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BLACK MESSIAH :
OATH OF A WARRIOR

Black Messiah (love the name) hails from Germany, and has a sound described by the label as "Epic Viking Metal". Ok... but what we really have is a sort of amalgamation between Black-Metal and more traditional Power-Metal, with some added folk and medieval elements thrown in. What sort of elements you ask, well for one thing, how many bands out there incorporate Celtic folklore, paganism, Norse mythology, and the use of both violins and mandolins? Not too many. For the most part, this sucker is pretty impressive. The not quite over the top Black-Metal sound should be easily accessible for most Metal fans, even for those that would never buy a Darkthrone CD in a thousand years. It's really more Maiden-esque in nature, but with faster guitar work, and harsher vocals (sung in both English and German). Don't worry though, things never delve into the traditional Black-Metal gremlin sort of screaming, vocalist Zagan stops just short of taking it to that level of insanity. As fun as this all is however, the disc does suffer from moments of repetitiveness that tend to bog things down in mid stride. A few songs could easily lose 30 seconds or so to help tighten things up. Still, it's an enjoyable spin, and I'm sure that those who love this whole Viking Metal thing will be lapping it up faster than Jenna Jameson laps pussy! The only other complaint I have is that while those funky mandolin parts are kind of cool, they're placed so far up in the mix that they almost sound like they're coming from a source other than the CD. I almost shit my pants the first time they came crashing through my speakers! I didn't know what the fuck was going on! Then, after a second, I realized it was the CD, and settled down. Next time out, they really need to blend this in better with the rest of the disc. So instead of having the mandolin sounding like it's competing with the Metal elements, it'll sound more like it's enhancing them. For more info on this Viking lovin' crew, check out black-messiah.de. Oh, and even if this isn't your cup of tea, the cheesy staged photos in the CD booklet of the band posing in medieval Viking garb, are alone almost worth the price of admission.
RATING = 7 Viking-Metal (Released 2005)

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