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Hidden in the Fog > Damokles > Reviews
Hidden in the Fog - Damokles

Beautiful, beautiful insanity - 94%

Lychfowel, October 28th, 2016
Written based on this version: 2005, CD, Twilight

I usually try my best not to wax too lyrical about a band or an album, because so much of our impressions of music is subjective, but in the case of Hidden in the Fog's sophomore effort Damokles I might have to make an exception, because this is the kind of album you desperately want others to have heard and liked, a treasure you must share with others who might appreciate its awesomeness. Eleven years ago, I found it by chance in a record store you wouldn't expect to carry obscure French extreme metal, but there it was and I picked it up, having read a glowing review in a metal magazine. Eleven years, and I'm still not done with it: Damokles is just such a rich and rewarding listening experience.

The album contains eight tracks, with "Dwelling and Growing" being the shortest at 5:12 and "For the Sightless to Behold", the album closer, being the longest at 10:23. This makes for an hour or so of some of the most intricately composed black metal I have ever come across (it probably is the most intricate), and from start to finish there's not a moment wasted. The music is best absorbed as one long, epic journey full of mesmerizing details, but may be too hectic and chaotic-sounding for some. At their most melodic, Hidden in the Fog could be described as "baroque black metal", occasionally writing melodies (and counter-melodies) that are purely classical, but performed in high tempo and with, of course, those buzzing wicked modern guitars. At other times, Hidden in the Fog reminds me of none other than the mighty Emperor (the harsh vocals in general are somewhat similar to Ihsahn's croaks) from Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk onward. There are some differences, though, and I do not feel the Norwegian legends were an overriding influence on Damokles. Hidden in the Fog's masterpiece stands on its own, and each track here lives its own life.

My favorite track on offer is probably "Miasmic Foreboding", the second one out, because of how its sheer and stunning technicality so effortlessly combines with some very beautiful and memorable melodies. The drum work is stellar as it is on all tracks, keeping some sense of forward momentum in what can at first sound like a very chaotic presentation. The more you listen, of course, the more the intricacies become clear, and suddenly you're sitting there wondering how mere humans can compose something like this, with its lightning speeds, that wonderful uplifting harmonious part at 02:20 (another band would've wrung an entire song out of that bit), that acoustic, almost Opeth-like part...oh, and I admit there are a few elements in this song that are very Emperor-like...but I prefer the production on this album, which is very clear and allows every instrument to be heard. The mix is very condensed and perhaps a little too flat, but not enough to really bother me.

There are clean vocals spread across the record in addition to the harsh vocals; these fit the music well and are somewhat varied, but lack perhaps a certain charm; fortunately, that also means they are not too soft or sweet. Like all other parts, they come here and there, often at an unexpected place in the sonic timeline, and it took some time getting used to them.

The bass is audible and is more adventurous than on your average metal record, but often follows the guitars. I'm not sure the album needs more detail, so it's not a negative.

The drumwork is excellent, I can't imagine how difficult it would be to try and perform this stuff. There are different time signatures, lots of fills of course, syncopes, the works. The drums are somewhat low in the mix, making them harder to notice, and the music is so overwhelming that you might forget there's some inhuman human actually drumming to this beautiful, beautiful insanity.

An album for the ages, then, an album you can play again and again and always discover something new, or remember some detail you'd forgotten that was cool. If you're into Emperor and similar fare, this is a no-brainer. I don't feel Hidden in the Fog is quite as symphonic as many bands performing similar metal, as they are more into progressive textures and that aforementioned classical inspiration, but I suppose fans of bands like Anorexia Nervosa or Limbonic Art (there's a part in the excellent "Dwelling and Growing" that oozes Limbonic Art) will find much to enjoy on here as well. Damokles has much to offer if you're willing to give it a few spins and let it unfurl. Relentless, this album could take your breath away.

While I don't enjoy every detail equally, and there are some parts I'd stretch or shorten, I still wish to give this album a very high score, even if it's only for the audacity of writing and producing something like this. The musicianship remains very impressive.

A Proggy Emperor! - 93%

Girganark, April 14th, 2007

I never would have thought I'd find a worthwhile band on myspace, but behold, I find Hidden in the Fog, a symphonic black metal band with prog thrown into the mix. It is quite a change-up, but the band makes the two sounds meld quite well and flow very smoothly.

First thing that I point out, is the vocals, when I first heard them it was typical black metal vocals, nothing to write home about, but than the clean vocals came in, and I was very pleasently surprised. The vocalist has a very good, warm, majestic sound to his clean vocals, and when used, they always add a large amount of atmosphere to the sound, sometimes even just used as a backing instrument. Very very good.

Second, the guitar, while still keeping to typical black metal parts with tremolo picking or minor chords, they also sometimes get quite techinical! With both guitarists doing different things, sometimes harmonizing, sometimes two seperate things at once. They also have a great, heavy tone. Also, there are acoustic jazzy parts in some songs, and they have a very good clean tone as well. The guitarists know what they're doing.

The bass, well, you can't hear it to much except for when it goes into jazzy parts, but the bassist does his job, and does it well, no complaints here.

The drummer is very good, doing a good job of playing fast and simple when he needs to, but not holding back at doing techinical drumwork, with some fancy cymbalwork and strange timing. Very good work.

However though, with all those good points, you'd think there'd be nothing wrong, but yet, there is. Hidden in the Fog has the problem of sometimes sounding TO MUCH like newer era Emperor. Sometimes I could swear their synth is the exact same that Emperor used in Anthems, as well. The other complaints, is that some parts, while interesting to the ear first time through, end up sounding more like filler, with guitars just droning on with fun little diddlys that really serve no purpose to the song. They don't really hurt it or help it, it's just pointless at times.


With all that being said and done, Hidden in the Fog is a VERY good band, and young as well, I highly recommend it to anyone interested in symphonic black metal that isn't afraid to break from the mold of drowning the listener in keys and boring tremolo picked riffs.