Review by Shezma for Sacramentum - Far Away From the Sun (1996)

Aggressive. That's all I could think of when listening to this album. I guess there is an underlying melody as well and that helps from keeping the onslaught to be repetitive and monotonous but after being bombarded throughout my listens as this being a "melodic" black metal record was not on my mind. I'm still a noob to this style and all these new albums I learn more and more about myself and what music can be. I've started my more extreme metal journey from melodic death metal and I don't find much similarities to this and In Flames or Dark Tranquility. However, besides melo-death I did listen to hardcore such as early Thrice and AFI and they did use that melodic style along the aggressiveness. 

This is still pure black metal, yet maybe the most aggressive I've heard. It's dark and foreboding, yet violent. At 46 minutes, this is a quick and headbanging listen. May as well say an "easy" listen considering everything because there is nothing terribly difficult in the sense of crazy time signature changes or a bad production. For a 1996 release the production is quite solid, not to the point of oversaturation and too clean but makes the sound hit the ears as I believe intended. Not drowned out like some early black metal went for either, but one of raw power. 

The quite opposite of the atmospheric style, but one that is appreciated. Although it doesn't have the same vibe, it still feels like your just on a different layer of hell then one of depression and bleakness but one of violence and unease.