Artist: Gorgoroth
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release Date: 8/12/03
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Title: Twilight of the Idols: In Conspiracy with Satan Artist: Gorgoroth Label: Nuclear Blast Release Date: 8/12/03 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Go to Reader Reviews | ||
Abyss's Review:
Pretty long title, huh? Well it's about as long as this entire album, which clocks in (barely) at a half an hour. However, it probably has more notes contained within than all of the Pink Floyd's The Wall. For those of you who haven't been acquainted with this band, this album is a blistering half hour of blastbeats, chugging guitars, acidic screams and blasphemous attitude.
"Musical 'growth' isn't anything this band is all that interested in, instead they focus on delivering a blind wall of sound that overloads the senses and scares your neighbors." It brings me back to a time before black metal was as aurally friendly as it is today, and for that I'm grateful. Musical 'growth' isn't anything this band is all that interested in, instead they focus on delivering a blind wall of sound that overloads the senses and scares your neighbors. And while I am a little annoyed by its brevity, I'm not sure what an extra fifteen minutes of music would add to the album (except, of course, the additional fifteen minutes of music itself).
As much as I find myself liking this album, however, I don't consider it a must have by any stretch of the imagination. It's not the best black metal out there. There is stuff that is far more cerebral, far more kult, far more ambitious, and far more important than this, but this is solid, middle-tier black metal that can and should be enjoyed by all on one level or another.
"One thing this band does have is energy and anger, and in the world of extreme music, that is very important." Gorgoroth will most likely never be one of my favorite bands, but I'll always be a little anxious when they come out with a new record - well, unless they pull a Mayhem that is. One thing this band does have is energy and anger, and in the world of extreme music, that is very important. One word review: Cool.
Death's Review:
"For the purists here, the album will surely come off as too accessible, not nearly shrill enough, and therefore not kult, underground or true." Is the subtitle to Gorgoroth's sixth album (and first post the departure of guitar player Tormentor), "in conspiracy with Satan" an homage to Venom (part of the whole "with Satan" series; i.e., In League With Satan, At War With Satan, etc.), just a concession to the truth in product labeling proponents, or simply an announcement to the record-buying public a la, "USDA-approved" or "Genuine Florida Orange Juice" or something like that? Maybe it is a way to make characters like Faust from the Metal Judgment web board respect the band's use of the "black metal" descriptor (it's an ideology, not a sound, right Faust?), as if ten years of following in the footsteps of Norwegian black metal forefathers like Darkthrone, Mayhem, Satyricon and Immortal doesn't give them license to do so anyway. Or perhaps it truly is a mere expression of ideology: to quote the press sheet, "it is an unholy combination of the occult and Satanism that makes Gorgoroth truly stand out."
"This ain't no Cradle of Filth or Dimmu Borgir either - in many ways, this is the real deal." Anyway, the subtitle may actually help matters, 'cause as black metal bands go, this one is reasonably well-produced (relatively speaking of course) with some measure of tight riffs, focused songwriting and little flourish, released on a metal major, Nuclear Blast; good points in most metal-subgenres, but for the purists here, the album will surely come off as too accessible, not nearly shrill enough, and therefore not kult, underground or true. Don't get me wrong though - this album is aggressive and extreme and definitely isn't arty or anything. These are metal riffs played by a metal band singing about Satan. No keyboards, no string sections, no operatic female vocals, no bullshit. They're just reasonably accessible, are on Nuclear Blast, and come from Norway. How kult can they be? At least they've got that subtitle going for them to help out the uninitiated.
And then there's also the song titles. "Procreating Satan" is as extreme as it gets, right out of the box, but quickly "devolves" into something a bit more accessible and a bit less noise based. There are riffs here and double-bass drums which fit together into songs. There are some cool artificial guitar harmonics (sometimes crossing into brutal death metal type territory, although usually with a faster, colder vibe which keeps us in a more blackened state of mind) and the vocals sound cool too. In many ways, Gorgoroth come off as a slightly more extreme, slightly less talented version of the recent output we've heard form bands like Immortal; riff-based, raw and aggressive, yet professionally packaged and produced. Surely they are no replacement in your CD collection for the possibly newly-defunct Sons of Northern Darkness. But this ain't no Cradle of Filth or Dimmu Borgir either - in many ways, this is the real deal. Bottom line: if you are into extreme, ballsy black metal that leaves the experimentation to others and has no other motive than to send you straight to hell with pummeling riffage and metallic assault, this may be just what you are looking for.
Hel's Review:
No namby-pamby keyboards or whiny chicks struggling for notes above their vocal register, just pure blasphemous hatred and black metal brutality. Ok, well, the final track features keys, but in a mockery of religious music, which is fully acceptable and quite distinct from the funhouse-style I abhor.
Twilight of the Idols is devoid of the needless trappings so many black metal bands have increasingly adopted over the years. Here, we find unleashed aggression destroying with aural abandon every semblance of useless decorative melodies. The fundamentals are all that are preached: tearing guitars, slicing bass, rending vocals, devastating drums, and unholy themes.
"Twilight of the Idols is devoid of the needless trappings so many black metal bands have increasingly adopted over the years." Too often I find myself suffering through those accenting noises, presented under the guise of "enhancing the experience" or some such nonsense. Or worse, straining to hear distinct notes through a gritty wall of "under produced" noise, all in the name of remaining "true." Gorgoroth has rejected both approaches and has managed, in the process, to release a record most metal enthusiasts will enjoy.
"For a change, here is a black metal release I can listen to, enjoy, and even look forward to listening to again the next time." Elitist black metal purists will protest that this is too nicely produced to be trvly kvlt, but that's pure bullshit. There's no logical reason why every ravaging note cannot be delivered to our in with clarity. It makes it no less demonic, and vastly more enjoyable. Yeah, I know I've said it before, but it always bears repeating since no one ever listens the first twenty times or so anyway.
If more bands in the genre released albums along these lines, I'd hop on the black metal trolley more often. For a change, here is a black metal release I can listen to, enjoy, and even look forward to listening to again the next time. It's official: Gorgoroth rules.
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