Damien

Damien… The Omen… After the movies, comes the soundtrack from satanic German quintet, Mystic Circle. I was unfamiliar with the band until they released their third opus Infernal Satanic Verses that had sort of impressed me at the time with its bombastic and symphonic approach à la Dimmu Borgir. In fact this album featured the amazing voice of Sara Jezebel Deva (Therion, Cradle Of Filth, The Kovenant, Mortiis) which was a big asset for the band. That album was released in 1999, exactly a year after such releases as Cruelty And The Beast by Cradle Of Filth and Nexus Polaris by The Kovenant, and just a couple of years after the amazing Enthrone Darkness Triumphant by Dimmu Borgir. Symphonic bombastic mainstream black metal was quite trendy at the time and had probably reached its peak.

Spring 2001 saw the band returning as a quartet with their fourth album, The Great Beast which was at first, quite a disappointment to me mainly due to the fact that the band did not employ Sara Jezebel Deva on that album (she was replaced by Ophelia ???). The special edition features a cover of One Road To Asa Bay from Bathory’s viking metal era Hammerheart album. Repeated listens show this one as a superior album than it’s predecessor.

In a few weeks comes their fifth album, Damien featuring the amazing coverartwork of French artist J.-P. Fournier (Immortal’s At The Heart Of Winter is his most reknown work). First thing I asked myself was whether or not this album would be as great as the cover art. But be wise my friend, never judge a book by its cover. Damien sees the band as a trio, (they might release their sixth album as a duo) playing a more straightforward true (?) black metal. This is not the kind of true black metal of such bands as Mayhem, but they get rid of their symphonic approach. The band still use keyboards, but they are less predominant and the music has gained in aggressiveness. The vocals are getting a step further into truer black metal territory, but they don’t sound too different than on their previous work. The style moves closer to bands such as Dark Funeral or Necrophobic than the likes of Dimmu Borgir.

This might look as a new start for the band. I don’t think the fans will turn their back on them since when you are into black metal, you like either Dimmu Borgir or Dark Funeral. A great piece of unholy satanic black metal. Don’t miss it, or Damien will curse you.