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Review for Psychotic
Sculpture in Unrestrained! Magazine
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Eclipse
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Reviews
VESPERIAN SORROW
REGENESIS CREATION
Displeased Records
05/05/06
Review By: darksoul
It has been five years since
Texas-based Vesperian Sorrow released "Psychotic Sculpture", finally,
their newest opus is released. Entitled "Regenesis Creation" this is by
far the band's best release. In my opinion it is one of the best
releases of all time from Texas for black metal and one of the best
releases of the year for North America in its entirety.
A powerful, symphonic intro leads the way to the first real track of the
album "Invisible Kingdom". Breakneck double kicks progress to blast
beats as keyboards support step-noted guitars. The vocals are nothing
less than masterful as is every instrument. The mid-break features
various European influenced lines over what I would consider a very
American rhythm. The ending again pulls from heavy European influences
with its slower pace, melodic and oddly Swedish sounding solos, and
powerful harmonies. The third track on the album, second "real" track,
is "Imprisoned in Gurdon". This begins straight away with blast beats
and speed picking. The drums switch to a fast 1-2 beat before going into
a strong and accenting beat. The guitars evolve from pure speed picking,
to thrashy, to progressive and back again. While always keeping a catchy
melody going, some parts of the songs may remind people of early In
Flames and Dark Tranquility while other parts drip of something
different. A thousand bands could be named off in terms of individual
similarities, but the ensemble has something new. The next track is the
title track, "Regenesis Creation". It slows down a little and pulls from
Norwegian symphonic black metal with sprinkles of mid-90's Swedish
death. Take bits and pieces from Dark Tranquility’s "Projector", Dimmu
Borgir's "Godless Savage Garden", The Kovenant's "Animatronics", and
Gardenian "Soulburner" without any of the power metal vocals, toss it
all in a blender with some ice, a bottle of tequila (actual bottle, not
just the booze), lime, and an instant kick to the nuts and you have an
idea as to what this band sounds like.
The next track, "Quest of the Exiled", it just magnificent with a
balanced mix of fast and slow tempos, chugging rhythms, ripping
melodies, and brutal drum work. The keyboards fit this track well and
bring up many sections by, well, doing what keyboards do! The
marching-tempo section is an especially good representation of this as
the keyboards accent the "juh-jun" of the guitars and help bring out the
squealing harmonics. The end features an extremely well written keyboard
solo/melody reminiscent of some of the melodic Finnish bands such as
Children of Bodom and Kalmah. The seventh track is entitled
"Relinquished". This track is epic from beginning to end with
progressive elements carrying the instruments throughout. Naturally,
some of the best sections are the purely black metal ones. Speed picked
guitars and blast beats can never be beaten. The riffs are tight and
precise and we are treated with something really nice: female vocals.
Yes, I know hundreds of band do that, but Vesperian Sorrow kept it in
moderation, featuring it only one song on the album. This contrast makes
for a more diverse sensation when listening to the record. You're not so
much expecting the female vocals and once they appear, it's a pleasant
surprise. The following track is entitled "The Forever Vortex". This
track begins with a strong Gothenburg/Black metal mixed riff. Bits of
Norwegian, American, Swedish, Finnish, and German influences can be
heard throughout the track. While it is the shortest track on the album,
it is one of the best and the best candidate for a music video. The
final track is "Vanquished", the longest track on the record. The intro
is simple and short. The song explodes into masterful symphonic
death/black metal with elements of progressive. This is a very strong
end for the album and a solidly written track.
As I'm sure you have figured out, this album is good. I thought the
sound quality could have been a tiny bit better only because the
keyboards seemed to overpower the main instruments in some sections,
besides, that, it's fucking amazing. The solos are well mixed, the drums
sound huge, the vocals are perfectly mixed, and, besides those small
sections, the keyboards fit perfectly.
Request this album on Darksoul VII Radio, check out the downloads on the
Vesperian Sorrow messageboard (right here on Darksoul VII!) and go buy
the album. You'll be glad you did.
For fans of melodic, progressive, and death/black metal.
IT’S ABOUT TIME FOR
ANOTHER RELEASE! - 99%
Written by
SirMichaelJ
on July 30th, 2006
After a 5 year absence its here! ANOTHER VESPERIAN SORROW
CD!
And the wait was well worth it.
Vesperian Sorrow, the band no one has ever heard of. Well, I take that
back, these guys have a cult following after two brilliant releases,
Psychotic Sculpture, Beyond the Cursed Eclipsed. Now we have their 3rd
Full length album Regenesis Creation. And all I can say is they picked
up right where they left off. This album like the previous two is
brilliant.
The best way for me to describe the sound on this album is The Gallery
mixed with Whoreacle with a touch of symphonic black metal. Some of the
songs even have beautiful female vocals that work really well at very
part they are added. I think this album shows more maturity in the
guitar work, or it’s just a better production value. Either way the
seemingly dark, yet powerful riffs and solos on this album are amazing
to say the least. Another of the better aspects of the band is the
drummer takes time for you to really get a sense of the percussion,
rather than play blast beats at warp speed, you really can appreciate
his work throughout the cd. The bassist plays really well complimenting
the drums. Now for the vocals. It’s a truly powerful shriek growl; he
can span both spectrums of each and does it with passion. A little
addition is a choir added in certain songs (Beginning of Relinquished)
which I adore. The best thing about the band as a whole which shines
through in this cd is the fact this music is intelligent. It creates an
atmosphere around the listener to really get a vivid image in your head.
Hell, some of these songs could be a music score for a Tolkien movie,
the music really does soar that much.
The only reason I gave this a 99 was because at certain times the
keyboards were too much of a presents and dominated the sound. And by no
means is the keyboard a bad thing in this band. In fact they are
phenomenal, but in the reviewer opinion keyboards should never be the
focus. Remember though, the keys take nothing away from the music, they
only add to the already magical atmosphere of the music
Choice selections- Imprisoned in Gurdon, Regenesis Creation, and
Relinquished
Metal Coven Webzine
Vesperian Sorrow
"Regenesis Creation"
Reviewed by:
Jesse Desha
At long last, five
years after the monumental album “Psychotic Sculpture,” veteran
symphonic metallers, Vesperian Sorrow from Austin Texas, unleash their
newest opus entitled “Regenesis Creation.” Frustrated with the lack of
commitment and empty promises from several record labels, the Vesper
crew made the bold and risky decision to release and fund the production
of their new album themselves for one simple reason; their fans had been
kept waiting long enough and people needed to hear this work of art.
Devoted to their craft and to their fans, it was a risk worth taking and
the proof is in the pudding.
Lyrically, “Regenesis Creation” is a concept album straight from the
mind of singer Donn Donni. It tells a fictional story of a race of
beings in a distant universe, exiled and forced into a new beginning on
another planet or other worldly place. The lyrics are difficult to
follow obviously because they deal with wholly fictitious places and
people and oftentimes they are portrayed in a poetic manner. This is
business as usual though for Donni as his lyrics generally deal in
astral and abstract concepts which fit the music perfectly. Speaking of…
“Regenesis Creation” is yet another delve into epic, symphonic extreme
metal, only this time around there are some strong hints of
progressiveness with even a few segments where a female vocalist sings a
few lines. The atmosphere created truly gives you the feeling of a vast
landscape.
After a short minute and a half intro of lush orchestration and the
beating of large kettle drums, “Invisible Kingdom” gets the album
started, blasting right out of the gate, guns blazing. One of the first
things anyone will notice when listening to Vesperian Sorrow is the
amazing drumming of Kristoph; a virtual octopus behind the kit hammering
away. “Invisible Kingdom” is undoubtedly one of the best songs in
Vesperian’s impressive repertoire. It comes at you as furious as
anything they’ve done. Half way through, it breaks into a sweeping
symphony followed with some of the most impressive soloing and guitar
work in their history and ending with a repetitive verse sung in
majestic closure. “Invisible Kingdom” leaves nothing to be desired as to
what you should expect for the duration of the album.
“Imprisoned in Gurdon” (Gurdon being one of these fictional places)
comes next and shows no intention of slowing the album down at this
point. A shorter song at only four and a half minutes, but still going
full speed. Riffs aplenty and more superb drum work. A short, sweet riff
fest.
The title track opens with a nice piano intro but the formula is still
in full force. The small amount of female vocals are introduced here
mainly as backing but it really adds a nice touch to the atmosphere.
Near the end, the song breaks into an almost electronica segment which
speaks towards my initial statement about the progressiveness of the
album as well as the overall riffing throughout.
“Quest of the Exiled,” alongside “Invisible Kingdom,” is the highlight
of the album. Here, they let their talents shine unabashedly both in
songwriting and musical ability. It’s also their most requested song to
play live and is Donni’s self-admitted favorite song they’ve written.
The synth is also at its heaviest on this song which gives it a very
“spacey” feel.
Up next is “Relinquished” which is another fast paced, catchy song that
ends with more sweeping symphonics and a short but elegant verse done by
that elusive female vocalist.
“The Forever Vortex” opens with a highly addictive riff quickly followed
by another short stint of electronica with a good bass line and subtle
acoustics in the background before blasting back to full speed with more
soloing.
The album ends with the nearly ten minute long song “Vanquished,” and if
I can follow the lyrics properly, it closes the story by telling of the
people’s newfound glory of vanquishing their enemies and being total
rulers over their new home.
The consistent trend throughout the album is that every song will keep
you guessing with constant fluctuations in speed and instruments. This
is one of those albums where the more you listen to it, the more your
“favorite song” will change. Each one has a life of its own and there is
absolutely no filler in the slightest.
The packaging and layout is a nice, yet simple digipak with an inner
folder sleeve where the insert rests. The cover shows a nighttime
landscape where large pillars stand in ruin of what was once a great
city. The view is that of looking through the opening of a cave or maybe
even some kind of vessel from space, out onto the deserted ground in
front as if the exiled race of people are seeing their new home for the
first time. The insert is the fold-out style and not a stapled booklet.
All the text is easy to read. Underneath the cd itself, through the
transparent tray, is a portrait of the band members with Kristoph
standing front and center. Whatever your opinion is on digipaks, they
are still considerably more expensive to produce than a standard jewel
case, which proves even more about Vesperian Sorrow’s determination to
give the fan the very best and spare no expense in doing so.
In the end, fair or not, I must compare this album to their previous
work and in which case I feel that “Psychotic Sculpture” edges it out by
a nose. What I found lacking in a very minute sense was that they might
have sacrificed a little in the songwriting department in order to
really showcase their incredibly impressive skills as musicians and the
way they play their instruments as if they were born with them. Also I
thought that Donni’s vocals came out a little weak. Sometimes they can
get drowned out amid the fury of the music. It’s a delicate balance when
dealing with so much sound that Vesperian Sorrow will always dish out.
The album also seemed to be about one song too short; one more nine or
ten minute opus to really make us sink far back into our chairs and
revel in their might.
Vesperian Sorrow is bound for greatness and a true testament to the
underground scene and what gets overlooked on a daily basis. Record
labels are fools not to invest some time into them. If and when they are
able to put together to songwriting of “Psychotic Sculpture” and the
showmanship of “Regenesis Creation,” then a masterpiece of renowned
acclaim will await them and us. Promoters and Venues
Click the poster below to download a full-sized printable TIFF image
(18"x24") for clubs and other venues. Be patient - this one's 10
megs!
Poster Artists
Click the image below to download a high-res image for making
flyers, posters and other promotional materials.
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