OK, imagine if you got a goth, a folk lover, and a metalhead all to write down their dream group that they could agree on, and Opeth would very well be the result. Already hailed in many metal circles as the best metal band out there, not many Goths have yet caught onto their fragile, delicate music yet. Also, being considered the best metal band in the world, there is one catch to them: they are not completely metal either, nor are they all that brutal as they are just dark and moody. They often go from slow, doomy death metal right smack dab into very dark, accoustic folk, not unlike a more technical Death In June.
Yet on this CD, the sound takes a full circle swing, as it is the softer companion to the bombastic and brooding "Deliverance". Gone are any traces of death metal, replaced by acoustics and a melancholy sense of progressive rock. The CD opens with the violin and acoustic laden track "Windowpane", whose slow riffs on top of gently plucked strings give additional warmth to the marvelous voice of Mikael Akerfeldt. All of it is like a musical version of a French cuisine, where all the ingredients work in rhythm with one another, never overpowering in the least. In the back lies trained and true jazz drumming, patient and again never overpowering. Add to that the violin lines in the back and you quickly see how this band has even gotten the hardest metal elitists into it’s spell. This is music that universally speaks past genres, and often probably doesn’t even notice them as much as they just simply put emotion to music.
Then comes the track "In My Time Of Need", following as a seeming flow to "Windowpane", where the two songs never seem to conflict. Much of this whole CD stands as one whole, not as a song to song format. "Closure" flows along in this manner, yet injects more of their signature melancholy riffs as well, and then pumps up the notches on the technicality. Put onto that the energetic but controlled, meticulous drumming in the middle of the song, along with a haunting chorus in the back.


Listening to the music, one cannot help but notice the beautiful artwork on the CD. Every Opeth CD has exceptional artwork, such as the art for "Still Life" and "Blackwater Park". This is a band that seems to have no weak areas at all. The lyrics may not be as complex this time as "Still Life" but the lyrics seem to fit the mold for the music to a tee. It still borders on sheer poetry, reflecting isolation and various morose feelings, not mention it’s sung by some incredibly beautiful vocals. Metal fans looking for some of Opeth’s more heavy material should look elsewhere, but for those into their constantly evolving style, it’s highly advised. I recommend this group in general for those who are willing to take a view into a band that dares to march forward in so many directions at once! Many have said they have changed the way metal can be played, but I argue that. I say they have well changed the way music as a whole can be played! Folk singers are taking note, metal bands are taking note, maybe even goth and death folkers are taking note. I can smell the copycats starting up to try following in their footsteps already.

Rating: 10. Also recommended is anything from Opeth, especially "Orchid" (haha good luck finding this little gem) and "Still Life". Also, if you can find Moonspell’s acoustic performances, that would be a nice addition.

Sixth release and second CD for this band coming from Rome. Black Sun born in 1994 thanks to Luca Basili. Over the years he produced different demos and a CD since Louder joined the band to give his vocals to four out of nine tracks of the last CD (on other three there's the female voice of Tiny Torfs as guest singer). AWAKEN OF THE HIDDEN gathers remixed versions of tracks that have been recorded since 1994 until nowadays. Most of them have been picked up from the demo "Alone In The Wood". Musically they remind me of the first Limbo period, when the band was most influenced by goth than by e.b.m. The dark atmospheres and the Italian language used in most of the tracks make of this CD an interesting one: maybe sometimes the production is a little naive but the result is never boring. Electronic, techno and goth are the main influences of the band and if you love these genres you could give them a listen by checking their mp3 page.

Blood Suit music convinced me since the first listening. They kinda sum three of the best bands of the 80's: Bauhaus, Birthday Party and for some moments Dead Kennedys. Unfortunately this CD has got only three tracks but I assure you that "King Knothing", "Strange Love" and "Mister T." are really intriguing and wild. Live they use also slide/visual projections and biological materials along other stuff. All this to stimulate the audience that for sure won't stay apathetic. I want more!

While Heaven Wept are definitely a little to extreme for what Chain D.L.K. is devoted to. Eibon stepped out of their dark pathways to pick up some epic metal with orchestral and progressive influences. Power metal vocals, double kick, up-tempo drumming as well as doom tempos, huge strings and somewhat of a celtic/pagan influence. I haven't been listening to a lot of metal lately so there's probably better references, but you can probably get at least a vague idea if I tell you it's somewhere between Manowar (but way less cheasy), Meat Loaf (but less romantic), Bathory, The Soil Bleeds Black (but way more guitar oriented), Dream Theater (but less technical and less prog/fusion), November, Candlemass, Opeth and more bands like that. If it wasn't for the male vocals you could probably mention 3rd and the Mortal and the bands from that scene as well. Not too bad but not our cup of tea either.

Eibon records' Mauro Berchi's own band Canaan get darker and more melancholic with every release and the most gorgeous moments of "A Calling to Weakness" are probably actually the most mournful pages of the book. The record starts out (and ends, for that matter) like a dark mystical world music work with hovering lyrics in what sounds like a middle eastern language (in the opening track) and a east European language (in the closing track), but by track two they go back to the formula consisting of grand drums, effected guitar arpeggios and intertwined harmonies, slow passages and chord progressions, deep minimalist vocals in Italian and English with poetic words of ancient wisdom, string pads and long ceremonial distorted guitars. From time to time they gladly depart from that core of songwriting to engage in various offshoots that are noisy, haunting, rumbling, morbid in nature and that pause the record's pace here and there, bringing the track count to seventeen, among other things. Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Lycia, Nephilim, Mission could be thought of, but Canaan has been working on their own personal definition of style and with "A Calling to Weakness" their signature is defined as one with smooth traces, ritualistic shapes, thick lines, harmonious curves and dark, very dark, shades. Of a higher nature as we are used to.