Magni Nominis Umbra

Vim Patior is basically a band that really wanted to sound like Emperor but really just ended up sounding like early Cradle of Filth. It's transparent: the opening track is an obvious take on 'In the Nightside Eclipse', but beyond that, I don't think Vim Patior really get how to recreate the finer points of Emperor, so they end up sounding like outtakes from 'Dusk... and Her Embrace', minus the impressively catchy riffing and wonderful songwriting. Yeah, Vim Patior's basically a third rate clone of other, better bands, minus all the tact and subtlety of their influences- same fate as a lot of late '90s black metal, I guess.

You could say that there's some gothic influence here- austere, baritone clean vocals like to pop up on occasion, and the cloying string-sample keys are obviously derived from the goth scene, but there's even more Cradle of Filth aping beyond that. Vim Patior actually takes a lot of the pseudo-thrashy, furtively buzzing tremolo riffs from Cradle's early, less melodic moments and uses them in much the same context: between stretches of blasting and melodic tremolo riffing or sluggish, Katatonia-like goth rock meets doom death harmonized leads. As you've probably guessed by now, Vim Patior doesn't have a whole lot of personality of its own- it's really just a black metal band designed to appeal to those weird kids you might have met who are into black metal as much for dressing up like vampires as they are the music. That's not to say there aren't occasional bright moments- when Vim Patior are stealing some of the more melodic, narrative riffs from Cradle of Filth, it can be pretty solid. The programmed drums are unobtrusive and not particularly obvious, and all in all the music is fairly inoffensive- it's decently composed if unimpressive; definitely exactly the sort of thing you'd expect from Blackend in '99.

Ultimately this is just a forgotten release that no one's going to particularly miss, but it's a pretty good archetype for what melodic black metal looked like back in the late '90s. This is sort of like a counterpart to December Moon in a way- fairly nondescript and unimpressive music made by people who clearly just vibrate at the idea of putting out a black metal record. Enthusiastic but not very good, this is destined for bargain bins and impulse buys for as long as these discs exist.

Vim Patior are a melodic black metal band out of Poland. 'Magni Nominis Umbra' is their first and only album to date. Musically Vim Patior play drum-machine laden black metal with orchestral and atmospheric undertones sounding similar overall to Norway's Limbonic Art or Emperor in their early days. Unfortunately Vim Patior use quite a few clean vocals which sound not so much ridiculous but out of place and lower the overall feel of the music. Sweeping synths are quite prominent throughout 'Magni Nominis Umbra', a rather welcome addition in my opinion as it would sound too mechanical otherwise. Vim Patior are a fine example of one of those bands who have listened to many Emperor CD's in their life which is definately a strong trait in their sound, however Vim Patior are slightly different. They are more mechanical sounding, not as much so as Limbonic Art however. Perhaps Vim Patior lie halfway between Emperor and Limbonic Art. The unique style Vim Patior play has been dubbed in the past as nocturnal black metal and their sound definately holds a night time aura around it.

There is no intro to 'Magni Nominis Umbra', the second you press play you are surrounded by blastbeats courtesy of a drum-machine and frantic guitarwork. There is a slower respite with slower guitars and keyboards giving you a short time to breathe and then within the blink of an eye you are back amidst the fury. Vim Patior obviously hold a strong influence towards the early works of Emperor and a shade of Limbonic Art's necro severity is also quite clearly heard, possibly due to the rather prominent drum-machine. Haar's voice ranges from annoying clean chants to a harsh black metal rasp. There are a few songs where both styles are used such as 'Amoi Fago Demonaz'. Haar's clean voice brings to mind a number of names however neither are in metal. One is Das Ich and the other is Sopor Aeternus, however much more harsh and grating. A deeper chant is also used at times which sounds similar to the deeper growls of Dani Filth. These Cradle Of Filth-isms are also heard at the beginning of the bridge before the chorus of 'Oeuvre Posthume' where Haar lets loose a piercing scream very much like Dani's girl screams.

As is the problem with many black metal bands the guitarwork all sounds similar on every single song. Vim Patior are by no means just a blastbeat laden act like Anaal Nathrakh or Limbonic Art. Even though the majority of this album is intensely savage and ripping there are a few atmospheric, slow and melodic respites. The title track 'Magni Nominis Umbra' opens with a slower riff and a held final chord which then fades into faster guitarwork and blastbeats. This dies back down to another slower part with some very unique vocals sung by Haar. Vim Patior by far sound their best when they arent playing at frantic paces, and fortunately for them there are many. This is the saving point of Vim Patiors sound. The band sound more focussed when they are playing not so fast and hopefully in the future they will stick to this idea more.

All in all this is a fairly decent release. It does wear thin at times and only parts stand out rather than songs. There is a good mix between brutality and melody throughout and most of the songs demonstrate a medium song-writing skill. I managed to find this album second hand for two dollars and was a little wary about what it would be like but I was pleasantly surprised. I would not have paid full price for this, but it is definately worth more than two dollars. Towards the end of the album Vim Patior seem lost for a direction and there are quite a few areas where work could be done. Lets hope this band return with a second album which zooms in on their obvious potential. This is one of those standard generic black metal releases which sound like many other bands however if you like this sort of thing then Vim Patior is for you.