1997
"The Dawn of Flames"
1997
On being started slowly and deliberately
sound becomes stronger and more majestic than before. The murmur of
branches interlaces with rustle of deep forest... If branches were
moved aside Conan the Barbarian would be seen whetting his sword. But
he stays invisible so that nobody should see him... "The Dawn of Flames"
has started in its epic and nifty style with great intro. I had some
difficulties in determinating the genre of this album. Its Swedish
melodic death metal has rather black metal influences, and comparisons
to bands like In Flames have to be avoided.
Gates of
Ishtar's music has progressed a lot since their debut "A Bloodred
Path". On "The Dawn of Flames", their heavily symphonic black metal is
very impressive and highly enjoyable. They rely heavily on twin guitars
arrangements and symphonic epic passages to create their music. The
more impressive pieces have piano parts performed by Dan Swano, which
create large symphonic atmosphere. The songs seem to enthral you
better towards the end and it doesn't take many listens before you
start to really appreciate this album. Moreover the cover is performed in
Barbarian style and directly taken from Conan the Barbarian (at least
it might be from the way it looks). There would have been a blank space in Scandinavian Music without this
notable record.
February, 2001
Review by Vetrarnott
Related infofmation:
http://www.solace.mh.se/~jsf/ishtar/
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