Disguised Masters

Alright, word of power time. This is NOT a metal album. This is a darkwave/trip-hop album with 2 metal songs at the beginning. A friend of mine who's into black metal told me about this a long time ago, bashing it as "bastardizing" La Masquerade Infernale. I passed over it for many years, and having re-discovered it, I realized how wrong I was to pass it over. I only say this because there seems to be some confusion about the matter, namely thinking this is a metal album. This is not a metal album. Get that through your thick, close-minded skulls. Shit like that makes me embarrassed to call myself a metalhead.

Now, onward to the actual music. Like I said, be prepared for a lot of trip-hop and darkwave. You will hear many melodies from La Masquerade Infernale, as well as a new song, and a re-recorded version of an older song, Du Nordavind. The rest are remixes of sorts. I will say this, though: If you listen to Disguised Masters expecting to hear La Masquerade Infernale, you will be gravely disappointed. Appreciate this on its own merits, and you'll love it (if you like this style of music.) The best remix here I would say is the remix of The Throne of Tragedy, which is a drum n' bass version of the original, and probably the truest to the original of all the remixes. If I had to describe them, I would say that the remixes are what LMI would sound like minus the metal.

Let me rephrase that last sentence: Most of this album isn't metal. If you're expecting metal, look somewhere else. If you like trippy beats and chopped loops and samples and synths, this is the place to look. In a way, this is La Masquerade Infernale's evil, electronic cousin. And as far as the song with rap (aka gangsterifications): The lyrics really aren't altered, but I'll admit it took several listens for me to like it. But, over time, I met people who made beats and did music like this. I grew to appreciate the fusion of darker elements with chopped beats and "gangsterific" delivery.

All in all, this is a good companion to the rest of Arcturus' discography, but I would warn you that if it sounds like these elements aren't your thing, then nobody forces you to listen to it. I will say that this is very well executed and quite a rewarding listen, if you're open-minded enough to enjoy it.

I don’t know why Arcturus decided to release this retarded compilation. Everything off this worthless compilation is pure shit besides “Deception Genesis” and the re-recording of “Du Nordavind.”

Starting with the good songs here, “Deception Genesis” is surprisingly very good. It is not the same quality as tracks off “La Masquerade Infernale,” but it is a very solid song. The only problem with it is Garm talks too much. Arcturus pays the guy to sing, not talk. Anyone can talk. However, when Garm does sing in this song, he nails it. He uses his best voice in his arsenal, the classic low baritone voice. The rerecording of “Du Nordavind” is pretty cool. It sounds very different from the original version. The new version has Garm singing in his more “in your face” style as opposed to the more atmospheric style in the original. It also has a cool ending that differs from the original.

Now on to the majority of the album: the garbage. All of the original masterpieces off Arcturus’ best album (IMO), “La Masquerade Infernale,” are brutally mutilated. “Alone” and “Painting My Horror” don’t even sound like the original versions. You can not even tell that it is those two songs that are being remixed! The two forms of “Ad Astra” are not terrible, but they are still pointless. Same with the “Throne of Tragedy” remix.

Now for the worst one of them all. The biggest crime against music ever committed, the rapping remix of “Master of Disguise.” The original version of “Master of Disguise” is pure genius, and it is my favorite song of all time. This new version is utter shit. It is a rapping version of it! It is terrible! Random rappers go through the lyrics and add things like “master of disguise, dog.” Dog!? This is metal, not rap! No one in metal should be saying “dog!” You can just picture the video for this song; a guy with gold teeth rapping away with three surgically enhanced “ho’s” dancing around him; for the originally classically influenced masterpiece, “Master of Disguise.” That is not right!

This is not worth your money just for “Deception Genesis.” Just download this one good song, and stay away from the rest!