen". Then "The Qryptfarer" has some early black metal from Celtic Frost, blended with the deathly progressiveness of later Job for a Cowboy, plus more symphonics.

When I first heard "Ulvgjeld & Blodsodel", i thought it started underwhelming, though it gets better as it goes on. "Repository of Divine Transmutation" is another highlight that builds up throughout all the way to the climax. Another special track, "Slik Minnes en Alkymist" has a hard rock-sounding intro that then paves the way for dark epicness, especially in the chorus and bridge. The song's lyrics are all in Norwegian. That and its heavier yet atmospheric sound may have some think of their first two albums that were entirely in Norwegian. Incredible symphonics, never too overpowering! "Phantom of the Nemesis" cranks up the dark symphonics expected in Guardians bands like Nightwish and Powerwolf. "The Exonerated" punches through with a more straight sound.

Then comes "Recognizant" which may just be the best song of the album. The blend of aggression and epicness is on point, and that's what I've heard this band has in albums like Death Cult Armageddon, which I should check out later. In saying that, choirs don't appear much, which I'm OK with, since too much of that would've ruined the broth. The tempo is sometimes lower to counterbalance with the speed, and there's also atmospheric piano, memorable guitarwork, and eerie vocals that are sometimes spoken. Everything's rightly balanced in that majestic song. "At the Precipice of Convergence" is a little more deathly with the symphonics of Starkill and the progressiveness of Obscura. "Shadows of a Thousand Perceptions" also has some deathly progressiveness from Pestilence, but their symphonic black metal sound is still around. The band ends this part of their journey with the 4-minute outro, "Gjoll". It's one of the best instrumentals I've heard in this genre, and well-deserving of a highlight.

Symphonic black metal is best executed when majesty is blended equally with aggression, with some bits of heavy/death/progressive metal here and there. I might just be up to checking out Dimmu Borgir earlier material at some point to give more justice to their legacy. Give this album a spin and be rewarded just like I have!

Favorites: "Ascent", "As Seen in the Unseen", "Repository of Divine Transmutation", "Slik Minnes en Alkymist", "Phantom of the Nemesis", "Recognizant", "Gjoll"

It's interesting that many of our members rate the debut album from French black metallers Blut aus Nord extremely highly but it's never impressed me as much to be honest. "Ultima Thulée" was recorded when band leader vocal, guitarist & main musical mastermind Vindsval (Ershetu/Forhist/Yerûšelem/Children of Mäani/Eitrin/Karras/The Eye/Vlad) was just 15 or 16 years old so it's not surprising that its approach is a little less original than Blut aus Nord would later become known for but it still represents a more than decent example of the atmospheric black metal sound with Vindsal's tortured screams being a highlight & reminding me of Varg Vikernes performances on the classic Burzum records. The youngster's riffs are shrouded in frostbitten, lo-fi noise & often rely upon the basslines of session musician Ogat (Antaeus) & keyboards of W.D. Feld (Yerûšelem) to become fully intelligible. Like most of Blut aus Nord's releases, the drums are entirely programmed & I do feel that this is a slight weakness as I would have preferred a more organic feel to them.

The atmospheres presented on "Ultima Thulée" are suitably icy & most of the tracklisting is fairly engaging with songs like opener "The Son of Hoarfrost", my personal favourite "From Hlidskjalf" & the excellent "On the Way to Vigrid" being the clear standouts of the eight tracks included. I must admit that I find "Till' I Perceive Bifrost" to be fairly lackluster & the only genuine disappointment with the others all managing to maintain my interest in some capacity. Some of the transitions in these pieces are pretty jarring & disjointed though which is perhaps understandable given the age of the main composer while the keyboard-driven interlude sections aren't anything terribly special but are certainly passable.

I've gone on to become a big fan of Blut aus Nord over the years as they always manage to create fresh & original yet still inherently dark soundscapes for me to get lost in. "Ultima Thulée" doesn't achieve the same sort of otherworldly majesty but it's still a passable black metal release that perhaps suffered from the time it arrived on the scene as 1995 sits towards the back end of a five-year period that represents the peak for the genre with loads of important releases appearing either side of it. Still... "Ultima Thulée" is certainly worth a listen & should satisfy most punters who enjoy the wintery European atmospheres of the time.

For fans of Burzum, early Emperor & the first couple of Enslaved albums.

I could go into one of those shitty AI music program software and ask it to generate a djentcore album, and it would likely be less generic, derivative and boring than ERRA's Silence Outlives the Earth. Silence would have least been variety.

Best Songs: Cicada Siren, I. The Many Names of God

For Fans Of: Periphery, Currents, Invent Animate

Dorso formed in 1984 and remain a going concern, releasing eight full-length albums with quite a wide range of genres from thrash/speed metal, grindcore, progressive rock, heavy metal through to black metal. "Bajo una luna cámbrica" was the band's debut full-length, being released in June of 1984 and featuring the only ever-present band member, bassist / vocalist Rodrigo "Pera" Cuadra, alongside guitarist / vocalist Gamal Eltit. Drum duties were shared by four guest/session drummers with Eltit also manning the kit for the track "Críptica visión".

What we have here with "Bajo una luna cámbrica" is principally a thrash metal album, but it is also a fair bit more than that with some quite impressive progressive touches. The album's longest track, "Cíclope" is a really nice piece of progressive metal with some legitimate Seventies' touches and a distinct latin flavour. The song writing is ambitious, certainly compared to their peers, with the band being more interested in keeping things interesting than trying to be as extreme and fast as possible. This certainly doesn't translate to the album being at all lightweight, they can be plenty aggressive and thrash with the best of them when the mood takes them with some pretty killer riffs, check out "Vuela en tu dragón" or "Hidra" and hear for yourself, it is just that this isn't the be all and end all here. I guess this could be termed as technical thrash metal and the guys do seem to be technically very adept, but I think of it as being more progressive than technical with even a jazz influence at times. The short "Suite", for example, is basically a guitar workout in the vein of a heavy Robert Fripp or even Frank Zappa and Gamal Eltit's guitar solo work is generallyxcellent, utilising a number of variations of style as well as really shredding when required to do so.

Sadly, the production doesn't really do the guys a lot of favours and its muddiness does blunt the edge a little, but not enough to cause any drama, being more of a niggle than a major issue. The songwriting really is fantastic and has impressed me mightily. I can't help wondering whether this was an influence on modern chilean thrash legends Demoniac and the curveballs they like to include in with their thrashing mayhem. I am really glad to have stumbled upon this and I would heartily recommend it to anyone interested in hearing a quite unique album from the Eighties' South American metal scene that offers a bit more than straight ahead metal charges.