Humanity Dethroned

Presenting, what could have been, the next generation of the German Blind Guardian. Dark Empire, an American and partly a Swedish joint force, plays a mixture of Power and Technical Thrash Metal along with some of the late Gothenburg’s Melodic Death Metal scene. The group from Long Island, New York started out in 2004, playing Power and Thrash Metal with themes of fantasy with much resemblance to Blind Guardian’s epics. In 2006 they released Distant Tides which is in the same vein as the Swedish Persuader, Blind Guardian and the German Savage Circus. This year the guys left the fantasy theme behind and took a more mature view of the world’s society which can be emphasized in their latest Humanity Dethroned. In addition to their maturity the music has become more hammering and brutal but still exudes those touches of melody and calmness.

Beyond their maturity the band shows some interesting heavy riffs, Death Metal growls along with aggressive and emotive clean vocals. The production, which was handled by Jeremy Krull, is of a high quality rate and different from their last release.

The creators of the music attack the listener with furious force and end with a strong and emotive ballad that enthralls the mind and keeps itself in your memory. This release could have been a Blind Guardian release if they had kept their Power/Thrash Metal sub-genre intact back in the early and mid 90’s. The mere aggressiveness of the music on some of the tracks can be felt in tracks like: “Welcome To Dying”, “The Other Side” and “Ashes To Ashes”. Of course the sound today is with a much better quality but the vein stays the same. These guys show why they are one of Blind Guardian’s successors.

The Swedish part of the group is the vocalist, Jens Carlsson, who is a highly talented vocalist who ranges from anger to an emotional tone with an utmost ability. Carlsson, along with being the voice, is also the guitarist of the aggressive Power Metal act Persuader. He also has a main part as vocalist in Piet Sielck’s Savage Circus that plays Power and Speed Metal. Jens is like Hansi Kurch’s little brother in the vocals area. He has the same range and the same voice with almost an exact resemblance. Jens has progressed plenty since the early days of Persuader, back in 2000, and it can be shown in his fine performance on the album. Alongside Jens stand the two axemen, Matt Moliti and Andrew Atwood. These two supply the music and the vocals with more aggressiveness and belligerence with their Death Metal growls of low and high end. On some tracks they take more of the vocals instead of simple punch lines. Moliti, as a lead guitarist, shows some incredible solo sections. Parts of speed and technique like on “No Signs Of Life” and “Salvation Denied” and heart cracking like on “Closure” and “The Forgotten Sin”. Atwood along with Moliti demonstrates a wide selection of heavy and brutal banging riffs and some graceful acoustic anthems. Samus, the drum man, pounds out some definitive progressive paces and punctuality.

It is very hard to choose tracks from this headbanger, but there are outstanding ones that deserve royal attention. The second track, ”No Signs Of Life” is a pin pointer on society’s aggression, blasts off with a heavy rhythm that reminds of tunes from the Death Metallers, Into Eternity. In addition there is the catchy chorus and some great solos and arpeggios from Moliti. The self titled track, “Humanity Dethroned”, is another great number which begins and ends with aggressive riffs and a duet of growls and clean vocals. This one has an amazing atmospheric chorus with a melodic rhythm. The epic, “The Forgotten Sin”, is a song that gives everything, from emotive music of an acoustic ballad through heavy riffs combined with psychedelic parts to hymning chorus. “Possessed (We Are One)” is the place where the gloves come off with a smashing Melodic Death Thrash rhythm that casts out all the remaining anger on the album. This track is very similar to songs by Dark Tranquility, Into Eternity and In Flames. The chorus and the lyrics are powerful and fit the music. Near the second chorus there is a very melodic rhythm verse which is much influenced by early Helloween. “Closure” is the last part of “The Apparition Sequence” epic but also is a fine closure for the whole album. This ballad is one of the best heard on a Thrash Metal record.

Humanity Dethroned shows a mature band that released itself from the world of fantasy to discuss more serious issues like violence, death, oppression and society itself. For fans of early Blind Guardian, Dark Empire is the best choice for taking the throne from the German Bards. Jens Carlsson on this project shows the young version of the legendary Hansi Kuersch and continues to be promising for years to come. The Metal world has evolved greatly and will earn a lot from these guys and bands like them. There is no escape, “Salvation Is Denied”.

So I was really excited about this album. I had loved Distant Tides, and couldn't wait for this release. And I have to say, I was extremely disappointed. Right from the start, there's a problem. The intro to the opening track (Eyes of Defiance) sounds almost exactly like the opener to the opening track of the previous album. It's just sped up a bit. When a band starts ripping off old riffs within the first 10 seconds of an album, you know something's off.

Now then, one serious problem with this album is Jens Carlson's vocal. His voice has suddenly become very screechy and adolescent, as if he went through reverse puberty or something. It can get really annoying at times. And it's not just Jens who has had a drop in vocal quality, because the growls have also gotten worse. They're very bland now, and seem to be thrown in to the music rather randomly as if no one really put any consideration into how they would work into the music.

Next, there's the issue that some of the songs just sound really similar to each other. Only a few really stick out, the rest just seem to be repetitive filler. It seems like Matt Moliti was short on ideas for riffs.

The musicianship however, is very good. Extremely talented guitarwork (listen to those arpeggios), good drumming, and.....well I'd comment on the bass but it seems to have been killed during the mixing process. What a shame

Overall, it feels like Dark Empire has lost a lot of the energy it had in its debut. Maybe this was caused by many delays in the recording process. Either way, Dark Empire needs to get it back together so they can prove that the excellent music on Distant Tides wasn't an accident.

Humanity Dethroned definitely is a new direction for Dark Empire. Whereas their earlier releases were probably more Power/Progressive, this album incorporates some Thrash riffs and keeps most of the chorus. No, this is not a bland Sonata Arctica or Rhapsody album. This album has more in common with a band like Nevermore or Persuader (Or a heavier Dream Theater). As a thrash fan, I definitely appreciate the new direction that Dark Empire went with this album.

This album has a lot of catchy, yet technical riffs. The speed of the album is not compromised in this album. While the album as a whole is more thrash oriented, the melodic sounds of the band are for the most part preserved. There are some extremely catchy melodic riffs in the beginning.

The Matt Moliti and Andrew Atwood formed some of the most technical/progressive and melodic guitar solos I have heard. I don't think any power metal band has ever incorporated progressive elements in solos and riffs so successfully (Blind Guardian got crucified for "A Twist in Myth" by some fans).

Jens Carlsson definitely shows off his vocal power- going from highs to lows on each song. Though his style is different from the almighty Hansi, he definitely fits the general direction of the band. The added thrash style vocals from Matt Moliti and Andrew Atwood are a perfect compliment to Carlsson's vocals (think The Dark Eternal Night on Systematic Chaos- Dream Theater). The overall themes of the album are quite thrashy too, not your emerald sword lyrics!

As the above review mentioned, the balladish song "The Forgotten Sin" is NOT a let down. It is probably my favorite track. If you can combine power metal with progressive metal - it is probably the best example. The solos are probably some of the best on the entire album.

Overall, I'm surprised that this album went unnoticed by many power metal fans. If you are a fan of power, progressive, or thrash metal get this album. For thrash fans- keep your eye on this band, they are a hidden gem. Their next album may contain more thrash and my outlook on this band is promising.

What is there really to say about Dark Empire? Moliti is talented as hell & Carlsson's other band [Persuader] is about as consistent as you can get in terms of quality of content, so going into their sophomore release, fans should only expect a similar level of quality and consistency in reproducing in the DE signature sound found in Distant Tides.

Though this release saw many setbacks and delays, the band has nothing to hide with this release, going so far as putting the album up for free streaming through their MySpace page.

This album is littered with great stand-out tracks, some of which include ‘Eyes of Defiance’ (melodic, fast, powerful, and catchy!), ‘Humanity Dethroned’ (title track for a reason), ‘The Forgotten Sin’ (I’ll lament on the greatness of this song in a bit...), and ‘Salvation Denied’ (very much in the vein of Distant Sky’s sound, for those looking for more of the same).

I know EM doesn’t particularly like track-by-track reviews but this song deserves a write up of itself so I’ll try to keep it somewhat brief. The fourth track, ‘The Forgotten Sin’, is a soothing slower paced track in terms of the vocals on many sections, but don’t let the word ‘slow’ discourage you as Moliti makes sure to keep the pace tight and fast...and holy hell, what a mind blowing solo! Starting off with a bit of a progressive-metal sound that can remind you of Petrucci and then follows it up with a more traditional finish. Guitarists listening to this album will be impressed. The catchiness of the vocals and ingenuity of the guitar licks at times make this a 5-Star track if there ever was one. It’s melodic, it’s progressive...it’s a bit of everything at times.

Dark Empire is a bit of a diamond in the rough. Not many have heard of them but the collective works of its members are of some of the best in the genre, indicative of the talent level of the band as a whole. Humanity Dethroned expands on the sound established since Northern Sky dropped, and keeps the pace without losing much momentum. I say ‘much’ because as a whole this release does lower the levels of aggression, speed, and overall catchiness when compared to its predecessor, Distant Tides, in favour of a sound that is a bit safer and arrayed to attract as many listeners as possible. If you prefer the melodic side to Jens’ voice, then by all accounts you should love this album.