Artist: Usurper
Label: Earache Records
Release Date: 4/22/03
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Title: Twilight Dominion Artist: Usurper Label: Earache Records Release Date: 4/22/03 |
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Abyss's Review:
This album kind of blindsided me a bit. I hadn't paid any attention to this band since I heard, and was markedly unimpressed by, Skeletal Season. My only other contact with the band came when I saw them open up for Cradle of Filth. I was equally unimpressed with their live act, as they didn't even showcase a full band, and their whole set struck me as sophomoric. Basically, if you're going to wear a breastplate on stage, you'd better be able to back it up with fury, otherwise you just end up looking silly.
"Usurper remain a very derivative band, but they've fashioned their influences into a great overall sound." I was pleasantly surprised by Twilight Dominion, however. Usurper have maintained their Venom meets Celtic Frost meets thrash sound, but have improved tremendously, growing as musicians and songwriters. Usurper remain a very derivative band, but they've fashioned their influences into a great overall sound. The guitar riffs are workmanlike, but effective, invoking the polished thrash of the 80s (i.e. early Metallica, Testament) and mixing it with something far more guttural.
Right from the get-go, lead track "Metal Lust" puts their ever-growing knack for riffs on display. And it's not just from any certain period, either. Subtleties from black metal mix in with the overall death/thrash sound to produce a great vibe, and the production allows you to hear the little nuances that make their songwriting so interesting. My early favorite tracks, "I Am Usurper", "Golem", and "The Oath of Silence" prove that you can pay significant attention to sound without sounding 'polished'. The bass lines are also noteworthy. Even though they are sometimes obscured, they bare their fangs every so often and rip your attention away from the guitars in a kind of advance/retreat strategy that works well.
"Usurper just grabbed my attention; I look forward to seeing if they can hold it." The vocals kind of lose me a bit. The lyrics are all of the 'Hail Heavy Metal' type thing that I don't really dig that much, and the cadence of the lead vocals can get a little boring or repetitive. They do make up for it at times by employing some screeches and effects, these parts are actually my favorite parts of the album, but they aren't often enough to get me completely on board.
So the bottom line is that this is a solid album that the average metalhead should pick up if money isn't an issue. It's not the flashiest thing out there, but it is refreshing in its ethos and hopefully a sign of a band that will continue to improve. Usurper just grabbed my attention; I look forward to seeing if they can hold it. One word review: Great.
Death's Review:
Billy Milano once asked, "What ever happened to Celtic Frost?" Well at least a part of the Frost sound carries on in Usurper, Chicago's beer-swilling, poseur killing metal heroes. Only problem is that it is only part of the exalted Celtic Frost sound - the grunts and the riffs and some of the fifty-cent (as in the vocabulary, not the rapper) words and the talk of circles of the tyrants and such - that can be heard in Usurper. The experimental part is pretty much absent. It is as if they sucked all of the "art" out of Celtic Frost and maintained the comic book elements. In fact, Twilight Dominion overall comes across sounding like Celtic Frost meets Venom meets Manowar. By the end of the first song, when you find yourself chanting along and pumping your fist to cries of "metal lust!" you just hope no one is watching from the car next to you as you pull up to the stoplight. Aw shucks, fuck it if they are - this is metal - as in "me-tal!" Ugly, geeky and proud.
"It is as if they sucked all of the 'art' out of Celtic Frost and maintained the comic book elements."
Produced by the mighty Neil Kernon (Nevermore, Cannibal Corpse), there are some serious thrash elements on display on Twilight Dominion, and that results in some decent enough riffs. Think early Slayer when listening to the opening riff, and think of the classic days of leather and metal and denim and spikes as you listen to the rest of it. As a whole, the album comes across as a bit amateurish, but their hearts are definitely in the right place - hell!!! This album has the potential to garner a nice step up in profile for Usurper - the band has joined Earache Records after a stint with Necropolis Records - and it is nice to see good things happen to this veteran act (I last saw them opening for Cradle of Filth at Tramps in New York in early 1999). As the Earache website proclaims, "poseurs beware!"
"As a whole, the album comes across as a bit amateurish, but their hearts are definitely in the right place - hell!!!"
Hel's Review:
You know, I thought I didn't really know anything about this band. But then Death reminded me about the time we saw them open for Cradle of Filth, five years or so ago. So that jogged my memory enough for me to recall my impression that I wasn't very thrilled by them at the time. But that was then, and this is now, right? Well, sort of. My personal inclinations still veer away from "metal anthem" bands. I'm as pro-metal as the next 'head, but songs dedicated to praising metal tend to be, well, lyrically challenged. Over-rhyming is a pet peeve of mine, and bands whose focal point are lyrics of this ilk tend to be fairly, well, rhyme-y. See the problem?
"If I could just zip out the vocal line, I might be really stoked for this record."
"The songs are heavy, and catchier than a flu virus." Musically, it's very palatable stuff. If I could just zip out the vocal line, I might be really stoked for this record. But the vocals bring back the problem just addressed, which is the crux of the issue. Certainly, this band has paid their dues, in spades, and they are definitely veteran metal warriors worthy of recognition.
The songs are heavy, and catchier than a flu virus. The guitars are thick and riffy. The drums are battering, with double bass abounding for inhuman amounts of time. But I always come back to the vocals, don't I? Well the lyrics are just silly, and I don't love his voice. But there really isn't any reason why they shouldn't have a huge amount of fans. There are definitely fans for this album, and if you are one of them, I strongly urge you to support Usurper. I think they deserve it, even if I don't adore this record. Most of it is pretty damn good.
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