Dawn of Division - 2005 - Awaiting the Dawn

Out of Greece comes this one man Black Metal band with a second demo. Slightly atmospheric and melancholic, mid-paced Black Metal with keyboards is what we get here. This demo seems to be rather well thought through with interludes linking the tracks and setting the mood for the next track. Of the five tracks on this demo there are only two "real" tracks, the others being intro, interlude and outro. These three very well played Metal / Classical compositions remind me a lot of the Neo-Classical / Soundtrack project L'Orchestre Noir.

The two remaining tracks are well rooted in Black Metal, having a slight touch of regular Metal to them, with parts somewhat reminiscent of Ulver's more acoustic explorations. There is quite a bit of Burzum and Transilvanian Hunger-era Darkthrone here, with the music being somewhat repetitive, and I even find some traces of latter day My Dying Bride.

The vocals sound like a mix of Nocturno Culto, Legion and the vocals of Frediablo and Condatis
Svarthjerte in Svartpest.

The production is really good on this release, it has a dark atmosphere to it, and the drum machine
is not at all annoying. Definitely a band to keep an eye on, I would say.

Standout track is "Bride of Winter".

Wednesday July 27 2005, by :Vragh:

Bilocate - 2005 - Dysphoria

Out of Jordan comes this Progressive Death/Doom Metal band. The music is towards the slightly melodic, with some heavier parts. Some traces of My Dying Bride can be found here, but this is more
melodic than that. This is actually musically rather towards Arcturus later works and Green Carnation. I also hear some early Ulver in the clean sung passages here, reminiscent of their Bergtatt and Kveldssanger albums, which is most refreshing.

The vocals are towards the My Dying Bride kind, with a lot of spoken passages. The clean sung or spoken passages remind me of both Dissolving of Prodigy and Ulver.

The soundquality is very good, and all the instruments can be heard clearly in the mix. These guys know how to handle their instruments, for sure, and although I usually don't listen to this slower kind of Metal a lot these days, this was actually really refreshing to hear. The production is perhaps a bit
thin, a lot of treble in it, but overall this is not at all a bad record. Actually, the more I hear of this album the more I like it. Half of the tracks on this album are rather long, with the last track, "A Desire to Leave", being just over 19 minutes long.

Standout tracks are "A Deadly Path", "The Tragedy Within" and "Shrouded". Highly recommended!

Saturday October 21 2006, by :Vragh: