Artist: Borknagar
Label: Century Media
Release Date: 5/23/00
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Title: Quintessence Artist: Borknagar Label: Century Media Release Date: 5/23/00 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Go to Reader Reviews | ||
Abyss's Review:
Borknagar are back with an epic/black offering that utilizes a great many sounds and textures, and for the most part they are successful. Mixing harsh and clean vocals (often layered over each other to achieve an evil, harmonic effect) over driving (and unfortunately, often boring) guitars and blastbeats, Borknagar seems to succeed where, I feel, Bal Sagoth's last album, The Power Cosmic, failed. Adding extraordinarily experimental keyboards into the mix, each song lies somewhere between Cradle of Filth, new Emperor, and Manowar.
Make no mistake, the keyboards drive these songs, often smothering the guitar into the background, making them a tool just to thicken up the mix (Metal Rule #1: You shouldn't treat guitars like corn starch). But unlike Bal Sagoth, these songs are much more listenable and remain just as ambitious. In the album's finer moments ("Rivalry of Phantoms," "The Presence is Ominous," and initial favorite, "Icon Dreams") Borknagar construct an epic wall of sound. There is a lot going on here, so much so that I suggest you stop what you're doing while listening and concentrate on the music. Even using this technique, you are apt to miss something. This album deserves much more time than the (less than) week I'm given to acquaint myself with it before giving my opinion (All in the name of keeping you, yes you, the reader, up to date.) And while this album practices a metal taboo (in my opinion) in letting the keyboards, rather than the guitar, take the commanding role, it is done probably as good as it can be. Composition, as well as execution, is a strong suit of this band.
"Metal Rule #1: You shouldn't treat guitars like corn starch."
Where this album shows some weakness is in its tendency to go a little too far in places. When the more expansive parts dominate, the disc has a tendency to become a little melodramatic. There's a fine line between ambition and indulgence, and this album sticks it's evil little pinky toe over that line every once in awhile. No where on the album is this more evident than the worst song, "Colossus."
"Definitely more good than bad on this one." But all in all, I like this album and suggest the opened-minded out there give it a chance, but if Deeds of Flesh is as progressive as you like to get, you probably want to pass on this one. Definitely more good than bad on this one.
Death's Review:
Every time I think of this band, I think of the Metal Maniacs headline from a year or two back: What the Hell is a Borknagar? Well, according to the bio, Borknagar is a band whose "maturity flirts with elements of Nordic folklore and an almost sci-fi feeling and appeal, which somehow fits perfectly alongside their raging black metal blasts." Got it? Good. 'Cause none of this explains what is good about Borknagar: they have guitar solos, and they can actually play.
Beyond the usual guitar/'board dynamic struggle which so many of these bands seem to get dragged down in, Quintessence displays a decent amount of intricacy and a healthy melodic sense. Vocalist I.C.S. Vortex has an interesting voice to say the least. At times he sounds traditional, at others he sounds like a chorus of Muppets. If nothing else, I appreciate the originality - he should receive attention within the genre if not beyond.
"Vocalist I.C.S. Vortex has an interesting voice to say the least. At times he sounds traditional, at others he sounds like a chorus of Muppets." So, in a vast sea of metal, should you pause for Quintessence? Yes, if you like the more adventurous forms of turn of the century black or European metal. Yes, if you like to check out all the stuff that is the current rage in today's metal scene. But for those of you with more mainstream metal tastes, I don't think you'll feel a pressing need. As adventurous as they may be, Borknagar aren't exactly mosh-inducing eighties riffmeisters. The bio's right - they're more of a Nordic sci-fi folk-black thing.
Hel's Review:
My feelings in regard to Borknagar's latest, Quintessence are mixed. There are certainly things to like here, but there are also things that make me want to turn it off as quickly as I can get over to my stereo. So the obvious questions are about what is good and what is bad, and I'll go into that more deeply in a moment. The larger question, however, goes to which (good or bad) wins out in the end.
First, the majority of distasteful elements found here are the same ones often found running rampant in the subgenre of black metal. Specifically, these are threefold: haunted house keyboards; beer stein swinging anthem-y vocals; and overly dramatic, overly choral vocals. Depending on the song, you may find one, all, or even none. Sadly, although the vocalist has many "voices," I seem to dislike as many as I like.
"Haunted house keyboards; beer stein swinging anthem-y vocals; and overly dramatic, overly choral vocals." Enough of the bad, let's move on to the good. There is honestly some great musicianship present on this album. They perform the elements that I do enjoy superbly, and as a result I am saddened that I do not enjoy the entirety of the disc. Overall, I find the guitar work to be very good, indeed, the highlight of the album. Followed very closely by the drumming. I have very few complaints in this regard on the whole - it is generally the three items mentioned previously that I object to.
The clear winner for best song of the album is the final track, "Revolt." If the other songs were more like this, I'd be raving about this album. The vocal styles used on this track are basically the only two "voices" employed album-wide that I truly like. I would go so far to say that there isn't a moment of this song that I don't enjoy. It's so good, in fact, it makes the whole album much more worthwhile. This song is the culmination that makes me realize Quintessence actually gets better with each successive song.
"Quintessence actually gets better with each successive song." I wonder, if the tracks on the album were all in the reverse order, would I enjoy it better overall? Maybe, but I'm not going to take the time to try to program it that way, and it would detract from the band's artistic vision. So I have to take it as it's given to me, and decide if the items I dislike outweigh the ones I like. In the end, I realize that the more I listen to "Revolt," the more I like it. And I'm finding that the more I like that one song, the more open I become to the rest of the album and the more generous I feel.
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