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Many are the black metal bands who now have stepped away slightly from the traditional travelling paths and moved into more adventurous areas of the musical map. Whether this is a result of the recent commercial success of metal as a whole or just that the musicians feel an urge to reinvent themselves could be debated for all eternity so I will leave that out of this review as it is not really of any interest to me. It is probably a little of both. Agathodaimon is one of these bands who started out playing rather conventional, albeit well executed, black metal but who have perfected their own style step by step with each new release. The black metal roots are still obvious on their latest album "Serpent's Embrace" but this is nonetheless their most diverse product to this date. The Agathodaimon trademarks of tempo changes and beautiful melancholic melodies are still there as well but I would say that the gothic influences have never been as present as they are on this album. Several tracks also contain thrashier riffage which make me think of Norway's Susperia and in many aspects Agathodaimon have followed the same direction without either band copying the other as both of them have their own distinct sounds. The music of Agathodaimon is generally slower, more atmospheric and keyboard driven than that of Susperia which is more aggressive. Diehard fans of old-school black metal will most likely be disappointed while listening to "Serpent's Embrace" but for those of us who appreciate creativity and experimentation more than repetition and copying Agathodaimon is one of the most interesting extreme metal bands on the market today. It might be of interest for old fans to know that the female vocalist Ophelia (Ruth Knepel) has returned once again for the beautiful ballad "Faded Years" which is one of the highlights of the album together with "Rebirth". This is art the way it was meant to be. Let the serpent embrace you.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Cellos For The Insatiable |
| 2. Serpent's Embrace |
| 3. Rebirth |
| 4. Light Reborn |
| 5. Faded Years |
| 6. Solitude |
| 7. Limbs Of A Stare |
| 8. The Darkness Inside |
| 9. Bitter End |
| 10. Feelings |
: 43.24
| Buy other Agathodaimon albums |
