The Shadowsoul

Dusk is very much a band in the vein of many of the one-man Black Metal acts - bands like Krohm, Judas Iscariot, and Burzum all have a very similar style. However, what I think Dusk seems to lack that the aforementioned have is brutality. There are virtually no blast beats on this record, which normally wouldn't be a drawback - and isn't necessarily a drawback here, either. However, you can almost hear the squandered potential of certain riffs in this album that would have sounded much better with at least a single blast beat to crush them out and pound them into obscurity.

As for attractive features of this album, the vocals are definitely a standout. Sounds very much unique. I actually don't detect much Varg influence here. He has more of a front-of-the-throat Gollum-type sound to his screams, and it really works here. The lyrics are absolutely ludicrous, filled with nonsensical gibberish, just the way Immortal fans will like it. Lines like, "Bluish fire in a circle / shadows are swishing around it /..." sound like a three year old telling ghost stories, but don't take away from the enjoyment of the album at all.
The other definitive plus to this record are the riffs. Enough said, there. There are cold, numb, with only the kind of feel that primitive Black Metal can provide. The problem - keyboards. 'Nuff said. Though that is a matter of personal taste. A great album besides, though.

This is the first album from Dusk, a Hungarian band playing cold, depressive black metal.

For the most part, this band's music is built from repetition and alteration of backing guitar and drum riffs. Long, floating synth and snarled vocals are layered on top of this. The production of the album is quite flat, as everything seems to have been mixed at about the same level. Normally, this would be a drawback, but here it makes it a bit easier to become entranced by the album's atmosphere, with no too-loud sounds to break your concentration.

Speaking of atmosphere, that's certainly what this band is all about. These are long songs with lots of repetition, though there's plenty of subtle riff shifts to keep things fresh. This seems to work very well. Even when Dusk breaks the ten-minute mark on a song, nothing seems boring or too overdone, and the individual songs each have a strong, memorable theme. As a result, the album works well as a whole, but you can also play songs on their own... a bit of a rarity, for atmospheric black metal.

For the most part, this is one of those albums you need to be in a certain mood to enjoy. This album is tailor-made to focus your mind in times of thoughtful melancholy. If you're in the mood for contemplation, pick this up - fans of Burzum and Abyssic Hate should be quite pleased by this one.

Standout Tracks: Dusk, Diewish, Vow

Review by Vorfeed: http://www.vorfeed.net