Review
Doom-metal.com
26.06.2010

I must confess I had some serious doubts about reviewing this. Many factors made me think this wouldn’t be worth my time: Ukrainian one-man band was a starter and another one was the “Dark Metal” label of it. A label most often used to categorize everything that no one wants to review correctly.

Though this record will probably not become this year’s best achievement in Doom Metal, I must admit I enjoyed it to a certain extent. So, what does dreaded and loathsome Wikipedia tell us about the fundamentals of Dark Metal? “Genre that doesn’t quite seems to exist. Seems to be a generic term for bands that don’t quite fit in other categories.” Well, “Dark Metal”, besides being Bethlehem’s first release, is now just a fanfiction style that allegedly combines many genres like Black Metal (Death Metal?), Goth Metal, Doom Metal and sometimes Industrial Metal into one big musical maelstrom.

Shall we then check this out?

Black Metal: check. DarkTRANCE’s main vocals are your usual harsh raw vocals typically found in Black Metal. To a certain extent, the guitars are also reminiscent of Norway’s Black Metal.

Death Metal: check. DarkTRANCE’s second preferred choice in vocals are Death Metal growls. We’re doing good.

Goth Metal: check. Lyrical themes such like despair, despise and affiliated curses fill the whole record. Next.

Doom Metal: check. Okay, it’s dark (haha) and the heaviness of the guitars and especially the soli displayed here make that a go.

Industrial Metal: double-check! Fifth track “Duskworld” is an all instrumental industrial-ambient track on top of various samples used elsewhere.

Hey! It’s Dark Metal allright! But then again, don’t expect treasures of depression and burden in Beyond The Gates Of Infinity. What actually struck me as fairly good in this record besides more than decent musicianship (for a one-man band, that is) is the overall feelings and atmospheres conveyed by DarkTRANCE’s music.

One would expect longish tracks with a never-ending unique riff throughout the album or something even sadder than a Polish presidential plane crashing in Russia but DarkTRANCE managed to put something else entirely in their music. The musicality of this record is above average but what makes it stand on its own is its very unconventional upbeat feeling. Correct: upbeat. I’m not quite certain this was originally intended but the additions of Heavy Metal soli and faster drum pounding (as in faster than most Doom Metal acts) gave the album some undeniable groovy feeling. Besides the ambient/industrial filler that is Duskworld, all other tracks have this “rock n’ roll” feel to them.

Though I am perfectly aware that you might run away from the record with such a description, I firmly believe that this highly original approach should pave the way for even more interesting releases in the near future. Again, not this year’s record, or any other year for that matter, but something that should be worth it if you’re looking for some more originality within a scene whose lack of originality has long since been a trademark.

Author: Frйdйric Cerfvol

Review
Forgotten Path

I assume that the Ukraine perhaps has one of the better scenes among other Eastern European countries. As far as my discoveries go, I have yet to find something from there that could be considered a rather lousy attempt in Metal music. Not that long ago I reviewed Raventale, a young Black/Doom Metal band from this country. It was not a groundbreaking release, but quite a pleasant revelation. This time we have yet another very young one-man project from Kyiv, Darktrance. The first thing that actually drew my attention, is more or less the abstract concept driven by visual urban decadence rather than winter, woods and anything that was done before by more traditional Atmospheric Black Metal warriors. Then it was the music, which was a strange and somewhat interesting eclectic mash up of several styles.
“Beyond the Gates of Insanity” is the second album and shows a little progression since the debut, “Ghosts in the Shells”. There is a notable improvement in the vocals. This time shrieks are executed a lot better and with a little more character, while it was the weakest aspect of the debut. I believe this project is still on the search of its aural identity, thus resulting into some drastic stylistic variation within the songs. Every track is different from one another. Moods vary a lot throughout the record, but the whole flow is kept well-maintained. Most of the songs retain a moderately slow and wandering Doom Metal-like pace.
The first two songs have a significant Shoegazing and apathetic feeling. The entire vibe is wrapped in a cold melancholic mood, except for two songs. For example the song, “Dreams are Hollow”, is quite groovy and to my own pleasant surprise I can hear some influence by Godflesh, which is not that common for Black Metal bands. It actually works very well after the brooding lamentation of despair which is the third track, “Don’t Want to Miss You”. Then we have “Duskworld”, a small, but really pleasing piece of Dark Ambient. After it, there is the most deviating song of the remaining tracks, “Shadows of Spirits”, which shows evident characteristics of Polish Death/Black Metal sound, resembling fast pummeling a bit in the manner of Behemoth or Hate for instance. The last track, “Alone”, is soaked with some kind of ominous premonition with some brief nice and bright interludes. It somehow reminds of the processed sound of koto (Japanese native stringed musical instrument) that goes along the synth pad. This song is a good closure for this album and perhaps one of the album’s true highlights.
There is not much to be said about the production. It is decent. I would say tastefully on the rawer side. It actually reminds more of a Death Metal sound than Black Metal. The guitars are thick and sustain a good amount of power. Assumingly, the drums are programmed, but it doesn’t ruin the whole deal. They are done pretty well in this case and do not remind you every minute that a real drummer is absent. Overall, this is a good work of Atmospheric Black Metal with a post-modern approach, not fearing to integrate more than just fundamental aesthetics to its sound. Good and rather interesting work to digest.

Author: Skol