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A really strange album! I haven´t checked any other releases by this UK black metal band, so I can´t set any comparison between “Damascus Steel” and previous albums. This one is hell of a weird CD. It´s kind of a concept album about the fight between religions wrapped in fanaticism. That thing alone explains the intro, which features some words by that modern philosopher that George W. Bush is, showing all his intellectual wares –that is: his really high idiocy standards-. The first “real” song, “Creed Of Abraham” is a powerful black metal song and we can see one of the personal traits of this band, the vocals. The music itself is also quite competent and powerful, with the right dose of melody. “Sword Of The East” is probably the best song of the album, with an evident Hawkwind touch in the Lemmy Kilminster-like vocals (Lemmy was member of that mythic progressive band dating from the 70s). Not in vain it´s been composed by Alan Davey, responsible for the bass guitar on this recording and former Hawkwind rhythm purveyor. Classic “Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong has suffered a change in the lyrics to give the song a pessimist (realistic) vision of the modern world, quite bizarre to hear the cheesy music with such harsh lyrics and raw vocals! “The Gods Who Mock Us” is a progressive song with black metal feeling and screams, and a superb leit-motiv synth-driven melody. Impressive contrast between the prog tunes and the violent metal side.
Anyway, one of the downs of the album comes in the end, the eighth song with that loooong title lasts also too much, its eleven minutes are a bit excessive and somehow spoils a bit the well measured length of the songs of the album in general. Yes, it´s an epic tune, and it´s not certainly bad; it´s just a bit out of place when it leads astray in the endless ethnic feeling bout, in my opinion. As a whole, “Damascus Steel” is basically a black metal album incorporating with no remorse nor restrictions elements foreign to metal as ethnic percussions, prog synths and cosmic female vocals. Weird in the beginning, the combination of black metal and prog rock shown in the album becomes more and more friendly to the ear in subsequent listenings, helped by the fact The Meads Of Asphodel are competent and experienced musicians with enough taste to catch you with great melodic lines. A nice surprise!
| Tracklist |
| 1. Psalm 666 [Intro] |
| 2. Creed Of Abraham |
| 3. Hollow Womb Of Suicide |
| 4. Sword Of The East |
| 5. Satanic Black Nubian Pharaohs |
| 6. Wonderful World |
| 7. The Gods Who Mock Us |
| 8. Behold The Kindred Battle Carcasses |
| Strewn Across The Bloodied Dunes Of |
| Gilgamesh Mute In The Frenzied |
| Clamour Of Deaths Rolling Tongue And |
| Ravenous Bursting Steel |
| 9. Beyond Death And Darkness |
: 61.28
| Buy other The Meads Of Asphodel albums |
