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Illnath > Second Skin of Harlequin > 2006, CD, Worldchaos Production (Digipak) > Reviews
Illnath - Second Skin of Harlequin

This is Actually Pretty Decent, so Fuck Off - 75%

EvilAllen, February 8th, 2019

Well, before I get started on the literal review, I'd like to mention that I don't care who's feelings I may hurt in this review. If you're someone who hates this piece-of-music, fine. Go ahead and hate it. Just remember to hate yourself, too. But if you're a listener with some sense, then you got some good taste. Yes, I can admit, myself, along with others, like to live in the..."musical past". You know, when shit was actually better than what we've been getting in the last decade (a bit longer now). Well, fucking deal with it. I'm trying to as well, fuckin' dorks. Remember that old term "Whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."? Well, turns out weak-minded people are becoming even weaker in their brain because apparently this shit is so dreadful, it could kill you (oh well, better have life insurance, bitch). And well, maybe that's not a bad thing? Ha! You know, they're a lot of idiots in the world who don't like in-depth music on a somewhat more..."modern level". Who's fault is that? Not the creator's fault. Not their job to cater to your fucking ass. So, lil' bitch, sit back and fucking read. And if you hate me now, you may hate me more once you've finished reading this review (Oh, thank God).

I can honestly say that, this band, really are, better than Dimmu Borgir (Oooo, does it hurt yet?). To be fair, I'm not saying Dimmu Borgir are legitimately terrible...but come on, they're from Norway and get considerably low, full-length ratings compared to other symphonic black metal acts (that is disappointing considering their status as a band). And what makes it worse for them is, they're not exactly mainstream metal (I'd give those ranks to bands like Slayer, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath etc, etc,), but they are a popular act in the metal scene. Illnath are at least, in my opinion, more experimental than Dimmu Borgir. And the difference is, they're actually better at pulling off risks, too.

To be honest, I feel this is quite a solid, average release, actually. It's not terrible, not at all. It's got some late '80's, heavy metal guitar riffs. A lot of pauses with riffs on-and-off throughout the entire record. The guitars don't sound overly thick and distorted, like you would likely hear in more...traditional black metal groups. It's got more of a smoothed out guitar production to make it sound a bit muddy...but like a "clear" muddy, if that makes anyways. Kind of like a...remastered-track-feeling, as if the guitar production was originally older than it sounded when it was first being recorded. Some high-toned guitar melodies, which I quite adore. Some good groove and guitar harmonies as well. I can't speak for the bass, it just sounds...almost...not there. It's got a faint production in quality. It's like the producer didn't even care about it. Maybe the producer was secretly an asshole and hated the band (and never told them)?

I fucking love this artwork, the whole thing alone, just this, I'd give one-hundred-percent. I love the early 2000's art, like this, that can pull off such a different vibe. And I like it even more now because it's slowly becoming retro and a bit of a retro style. Soon, this will be considered an underrated classic in the symphonic black metal scene (no shit, duh...). The cute chick in a jester outfit, holding cards, is quite amazing. Who cares what low, opinionated people say, right? Yeah, man! Fuck them. I mean, it's the reason why they wake up every morning, thinking of how they hate themselves more than their actual family. The mixture of black, white and green... I absolutely love the colouring, lighting, contrast...it's really good, even if it's modern, I know...but seriously, it needs to be considered! It's really mesmerizing (like, Harley Quinn).

The vocals do sound a bit like Dimmu Borgir, but obviously better. And the singer actually has more than just "one" vocal style. Has high shrieks, like, yeah, you guessed it, Cradle of Filth as well. Not to mention other bands like Hecate Enthroned and Elvira Madigan, to-name-a-few. Really clean vocal production does this record justice, actually. Even if I assumed the producer was an asshole. Really cool vocal layering adds to the depth of the singer's style. Really nice stuff. At least it's not overly layered, like how White Empress' singer was on their first record...

Drums are, well, to me, a bit boring... I don't hear a lot of creative drumming. I feel, in my opinion, the drums are probably as noticeable, as the bass, which wasn't really noticeable at all. I mean sure, they're better, but it seems like they could have been rushed. It seems that snares and symbols are more important than the verity of a drum set. I didn't find much interest in wanting to pay much attention to them anyways. Not saying the drummer is shit, but I feel the layout is a bit boring, honestly... The keyboards are really neat! Reminds of me of something Emperor would do, just a mini version, considering Emperor are known for their widespread, heavy-ass orchestral theme. You could put them into a damn stadium, with just orchestrations alone! Think of this release, more of a "sister" version of Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk (Yikes, me comparing these guys to a legendary band, there goes my life). There is a lot of nice, mini, orchestral themes in this record, that provide an attraction to the listener, as if you're watching an engaging scene, featuring the villain in a Disney film. The orchestral sounds a bit "kid-friendly", is what I am saying. It's not overly complex, is the easier way of mentioning it.

I could always make time and make room to listen to this record. And not just to piss people off, just because it's not fucking terrible. Trust me, if I think something is shit, then it probably is. I like to consider myself to be a fair reviewer. It's not like you having to pour nails into your glass breakfast bowl, then dump two-percent milk into it, with a stainless steel spoon and eat the nails (just like Mr. Ratburn from the PBS Kids program, Arthur). No, I'm serious, I can't hate this record, it feels too solid, as an average release, to hate it. It's got verity, even though the verity isn't strong. It's literally got crumbs of almost everything it needs. Good, clear production, not perfect production. Fun, engaging, mini orchestrations. Some boring and dank constructions in certain spots throughout the record. But it does feel inspired by older, '80's influences, even if it's not correctly executed enough. It was more of a general, music experiment, really. You can tell that it was. I honestly feel that the band should be proud of this. It's not at all dreadful...you want dreadful, listen to Burzum's DauĂ°i Baldrs record. That shit fucking sucks...and not because it's Burzum's release, I happen to enjoy that band a lot. But I have to try clarifying what I say, this is the internet after all...and people just love to get triggered (who cares, fuck them, it was just meant to salt the wounds more anyways).

You better bet your pretty-little-ass I would tell people to give this more than one listen. Yes! It's so refreshing to see semi-newer, obscure releases, with potential, even though the band are older, they're hardly known anyways...and at this point in time, as I write this review, they're no long active, so... I think I will always listen to separate tracks, or even the whole thing, so I can always hear how, uniquely "average" this record and it's songs are! And even if you do hate this release, what do you know? You're probably lucky you weren't aborted at birth, considering how useless you are.

Oh...and just so I'm clear, normally when I say "you" (yeah, talking you, fool) in this review, I'm talking about the reader(s)!

Go out and buy this CD, if you're lucky enough to do so, It's a nice gem!

Sailing on the swamps of melodies - 84%

Cradle_Shall_Burn, August 4th, 2008

Well in the beginning it's to say, that Illnath is another talented metal-band from Denmark. And because of their problems with their label, they could release SSoH only with a big delay, which disturbed the whole process of creating a "modern" sound. Because in 2005 it had been a more innovative style of metal-mix, but in 2007 everybody know such doings.

Now to the songs: you can't deny that they use pretty much keyboards and try to combine it with their guitar-melodies, what really worked out well! In most of the songs there are many parts, where the instruments are played by turns. That would be the main-idea of the album.

Lyrically the songs are based on fairytales and fantasy, which gives the concept a big goth-touch. I also would say, that the genre, they play, is something like symphonic-goth-metal. In their last releases Illnath added an explanation to every song's lyrics, but this time not. Maybe, because of the label-troubles, or perhaps they thought it wouldn't make sense, explaining very simple lyrics. This band don't use great metaphories or complicated structures like other bands, but they although can bring a dark atmosphere around their songs.

The vocals on the record shows the variety of Narrenschiff's range. He's not like Dani, who stay in one extreme-vocal-mode and does it throughout the songs; he's playing with his lows and highs, like i rarely heard by someone anywhere else. The best example is "Sought By The Fallen One", where the verses are sung the first time in a high screaming and the second time in a deep growling. Anyone who appreciates different vocal-styles should check out these ones.

The songs I can describe very good in one word: catchy. Every song has a main-melody, done by the keyboard and supported by the guitars. But because of the very loud sound of the keyboard, the drums aren't as striking as they should be. I wouldn't say, the drums are lame, but it seems that the keys are overtaking the control over the whole songs. That would be the only mistake in this album. Some melodies are very good and listenable, but sometimes they are very monotonous.

Not to forget is the bonus-track "Aqua Diabolicum", where the drummer of "Mercenary" takes part in. It was done a little bit later, than the previous recordings and shows us the direction, which Illnath will head on the following years.

Good:
> vocal-range
> catchy melodies
> dark, romantic atmosphere

Bad:
> overstaying keyboard-importance
> monotony in some song-structures
> the cover ;-)

Recommended Songs: Sought By The Fallen One, Virgin Soil

Good craftsman's work - 78%

davkov85, August 7th, 2007

My main reason for reviewing this album is that the usual description of this band is very, very misleading. It’s labeled here as melodic black metal, and regarded as a follower of bands like Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth.


Although the cretin album cover and the first seconds of the intro could suggest something like that, not a single word is true of this. Illnath has nothing to do with melodic black metal, and especially not with DB or COF in particular. The style can be circumscribed by the triad of Nightwish, Norther and Eternal Tears of Sorrow, and everything is said by that. Yes, this is ultra-melodic power metal with harsh vocals and even with a symphonic touch. (A less known band called Skyfire can also be mentioned.)


What can be said about this album? If you have heard the preceding one, you already know it; nothing has changed. (Maybe the songs were a bit better on that.) If what you are for is originality, avoid this as plague. However, if you are like me and don’t care at all only whether the music is good, and if you like this style, disappointment is excluded. The songs are easy to like, it’s varied enough; the choruses are good, and (what a surprise!) the musicians are technically really advanced.


There is only one reason I can cite for why they are widely regarded melodic black metal. The use of keyboards are more Dimmu-like; there’s not much virtuosity like in Norther, say, only some ’background butter’ is given. Furthermore the atmosphere is probably a bit darker than in case of the aforementioned mentioned bands. Yet this is very far from being any kind of black metal (and let me note these are by no means the words of a BM elitist.) Another thing which is a bit different from similar bands: the guitar work. Of course it’s excellent here, but the amount of heavy metal riffs is higher than what you might have been used to.


About the vocalist: he varies semi-deep growls with harsher screams. Somebody has written that the latter ones remember Dani Filth. There might be some resemblance, but Narrenschiff’s vocals are not at all annoying. (That’s not easy to explain, but the difference from this aspect is real and important.)
What about the rhythm section? The least mentionable part of the music. Fine craftsman’s work, nothing more and nothing less.

Some notable points: Pieta’s beginning is fine; ‘She the plague’ has a bit classic-sounding lead in the beginning, followed by a hymnic part. Very good. ‘Clockwork of Time’ is also nice; too bad it’s built up from two Norther songs. ‘Feathers shall Fell’ is probably an exception to the rule, this is the most COF-like song. The worst track on this album, by the way, worse, it’s also full of stolen riffs, one from EToS one from Naglfar.


Book of Sand has a glassy sound I like much, but the chorus is very silly (Dig deep and read the breed of the deed… supposed to be a word-joke? I’m not against funny lyrics in principle, but hell, it’s not at all funny. But it does sound retarded.)


Now you might feel a bit discouraged from trying this album. I stress that there is almost nothing wrong with it. Very enjoyable; good musicians, good music, blah blah blah. The only thing is that it’s like a cold beer in a hot summer: you drink it, it feels good, and then you forget it. The 22% minus is not for the unoriginal music but for the lack of really memorable tracks. Recommended only for fanatics of the subgenre.