CoC : Angel Dust - Enlighten the Darkness : Review

Angel Dust - _Enlighten the Darkness_
(Century Media, 2000)
by: Pedro Azevedo (5 out of 10)

Perhaps in an attempt to revitalise power metal, Angel Dust seem to have added a slightly goth-like atmosphere, at times not too far from EverEve's disappointing _Regret_ [CoC #46], and also some electronic elements. The strong drumming, riffs and melodies in opener "Let Me Live" made me think this could be more interesting than I had anticipated, and the following track, "The One You Are", didn't let it down. But from that point onwards, hardly anything seems to achieve a similar level, and as the record went on I wondered what happened to the elements that initially made it seem more interesting. "Beneath the Silence", for example, starts with a Tiamat-like spoken part (think _Wildhoney_) before changing into a pretty damn mainstream ballad -- and you get plenty of that throughout the album. The initial interest is never again recovered as the extra-sweet ballads, less than effective heavier parts, annoying goth-like elements and electronics just add up to tracks varying between mediocre and average quality -- which is rather disappointing after the first couple of songs. Overall, musically a competent album, but it clearly could have been much better. But as it is, in all honesty -- and I know they play a very different style --, for some reason _Enlighten the Darkness_ just makes me wish I was listening to Sentenced instead.

(article published 12/8/2000)

ALBUMS
12/9/1999	A Bromley	9	Angel Dust - Bleed