Schatten der Vergangenheit

"Schatten der Vergangenheit" is not my first contact with DORN. I' ve heard both previous releases, but they did not impressed me. Common black metal band. But the third CD is rather good. Especially the melodies, plus the quite prominent role of the keyboards could rather be attributed to the Gothic Metal-genre, with calmer interludes, classical touches and a completely different atmosphere. Also the speed normally remains in the slow- to mid-paced regions. And add to that some really deep grunts and you basically have the DORN-sound. The songs themselves are quite elaborate, varied and very well arranged. No passage seems to be there just for the sake of having some diversity, but instead comes naturally and smoothly.