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Hollenthon > Domus Mundi > Reviews
Hollenthon - Domus Mundi

Awesome yet aggravating - 85%

Egregius, June 17th, 2009

From the get-go this album sounds ominous and epic. Monumental even. Film-music-esque strings and horns, preludinous drumming, and then right after some ominous guitar-strummings the massive classical chorus kicks in and a pounding guitar-rhythm finishes it off. Once the song shifts to it's main structure with it's dissonant riffs and gruff vocals you can't help but be mesmerised yet yearn for the simple but effective opening chorus. Enrapture..finally a song that does this title justice.

Then the next song is a total surprise once more: an Arabic folkloristic chant accompanied by those arab-sounding riffs and a simple minimalistic weeping string melody. Alternated with more conventional riffing and gruff vocals, interluded by what sounds like folk percussive instruments and more sounds and music I can only describe as 'Arab inspired', this song takes you on a journey to a far-away land.

"Wow! This is so great!" I thought to myself, "Therion eat your heart out! I wonder how many people cooperated with this album.."
Especially considering the various vocals heard on the following 6 tracks. Native American chants, choruses, various instruments..

"What?! Only 3?"

With the mention that one song is based on a Percy Shelley poem, the booklet mentions NOTHING about choruses or even all the ethnic instruments I keep hearing. Only Martin and Elena Shirenc do any vocals apparently. Wow, amazing range and diversity of voice they have..

See, that's the main problem I have with this album: it sounds incredibly awesome, no better word to describe it. All the ethnic influences and choruses combined with the original riffing and the distinctness of the gruff vocals makes you completely oversee the traditional song structures (or rather: not care about them).

YET 80% of the appeal of the album lies in STOLEN samples from movie-soundtracks and folk music albums. Yes, when you take something someone else has done and neglect to properly attribute it, I do consider stealing or at the very least disrespectful. It's impossible that everything I'm hearing is coming from the excellency of the keyboard players playing.

I have to give props for the song-compositions, the excellent riffing, and the gathering of the samples. The samples are done tastfully, like on Summoning's Stronghold, while they could easily have been obtrusive like on Summoning's later work even though they similarly dominate the sound. But I can't listen to this album without being annoyed about the fact that this album is simply not Hollenthon's. No wonder they radically changed gear for their next album; they knew they couldn't get away with doing this indefinitely. A shame really.

Absolutely Brilliant - 100%

PutridWind, March 18th, 2007

I was introduced to Hollenthon about a year ago by a friend. Domus Mundi has since been one of favorite albums due to its endless replay value and unique style that no other metal band can replicate. All the more amazing since it was all created and arranged by one man, namely Martin Shirenc, known best for his work in Pungent Stench.

This album would be best described as Orchestral Metal, though epic, folky, and medieval are all also adequate adjectives for this work. Schirenc proves that he is not only a great riff-writer, but also a brilliant arranger, integrating Gregorian Chants, Spoken Word, Middle Eastern ethnic music, native New Zealand war chants, cand heaps of classical music into his music. All these elements are sampled, yet the music the music uses them so sparingly that it would be inaccurate to call the band a rip off. Samples range from Rimsky-Korsakoffs "Sheherezade" to a bagpipe film from the film Braveheart, to spoken samples from Ridley Scott's Legend, and a whole lot more. These samples add such a unique touch to the album and make it extremely diverse.

The riffing is also top. Schirenc uses simple song structures, and employs hooks in his guitar work (best seen in Eclipse "Vita Nova") to keep long songs and repetitive structures interesting. Variation often also occour, with harmonies being employed often as well. The guitar tone is very low end oriented, and the dropped tuning helps reinforce the very heavy feel that the guitar brings to the table. The guitar is often also incorperated into segments of samples, adding to the harmony and often creating long droning chords to fill space. Basically, Schirenc employs the guitar in almost every way possible for a metal band, even adding a great solo at the end of Eclipse "Vita Nova" which serves as a 2 minute endng to the epic song.

Drumming is also top notch, done by Moke Groegor of Raventhrone. It is technical to grab interest on its own, yet it doesnt get in the way at all. The production is great considering the drumming was done on electronic V-Drums. Fills are very nice, creating smooth transitions, and the simple time and dynamics, as well as Groegors consistency are remarkable.

In addition to Schirencs harsh vocals, similar to his Pungent Stench work, there are also femal vocals done by his wife. They add nice diversity to the music, vcreating even more interest and variation to the already unique sound. The keyboards also add a nice touch and are used sparingly as well. Mostly during sampled orchestral parts, or chants, Schirenc employs layers of keyboards to reinforce polyphony, and at first it is very likely you won't even notice all of the keybaoard melodies on the CD.

In all, this is one of the most unique and creative cds I have heard, and anyone seeking a unique metal sound best likened to a band like Therion shouldn't hesitate in getting this album. The sheer depth of the album and its endless variance make it an album no one should be without in their collection.

Experimental + i. - 70%

Corimngul, March 14th, 2005

After hearing an album like Domus Mundi one’s entitled to use words like strange and experimental. Not only does the cover artwork consist of as much as twelve skeletons and eight skulls. Oh, pictures of them I meant. It differs from its successor With Vilest of Worms to Dwell in many ways. Not only is this debut, thus having weaker production. It’s not as one can’t live with it though. But With Vilest of Worms to Dwell was very symphonic, energetic and straightforward. Domus Mundi isn’t. It has some “symphonicness” to it, but mostly we get a cross between death metal and Arabic folk music.

And the folk influences are to be found everywhere in the music, special melodies, rhythms, keyboards, riffs and a few tones still unaccounted for. They pretty much permeate everything. The melody and the repeatedly badly beaten up drums stirs and captivates. I like the vocal experimentations too, he growls, shouts, does choir-like and ordinary clean vocals. Too bad Elena sings so little, but she’s really done some interesting lyrics.

The music is strange insofar as it may appear well ordered, one think what a nice beat this is, and there’s a flute too, and then one is grabbed by thousands of hands, taken for a wild, chaotic ride before the music settles down in its old melody again. One can’t help but rewind and being as astonished once again.

Domus Mundi is just a little too experimental to be any real highlight. We get the strangest stuff and can’t really digest it. A Maori war chant for example, sure fits into death metal, but with an overly Arabic folk theme, one could hope for more consistence than that. And then there are some monk choirs for a few seconds before a growl comes along. What’s strong with this album is the riffing that didn’t get any justice on With Vilest of Worms to Dwell. Here it’s developed but then he strangely let it go before releasing the next album. It’s far from a masterpiece, well except for its own genre ‘experimental wannabe-symphonic various folk music-influenced melodic death metal’. But then there’s no other album quite like it.

Groovy, driving album with good atmosphere - 87%

Cedric, November 30th, 2004

This album mixes folk, death metal, and pagan metal. They don’t just take influences and mix them in a random fashion, they blend the different elements. The vocals range from death/blackish vocals to yodeling and wailing vocals. The different vocals mesh nicely with the songs, and add to the wild atmosphere.

Wild, that is the word I would use to describe the album, it’s very raw and energetic, definitely headbanging material. The songs are both in English and Latin, adding another interesting element. Sometimes there is just random chanting included, but it never really slows down or turns down the darkness. The guitars are thick and heavy, the drums kind of tribal, with a jumping bass behind it all, mostly following the guitar, adding to the thickness of the music.

The album is made by three people, Martin Schirenc on keys, guitars, bass and death vocals, Mike Groeger on drums and percussion, and the solo vocalist Elena Schirenc, who sings female vocals on some of the songs.

An outstanding, epic precursor to greatness - 85%

PowerMetalGlory, April 15th, 2003

I’ll make it easy on you. Don’t get this album until you have picked up Hollenthon’s second offering: With Vilest of Worms to Dwell. Why should you keep reading?

You owe it to yourself to find out more about this band. They are currently one of the best bands that incorporate classical/folk music into their sound and remain undeniably metal. Their second album can be described as symphonic apocalypse while this one only aspires to metalize the world.

Domus Mundi – Latin for House of the World is a very appropriate title for this album. The sounds incorporated into this album come from various world cultures and despite occasionally seeming uncannily out of place – the flutes, tambourines chants and demonic howls all come together to create an occult, potpourri atmosphere of epic proportions. Oh yea, there are some guitar parts on this album. The thick riffs carry most of the songs and manage to stand out despite the usual chaos provided by the other instruments. This isn’t the band’s masterpiece. That title is undeniably bestowed upon With Vilest of Worms to Dwell. However, this album must not be overlooked.

My issues with this album:
It isn’t With Vilest of Worms to Dwell. No, of course I won’t leave it at that. The sound quality and production are obviously weaker and some songs are too chaotic for their own good. Personally, I cannot imagine how anyone can prefer this album to their 2nd release but there are people that will enjoy the more “organic” (read: raw and unseasoned) approach on this album. Nonetheless, this is an outstanding first offering by Martin Shirenc and a precursor to greatness. I hope to hear greater things from Hollenthon in the future.

Currently there does not exist a band that can be easily compared to Hollenthon but fans of Therion and Haggard are not likely to be dissapointed.

Strangely Compelling - 85%

vonDread, February 16th, 2003

Hollenthon is one of the most innovate bands I’ve had the pleasure to hear. I love their brand of folk-influenced, symphonic, melodic death metal. But I must admit, their debut, Domus Mundi, is a truly bizarre experience. Initially, it sounds very schizophrenic, constantly jumping from theme to theme. But it’s now grown on me quite a lot, and I can appreciate its variance.

I’m trying to get away from track-by-track reviews, but in this case it’s really called for. We start off with an epic number, “Enrapture - Hinc Illæ Lacrimæ.” The accompanying choir and symphonic instruments mesh effectively with the metal aspects of the song. In fact, most of Hollenthon’s work would seem somewhat hollow without it. The orchestral accompaniment is fully integrated into their style, unlike the case of Metallica’s pretentious S&M, where the orchestra seems tacked on. This definitive style would be developed wondrously on Hollenthon’s next outing, With Vilest of Worms to Dwell. For track 2, “Homage - Magni Nominis Umbra,” we switch gears completely. After the short brass intro, we’re introduced to a very Middle Eastern-inspired riff and background chant. The orchestra is still present, but seems to take more of a back seat for this song. After about two minutes, this song picks up and gets really catchy. The very cool clean vocal chant in the middle is the highlight of this whole album.

Jumping to track 3, “Vestige - Non Omnis Moriar,” we’re somewhere else entirely. This song features a prominent Native American theme, and a galloping main riff. The orchestra seems to have faded completely, but in this instance it doesn’t detract from the song’s effectiveness; it’s very catchy. The chanting Benedictine monks and epic choir on track 4, “Lure - Pallida Mors,” are very compelling. But the song is mired by unnecessary, annoying, weird electronic sounds that couldn’t possibly seem more out of place, one of my few gripes with the album. Track 5 is a cheery little Celtic jig number (I’m told sampled from Braveheart, but I don’t recognize the melody), and makes for a very entertaining interlude. The folk influences are one of my favorite aspects of Hollenthon’s music. Track 6, “Reprisal - Malis Avibus,” takes its cue from the movie Once Were Warriors, effectively incorporating a sample of a Maori war chant into the song. The chant compliments Martin Schirenc’s harsh vocals and the big meaty riff towards the end quite well.

More Benedictine monks highlight track 7, as well as a flute, and a sample from the movie Legend. This is almost as out of place as the electronics from track 4. The tone of the song is very medieval and catchy, but not nearly menacing enough to reflect Tim Curry’s spoken lines. I just can’t see a flute accompanying the Lord of Darkness. The closer, “Eclipse - Vita Nova,” is an epic number along the same lines as the opening track, featuring a fast, thrashy riff at the beginning, female vocals, and more chanting monks. The female vocals are acceptable--nowhere near spectacular. The classical bits are especially nice on this song, as is the guitar work.

All in all, this album is engaging, but obviously very experimental. Domus Mundi is a whirlwind trip around the world, not giving its listeners enough time to settle in any one region for too long. Some of the influences on here seem especially outlandish for an Austrian band, but each of them (in particular tracks 2, 3, 5, and 6), is a self-contained work of art, more than capable of standing on its own. As entertaining some of the tracks are on here however, I’m glad the band settled on a more consistent theme for their second album.