Dark Requiems... and Unsilent Massacre

“For Thee, in Sinful Obscurity” – why did nobody tell Hecate Enthroned that it is not very clever to give even the interludes titles that seemed to be written by the pen of a filthy Dani for the first time? Okay, we all know that the dudes always stood and still stand in the shadow of the famous and infamous circus that Dani steers through all ups and downs, but it is a self-chosen fate as long as you do not only play a similar style, but also follow a comparable lyrical approach. Anyway, let’s come to the music of “Dark Requiems…”.

The atmospheric intro sets the stage and “The Pagan Swords of Legend” comes in vehemently. An opener (or, more precise, the first regular track) should always be able to pull the listener into the album in a matter of minutes and the here presented track meets this expectation with great ease. It relies on strong melodies that symbolize drama and strength simultaneously. The very dense sound has two effects. It marks the foundation for an intensive listening session, but the full-length also suffers from a slightly ill-defined mix. Clarity was written in very small letters during the recordings and maybe I should not be that picky, but I would almost like to speak of a lumpy mix. Nevertheless, the album is kicked off in a competent way. I admit that I do not understand a single word of the vocals, they sound pretty inhuman and distorted. But if I want to become familiar with the lyrical details, I know who I have to ask (Dani Filth).

Hecate Enthroned do not fear complexity and most parts blend seamlessly with the next one. Abruptly occurring breaks have no place on this album. Its flow is free from fractures, the tempo shifts make sense (the band presents a broad range from mid-paced rhythms to very fast eruptions) and the homogeneous song-writing results in a stringent overall picture. This is not to say that all is gold here. A less prominent appearance of the keyboards would have been fine. Sometimes the dude at the keys makes more noise than his two companions at the guitars and this mismatch weakens the power of the material. No doubt, most melodies work pretty good or even excellent, but I am a cantankerous purist in this context; I always want the guitars in the front row. My personal sensitivities aside, the sextet performs an almost glamourous type of black metal. I guess this is the kind of black metal that bored baronesses would have preferred in the 17th century if they would have had the chance to do so. Okay, this sounds too negative. In other words: this is black metal I want to consume while sitting on an oaken throne in a medieval castle (with a working heater, please). My functionally furnished living room does not match the more or less pompous style of the full-length.

Honestly speaking, there are no outstanding songs after the aforementioned “The Pagan Swords of Legend”, but this can be understood as a compliment. The band offers a permanently high quality level and in view of its good ideas, it’s nearly a tragedy that the group did not strive for a more autonomous way of proceeding. However, Dani and – to make things complete – Dimmu Borgir have definitely released less strong works than “Dark Requiems…”. It’s an album that needs a certain period to reveal its full aroma, but it has depth and musicality. 22 years after its release, it is still a good idea to listen to it every now and then. Even dirty Dani probably agrees.

Nowadays, the genre of symphonic black metal is often viewed with scorn and derision,. However, if one can look past the mediocrity of post 90's material by bands such as Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir, one will realize that this genre is capable of producing dark and atmospheric works of greatness. One album that definitely brings out the best that symphonic black has to offer is Dark Requiems...and Unsilent Massacre by Hecate Enthroned. It's almost tragic how such a perfect album could also be so underrated and unrecognized throughout the black metal scene.

One of Dark Requiems' strongest characteristics is its perfect symmetry between the riffs and the symphonic elements. Both aspects are of the highest caliber, and both play a strong role in the music. The riffs do not stray into failed attempts to be catchy or groovy; there are no Iron Maiden solos to be found here. Instead, fast and heavy black metal riffs maintain a menacingly dark vibe throughout the album, and assist the synths effortlessly in establishing a haunting atmosphere that is up to par with the likes of Nightside Eclipse.

The drumming and vocals on this album are just as outstanding as the riffs and synths. The drumming delivers some of the most pounding, kick ass blast beats ever to grace a black metal album. As far as the vocals go, yes, it is true that they sound very similar to Dani Filth's vocals on early COF albums. However, they are of a higher quality, and are executed far more effectively. The high pitched shrieks are downright evil and cold, and the occasional low pitched vocals are very creepy, and complement the shrieks perfectly. In short, the vocals are some of the most wicked vocals in the genre.

Any black metal fan who doesn't own this album is missing out on a true masterpiece. Once you hear this, I assure you that you will wonder how your collection was deprived of it for so long.

Enter the genre of symphonic black metal. The sub-genre is generally criticized for not staying true to its roots, and often causes bands to be labeled as "sell-outs", such as Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir. However, this album is not one of those examples. One of the reasons for this is that traditional black metal is not very appreciated by other people who are not in the genre; it often has low production quality, cold atmospheres, harsh, high-pitched vocals, and satanic lyrical themes. This style is not appreciated by many, sadly, and often leads to bands changing their style, incorporating elements from other sub genres of metal and often including keyboards. This band has several similarities with Cradle of Filth, as the vocalist was one of the many bassists Cradle of Filth has had. This album resembles the older work of Cradle of Filth, however (before they were considered "sell-outs"). This album retains many of the roots of black metal, however, one of the most noticeable features being the high-pitched vocals (which resemble Dani Filth's vocal style on albums such as V empire or Dusk and Her Embrace). The production quality is not too refined, giving it some of the traditional black metal style. This album manages to balance some of traditional black metal's elements with symphonic elements, to produce an evil and dark style.

This is the band's second full-length album, released in 1998. It manages to create a dark atmosphere with the keyboards, while having chugging riffs, harsh vocals throughout, giving the listener a complex sound to digest. Most of the songs are very fast, with unpredictable song structures, some songs do not have choruses, and just jump from verse to verse with interludes of drumming, keyboards, and guitar riffs. The vocals and the keyboards are the primary focus on the songs, except for some parts in which the other instruments are heard more. The drumming is heard more as a background instrument, as it is often overshadowed. The guitars and base are the instruments least heard throughout, there are no guitar solos(and there don't need to be any, its not meant to be catchy). The keyboards give do not only give melody but also set the atmosphere for the songs. The album still manages to be heavy even with the incorporation of keyboard symphonies.

Dark Requiems and The Unsilent Massacre begins with (Intro) In Nomine Satanas, which is one of the best intros I've heard. It uses keyboards and synthesizers to give a sense of doom and prepares the listener for what is next. The Pagan Swords of Legend begins shows what the album is all about, satanic lyrics, harsh high-pitched vocals, symphonic background melodies. The drums follow the pace of the song, which is mostly fast throughout. The guitars and the bass are not heard as much, but follow the keyboard melodies almost perfectly. This is one of the fastest tracks on the album. Most songs resemble this one in terms of sound, riffs, and vocal style.

Forever in Ebony Drowning is one of the few tracks which shows the powerful guitars, it has several instances where the keyboards disappear for the guitars and drums to give the pace. Upon the Kingdom Throne uses low toned vocals for a small part, and then returns to the high pitched. The album could have been more varied if the style had been interchanged more often throughout the songs. For Thee in Sinful Obscurity is an interlude which resembles the intro. Although it is not awful, it offers nothing new and is not really necessary as the mood of the album has already been placed by the other songs. It suffers from being too short(an instrumental track would have been awesome). Dark Requiems and Unsilent Massacre opens back up, with sheer speed and heaviness. The song does not offer anything new to the listener, but does have more of those keyboard driven melodies. Drumming is heard a lot in this song, and is very fast throughout.

Thy Sorrow Bequeathed begins with low pitched vocals and the usual instrumentation lead by the keyboards. It is quickly followed by a fast guitar and drum pace, this is one of the few instances in which they are actually heard by themselves. It then follows a similar structure to previous songs, with fast verses and same vocal style. Towards the end the keyboards give entrance to the guitars again, but is quickly overshadowed by the vocals and keyboards. It ends very abruptly. Ancient Graveless Dawn uses more keyboards than usual. It begins slowly with piano, followed by the guitar. It returns to the previous style of the other songs, featuring fast verses with symphonic keyboards to compliment. The song's pace does not slow down overall, save from a few parts where the vocals stop and the keyboards take over.

Overall the album is very symphonic, heavy, and fast. Songs suffer from being too similar to each other and makes it hard to pick any individual tracks. The album as a whole does not offer much variety, but manages to not be repetitive by varying song structures and having unpredictable keyboard melodies. The songs often slow down unpredictably, and speed up in the same fashion.

Recommended tracks:
The Pagan Swords of Legend
Ancient Graveless Dawn
The Scarlet Forsaken

Originally written for sputnikmusic.com

Man, Hecate Enthroned had their shit together back in the day. By the time this album was released, their cousins Cradle Of Filth really were fucking things up. Here, the production became clearer, the riffs much more thick and menacing, the bass pretty audible, and the rest being the same Hecate we came to love with the EP and debut album.

You can’t make out anything Jon is saying anymore, which is a tad bit of a letdown. His screams are higher than they were on the debut (believe that) – they’re literally drowned, high screams like static squelches coming from a SINCGARS radio handset. They’re the predominant vocal style on the album like the debut, but again I prefer his growls, which still haven’t changed from their trademark demonic roars.

The music isn’t a whole lot different from the last album, but it sounds strangely unorthodox. I dunno, I get a different vibe from this one – totally different mindset and everything. The feeling isn’t honest like the last one as much as its more betraying, which just adds to the evil tone. Synth back up is deeper, becoming a production trait while the keys act in an even more classical procedure. The riffs still retain their sadistic intentions; tremolo or nasty and deep, they’ll rip through the opposition. Just because the keys play a dominant role doesn’t mean the band let up on the ferocity of the guitars. While bass does subsist a little easier than on this album, I still preferred the last album’s production a little more. Here, most of the songs sound a bit rushed and unconvincing, but not without some merit to them.

One standout track I witnessed was “Forever In Ebony Drowning,” a track that distanced itself without doing too much to draw attention to itself. The song adds a spacey / more unholy touch to things, helping it ooze with stirring atmosphere and vicious, frenzied riffs. Some moments are preferred like this one, but I’d still take the more ancient sounding debut since it’s an overall achievement rather than this one, which went for the “pieces being greater than the sum” direction. The most miraculous moments occur when the growls are coupled with enchanting keys, a combination which I find strangely enthralling.

Hecate still managed to churn out another album solid for showing who’s the dominant player of the (then) British black metal scene. Soon after, the band would falter and lose their sense of unity, thus dethroning themselves musically and as the scene’s kings. While not a stark departure from the debut album, it definitely is a slighter step down since it lacks the sincere feeling that kept the first one full of evil ambitions.

Hecate Enthroned are a melodic black metal band that sound a lot like earlier Cradle Of Filth (though to their credit they don't sound nearly as much like Cradle Of Filth as people say they do) and this is pretty much the entirety of their personality. The band has never made even the most remote attempt to establish a sound of their own, apart from moving through different eras of Cradle Of Filth's sound. Saying all this is a bit hard on them, because if you really break down the melodic structures and instrumentation, Hecate Enthroned aren't THAT much like Cradle Of Filth, but the style they've chosen to play pretty much damns them to such comparisons for the rest of their collective career.

Hecate Enthroned plays a similar style of gothic black metal as early Cradle Of Filth, and they employ almost exactly the same vocal styles (high shrieks and low narrative growls), the same high usage of keys, and somewhat similar riffing styles. It adds up against them pretty quickly. What Hecate Enthroned does have is a more purely black metal style structurally, particularly in the riffing department, which is more influenced by Emperor than it is Iron Maiden. There aren't AS many cloyingly gothic portions (though they're certainly there), and the whole 'gothic' edge is really more flavoring than it is an integral part of the music.

'Dark Requiems...' isn't bad. But it is relatively shallow. I've had the album for a few years now and given it numerous listens, but still the only parts that I can really remember are when the CD skips. Probably not the best sign of quality songwriting. I can identify some songs as being better than others; 'Forever In Ebony Drowning', 'Thy Sorrow Bequeathed', etc. but I can't actually remember WHY they're better than the others. It's just a matter of incrementally better songwriting, I guess. There's just very little going on in this album, and what is going on is stuff that you've heard before a lot. There's tremolo riffing in the early Cradle Of Filth vein, lots of swooping, 'majestic' (but not really) keyboards that never go away, and really clumsy drumming, but none of those elements ever craft anything particularly memorable or even worth remembering.

I'm not sure what to say about this album simply because it doesn't have much content. Or at least that what content is there is entirely unremarkable. It can't keep my attention span to the end of a riff, much less a song, and even less the entire album, so while it doesn't OFFEND me, it's pretty static and lacking in general. I don't see a point to this album. You'd really only want this if you're a massive Hecate Enthroned fan (there are some, amazingly; I've met them) or feel like getting a copy of every mediocre melodic black metal album ever made. Apart from that though, this is lacking in purpose.

If you had to see what Hecate Enthroned was about, look no further than Dark Requiems...and Unsilent Massacre. The band has always been compared to Cradle of Filth since probably its inception, but that's pretty unfair because some people just don't like Cradle of Filth (but I've kind of warmed up to them over the years). Sure, on the surface, their music is kind of similar, they come from the same area, and they've also shuffled band members and session members between the two over their long history, but make no mistake, Hecate Enthroned really does make their own mark makes the right combination of atmosphere and intensity to make albums like Dark Requiems...and Unsilent Massacre a truly unique experience.

Dark Requiems...and Unsilent Massacre has got to be one of the most sinister and wicked sounding albums I’ve heard since accidentally running into it in 2005 and I still feel that way today, years later... Keyboards and synths play a large role in creating the evil sounding atmosphere backed up my pounding drums and violent riffs. The vocals are actually pretty awful and sometimes inaudible, but with the fairly weak production, they actually fit really well into each song if you treat them as just another instrument. Think of them as really high pitched but muffled behind a lot of barriers - very distinct from Cradle of Filth's clearer but squeakier, froggier approach. Sometimes when the vocalist “speaks”, he uses a very low tone – I think it adds a lot to the already dark atmosphere.

How to describe the atmosphere even more? Well, picture yourself alone on a cold fall night, in a dark, foggy forest.. It's spooky and unsettling. ( I use the word "spooky" carefully because that might convey something on the campy side). Or go to a cemetery on a foggy night or some abandoned house in the middle of nowhere - the music here is very fitting for those settings. I think this was the type of atmosphere Hecate Enthroned was trying to make when they thought of “Dark Requiems”. I'd probably compare this to early Lucifugum or Emperor, but maybe not as feral like Lucifugum or medieval-esque like Emperor.

One of the strong points is how diverse the album is. Hecate Enthroned have always been strong with instrumental interludes/intros and the first track, "In Nomine Satanas" gives a great vibe for what you can expect the album to feel like. In just two minutes, I get a really haunted, chilling, and desolate vibe. People should play this 2 minute track on loop during Halloween and haunted house businesses should consider it as well. "Upon the Kingdom Throne" probably showcases what the album does best - an intense opening that builds, but some calming components towards the end to serve as a break between the chaos. Everything seems well in sync and while I repeat the vocals aren't great in a vacuum, they fit in really well with this approach where a lot of the sounds blend together. "Forever in Ebony Drowning" showcase the calmer, lighter , melodic, side in general, having a feeling of being lost in the forest but the title track itself (later in the album) goes back to the aggressive approach. There are a lot of neat surprises, song by song.

My favorite track is “Ancient Graveless Dawn”. It's the last track of the album and the keyboards continue with the general haunting vibe of the album. The guitars and vocals come together to create a more triumphant sounding feel (I think this is a theme we see on later albums). I love how the track ends though - it fades slowly (like a ghost drifting around) but my imagination pictures myself being in a cold, foggy cemetery in the middle of the night.

Hecate Enthroned is a band I've grown to appreciate over the years and I owe a lot of it to this album. They've had some ups and downs since then but I'm glad to have found this album when I did (which funny enough, was a complete accident back then). It hits a spooky note that I haven't really found anywhere else (the usual Norwegian name drops don't have anything that matches what Dark Requiems tries to do) and that was one of the reasons why black metal in general appealed to me in the early days.

With cradle of filth taking such a horrible turn these days I wondered to myself "will I ever find one like them?” Upon listening to BMR I came across Hecate Enthroned. I once thought that Dani Filths vocals were a unique set, but across Hecate I was entranced yet again. The lyrics are not as extensive or literary genius, but they retain symphonic black metal at its best. Being one of my favorite genres, I delved right into the album upon my purchase.

Being another SBM band from the UK they lead me to believe that this type of metal is only found from there. The good old fashioned black metal style is retained; blast beats, keyboards, entrancing riffs; but this band sets themselves apart by not conforming to the most common forms of SBM lyrics such as Ezrebet Bathory or frozen northern moon forests. Also apart from other SBM is the ambient interludes, or the lack there of. Cradle of Filth it seemed could not live without these intervals, as many other SBM bands, and I found them boring and repetitive. But in
Dark Requiems there were only two, which weren’t half bad, which leaves more time for the metal experience.

My purchase of this album to me was worth every cent, and I will find myself buying their music in the future. If you are a fan of high pitched screaming in SBM and are sick of Cradle, Hecate Enthroned is just the cure for you. I recommend it to anyone who is sick of the usual SBM scene.