Black Crucifixion

Faustian Dream

Paragon Recs 2006

At first I had to get over the shock of what I was hearing.  Mainly because I remember way back in the ancient past seeing some reviews and adds for the original Black Crucifixion demo.  It seems so long ago and I guess really it is.  The compositions on this album are just as removed from that musical creation as I am from those distant memories.  No longer is black Crucifixion an ambassador of primordial black metal.  Now they are purveyors of a style described rightly so as Dark Metal.  I am not sure why they retained the name actually but I guess that's another story.  The vocals are really interesting, ranging from typical deep goth a la Sisters of Mercy all the way to "whiny" vocals that remind me of Tom G. Warrior's on some tracks from Into the Pandemonium.  This whole album takes some of the best parts of middle era Tiamat and meshes them with some goth sensibilities and some rock overtones.  I guess the most expressive display of what I mean can be found on Winterkill.  My favorite song is Bible Black Tyrant.  Fans of Modern Tiamat will find a lot on offer here that they can relate to.  I find a lot of kinship between these two bands, especially one a song like Where will You Hide where the Chorus has a really epic feeling enhanced by the underlying keyboards.  Sometimes Black Crucifixion tries too hard to be emotional and it can sound a little heavy handed like on Scandinavian Melancholy which actually borders on cheesy and detracts from the synthesis they have achieved on the rest of the album.  The production is pretty good.  The drums are really "poppy" in their sound and the guitars are solid while the vocals are strong without being overpowering.  This is not an album for everyone, but for the more open-minded underground fan who doesn't mind their metal interbreeding with goth influences, they might find an album worth exploring.