Battle Furies

Lets start off by saying that this album was just something recorded very early on that Ewigkeit decided to release because it was simply collecting dust. I got a message on myspace from this band saying they (he?) had an album released on the website completely for free, only available through download. I decided to give it a listen and was very surprised. This is much more oriented in black or death metal than the later works, yet still has a very symphonic and atmospheric feel to it, as well as a heavy use of electronics. The vocals remind me greatly of Rotting Christ.

The cd starts off with "Jewel of My Empire," has some excellent synth elements to it. This song works well for me. The chugging guitar, the somewhat relentless drums, and the samples of what sounds like warriors killing each other all complement each other nicely. The Melody that the synth adds to the song is probably what makes it.

Next is "Wonder of the Cosmos." The clean female vocals are a nice touch and the song is a lot more atmospheric as a whole. The breakdown is nice, and goes effortlessly back into the song.

"Christendom Falls" slows down a bit, and has some good atmosphere to it, as with the previous track. This seems to be a lot more oriented towards the synth than other tracks and gives off one of the best moods on the cd.

"Dragons Burning" is the first song on the cd to really give a black metal feel, using blast beats, tremolo picking, harsh vocals, and very subtle electronic elements. The few times that the synth is prevelant in this song are some of the more complex parts. The sounds of burning work well to end the song, and fits the title. This song reminds me somewhat of the likes of Limbonic Art and Emperor

Next is the instrumental, "Kingdom in the Clouds (My Astral Journey)." It introduces clean guitars for the first time on the cd, as well as samples of someone speaking, and more subtlety in the synth yet again. It is a nice sounding track but doesn't really go anywhere.

I really like the beginning of this next soung. The choice of notes and the speaking all give a very creepy sound, and its a very nice build up, ending in a drumroll right before the guitar comes in and blast beats ensue. More subtlety with the synth yet again, usually just ambient chordes. By the way, this one is called "Time Reborn."

"Gods of Ages Awakened" starts off with very subtle sounds and breaks in with some chordes, then back to more chugging. It picks up later on, and the notes in this song are nicely used. Half way through it sounds very epic, and I imagine armies marching, which something I rather enjoy in music. The 3/4 feel is great and very much lives up to the title of the cd, "Battle Furies."

More epicness comes with "O Elbereth" and then it turns into more straight forward black metal. Blast beats, tremolo picking, and synth. Later on the drums give off a marching feel, which is pretty cool, and fits with the whole battle theme.

"Keshara Arise" is probably my favorite song. It breaks in nicely and I cant help but bob my head when listening to it. Everything works nicely, and it is a great track all the way through, even when it slows down.

The cd closes with "Sanctuary of the Light - As Shadows Dance." It starts off as simply synth but comes in with some piano. It has a lot more direction to it than the previous instramental, and thus works much better.

The downside of the cd is that a lot of the same elements are utilized in the same ways, and a lot of the songs blend together as a result. Other than that I think it is a very strong work and especially for something I downloaded for free on the internet (although I suppose thats how a lot of people get their music now anyway). Its deffinitely worth a listen if you are a fan of very symphonic black metal in the vein of Limbonic Art, Emperor, or Hortus Animae. Though it is not as harsh, and has a lot more melody.