Review Summary: The third Chapter of Agathodaimon's then short career, which proved to be a much more melodic affair than previous experiences.
Review: Agathodaimon, Chapter III
The third Chapter in Agathodaimon's Gothic metal career seems to be a step up from their previous two releases. Mind you, that step must be a baby step, because the only thing I can see here that is immediately different is the use of industrial elements making this 90% Black Metal and 10% Gothic Metal. Still, some bands do better their career by sticking to the same formula rather than changing their sound entirely.
So,onto Agathodaimon. Formed in Mainz, Germany, in 1995, Guitarist Sathonys and Drummer Matthias in the hope that they would become a death metal band with melodic arrangements, but this soon changed when bassist Marko Thomas and Keyboardist/Vocalist Vlad Dracul completed the band's line-up. Releasing two albums to their name, Agathodaimon had then lost Dracul , having to make do with guest vocalists for the time being.
The album itself seems to have evolved from the total black metal barrage of Higher Art of Rebellion, though the opening screams of An Angel's Funeral suggest otherwise. However, it is evident that industrial elements have been used somewhere on this record to emphasise the transcendence of Black Metal to a more Gothic approach than usual. Also evident here are the clean, harmonising vocals of tracks such as Paradise Beyond and The ending of our Yesterday, making for a much more melodic approach rather than a simple Black Metal attack, which disappointed me on their earlier albums.
At the heart of this album though, is the lyrical content found within. Amongst these nine songs are traditionally Gothic lyrics, tieing in well with the melodic overtones of the instruments used.
Here's some examples:
From An Angel's Funeral.
Mirrors of mourning, nothing else
Blinded by grief they are...everyone
Awaitin' your final way
Watchin' the frozen pit and see
We've lost reality
From Past Shadows.
Now far I am from you, before my fire alone,
And read again the hours that so silently have gone,
And it seems that eighty years beneath my feet did glide,
That I am old as winter, that maybe you have died.
If anything, the lyrics here are probably the best examples I can give of Agathodaimon's approach to a more Gothic style of metal than usual. Whilst these are extremely traditional lyrics found usually within Gothic metal bands' songs, the melodic arrangements used here prove to be more than a match for Blacken the Angel and Higher Art of Rebellion, and so on future releases the Gothic overtones would become more and more evident.
If I could find anything negative to say about this album however, I would say that every song doesn't really differ from one another. All of these songs seem to have the same riffs dragging along and the vocals aren't exactly the best, certainly for Black Metal anyway. I do in fact prefer the cleaner vocals.
I would recommend this to those with an appetite for Gothic Metal mixed in with traditional Black Metal elements, but that's not to say this isn't for those with an open mind. Chapter III is a slight journey into the wilderness that Gothic Metal brings, even if it isn't necessarily perfect. They would probably emphasise Gothic Metal more and more on each future release, still sticking to their guns in the process, vocally.
