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Ibex Throne > Ibex Throne > Reviews
Ibex Throne - Ibex Throne

Not bad, but not a masterpiece. - 75%

PaganWinter_44, August 18th, 2007

Ibex Throne has become one of those bands whose name has been thrown around the scene for awhile. Everyone who has mentioned this name has said nothing but good things about this album. I decided to check it out to confirm what I've been hearing about this album. All I can say about this particular album is that it's at least on the right path, so to speak.

The largest setback for this album is the production. It is not so raw that it makes the guitars sound like a swarm of angry bumblebees, but it has greatly diminished the album's potential. For example, the guitar riffs are great. They are not always the tremolo-picked sounds that you would expect. The problem is that the drums and vocals are produced so loudly that it drowns out the guitar sound. In some of the really great songs, all you can hear is the drums and vocals. Their drummer is good, and it's obvious that he likes to show off. However, he's showing off too much. In such songs, like "Black Sand Through My Veins", the drums are overpowering everything. The worst part about songs like that is the fact that the production makes the drums sound like a cowbell.

The other problem that I have with this album is the vocals. I like it when the vocalist does the normal growls because his vocals sound like they're actually demonic. He sounds almost exactly like Ixithra of Demoncy, which is very good. When he changes up his vocals, it doesn't sound brutal, it doesn't sound scary, it just sounds like an emotionless scream. It is almost as if Droopy was to simply say "Ahh" very loudly. However, when he does the simple, gurgling growl, it is amazing.

The atmosphere of this album doesn't present itself until the third track, "Vomitorum Cruentes". The first two tracks are your normal, blasting black metal tracks. After the "Vomitorum Cruentes", everything gets darker, and you actually feel like you're in the last circle of Hell. The problems with production, the overly loud drums, and the mood swing vocals are still key problems, but the well-structured tracks are good enough that you can look past these setbacks to some extent. When the final track, "Obscurity Our Majesty", comes on, you forget all of the previous tracks. This track stands alone and above everything else. For eight minutes, you can't even tell it's the same band.

Overall, this is not a bad album, and Ibex Throne isn't a bad band. I cannot call this a masterpiece, but at the same time, I cannot say that this album is a complete disappointment. I recommend this album to any, and all, fans of black metal.

True Salt Lake Black Metal - 100%

Ghastly_Incarnation, January 12th, 2005

I first stumbled upon this band while I was on the site melektaus.christrusher.com, I saw a link to their page, so I went to it but the page was currently under construction. A couple of months later a friend played me “Gathering for The Sacrifice” from Ibex Throne, and I thought to myself “this is fucking good Black Metal”. I bought their self-titled album a month or so later. I can say that it was worth my money.
It starts off with the track “Anti-Christian Warfare” which is heavy as fuck, and just sounds fucking evil. Towards the middle of the song the vocalist yells over and over again, which sounds like he’s killing somebody or something, it just adds the effect to the blasphemy. The next track “Black Sands Through My Veins” (which is a bad ass title) is just as good, if not, better. It instantly starts off with blast-beats and picks up from there. The slow part of the song a pretty good part of the song too, it sounds really dark, and then it gets fucking heavy, their riffs are melodic, very Black Metal, with a hint Death Metal every so often.
The production is good also, the drums are the loudest, but you can still hear everything else just as well. The whole thing has sort of an echoed feel to it, and is little raw too, which is perfect. The standout tracks are the two I listed above and “Vomitorium Cruentes” which starts off with a thrashy beat and then immediately goes to blast-beats. But while being fucking brutal they can also slow it too. The slower parts are just as evil, the riff sounds like the kind you would hear while being impaled in Hell by a demon. Towards the end of the song the vocalist does a yell, which sounds like someone getting brutally stabbed. Which shows some of the variety the vocalist has. I also have to give credit for the drummer Mictlan, he has his own drumming technique that I’ve never heard from other drummers. You can really hear his talent in “Vomitorium Cruentes”, it’s not just constant blast-beats like “Panzer Division Marduk”. There is variety in his drumming. His blast-beats are sort of in your face, as well as the whole band in general. Unlike a lot of bands, Ibex Throne has time changes and is not afraid to have rythym. On the last track, “Obscurity Our Majesty”, shows the bands slower more melodic side, with some singing which shows the singer’s variety once again. But don’t’ worry, the song still gets heavy as fuck. At the end of the song has a sort of satanic chant, well it’s just screaming but it sounds like one any way, and drums also add the effect to the evil.
I would have to say that Ibex Throne is one of the better USBM bands. I’m sure the next full-length will be just as good, if not better. Their self-titled debut is an album that you will listen to for many times to come. It never gets old, I suggest purchasing it.

So fucking brutal! - 83%

Spawnhorde, August 7th, 2004

OK, the drums are a bit too loud...but that doesn't stop this band from being evil and hateful as hell. Yet another band proving that USBM is worth its weight in corpsepaint, comes Ibex Throne with their self-titled full-length debut. This is just...pure...brutality. Primal riffs. Evil vocals. Technical and fast as hell drumming. Bass? Nope, this is mostly pretty treble...ish.

The album starts abruptly with Anti-Christian Warfare...one of the album highlights. Right from the beginning with the cool drum fills and classic throwback riffs, you can expect that this won't be bad at all.

OK, so IF you survived that track, you make ti to Black Sand In My Veins. This song is just raw and blasting. Excellent riffs throughout and a solid vocal performance.

The next track, Vomitorum Cruentes starts with some drumming, into a cool mosh-style drum pattern, into a very thrashy headbanging section. Then, it reverts to BLASTING. This shows the schizophrenic technicality of this band very well. Their razor-sharp precision and songwriting is very well done on all tracks.

I can see how one wouldn't enjoy this album that much though. For people who like mellow-er atmospheric BM, get some other stuff...this is NOT for you. This is for people tired of Marduk, Kult ov Azazel, and the other shitty "hateful norsecore" bands that think they are the newest purveyors of black metal. Ibex Throne stands for no one. Ibex Throne stands alone. And I stand with them.