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Algaion > Oimai Algeiou > Reviews
Algaion - Oimai Algeiou

Black metal which is melodic, raw and ferocious at the same time - 75%

VergerusTheSargonian, March 17th, 2024
Written based on this version: 2022, Digital, Regain Records

This release from the Swedish black metal band Algaion was kind of a cult for many of us back in the day and even after all these years, still remains in the heart and tastes of many veterans like myself. I think there's one and only trouble with this record: the drum machine! I work with programmed electronic drums since the very beginning of my career, and I can date it around 1999: nowadays, it is a feature integrated in many Digital Audio Workstations, and it's a lot easier to create various and dynamic drum patterns, while in the past, when you had a stand-alone hardware on its own, everything was a little bit harder.

The number of acoustic drum samples is very huge by now, and the quality is almost comparable with a real drum set. Even the modern computing capacity is able to emulate a real recording environment, with echoes and sound-bleeds from a sampled percussion to the virtual set of microphones. Algorithms of humanization are able to put more or less slightly out of grid the beats, and even the "tuning" of the sampled percussion could vary depending on how the beat is supposed to sound like! Human drummers are still the best option, in my opinion, but technology, along with a good skill in writing interesting drum patterns, could represent a valid alternative when it is not possible to do otherwise.

But we are speaking about a release originally published in 1995, and by a band at its beginning: melodic, razor sharp tremolo-picked riffs, repeated many and several times within a song, plus a wonderfully executed screaming vocals' technique, very sorrowful and high-pitched, credible and serious in its effort to scare or deflect the mood of the listener! Track list is a mixture of mid -lasting tracks and long, but repetitive and under-structured, extended ones, from, let's say, 7 minutes to even 12 minutes long.

The trance like searched effect is reached effectively and with full force, so prepare yourself for a journey through a disturbing black metal monotonous landscape, where minimalistic, but well written, melodies lead the excursion of the listener. But, well, drum machine fake, mechanical sound, it's hard to be considered acceptable: no dynamic, as every beat sounds the same, and the samples used are very far in resembling a real drum kit. And, even worse, the patterns are so simple, so poorly written, that you can simply lose interest in the drums lines after a short while. It is black metal, it has to be simple and monotonous, but here things are a little out of control.

Given a long blast-beat section, or a mid-tempo with a 16th notes double kick drum filling in the background, the sound is so electronic and with little to no variations at all, that there's a very huge risk of boredom, within a matter of a few consecutive tracks. I think that this album deserves for sure its cult status, but it would be a lot better with a completely different approach to the drum machine likes: there's not always the need to have a real skilled drummer in order to craft a good rhythmic section, but some sort of skills or recording care are still very important!

Well done, emotional black metal - 82%

natrix, April 19th, 2008

Back in '96, when I was new to the whole black metal thing, I thought that the whole genre was a bit of a joke, but when I read about this band, Algaion, mixing in sorrowful melodies and a no bullshit type approach, I ordered the CD straight away from Full Moon Productions.

And I got exactly what I ordered. Sure, this was no The Somberlain, but I was quite impressed with this rather un-infamous band. The tremolo riffing is nothing short of waves of mournful minor key chords, with the occasional thrashy break down that also manages to remain quite soaked in grief. And the vocals are probably the real treat: maniacal. Not in a Bethlehem/Silencer way, but very unique and incredibly deranged sounding. If you've ever listened to Algaion, this was probably the element you remember.

Tempos are typically fast, if not blasting, but there are some breakdowns, and those are especially memorable and well crafted. "Kratos" and "The Last Delusion" are probably the best songs on here, and they are nothing short of beautiful. Possibly only early Katatonia has so eloquently crafted sorrow as well as Algaion has here. But then again, Algaion really sounds nothing like Katatonia...

Sadly, a drum machine is used instead of a real drummer, and when coupled with the sterility of Abyss Studios, it has a very mechanical, rigid, and cold feel to it. But is this necessarily a bad thing? No, because I've found that these elements give Oimai Algaion a real charm in a near trance-like quality. Few other black metal bands use drum machines to such good effect.

I can't say that this is the most original music to ever grace my ears, and it is certainly not the blackest album out there, but it is very enjoyable. And hey, it's EMOTIONAL, not fucking EMO!

Dark and Grim but Somewhat Unimpressive - 80%

shadowfiend99, December 21st, 2004

The first thing that I want to say is that this album has one of the coolest keyboard intros that I've ever heard! Aside from that, Oimai Algeiou isn't really anything new to the majority of us black metal fans. Don't get me wrong, it's still a good first effort, but nothing really stands out as being great. While the singer has a somewhat original grim black metal rasp, the album itself reminds me a little of Ulver's Nattens Madrigal, only with better production, and a little more dark and streamlined. There are occasionally some very beautiful and haunting female vocals which do go well with the bands overall sound! If you're the type of black metal fan who is hell bent on seeking out every black metal album of the early to mid nineties, then check this one out. If not, I'd have to say that there is more intresting stuff out there, although I know some people who would consider it essential listening so you might not want to take my word for it!