CoC : The Elysian Fields - We... the Enlightened : Review

The Elysian Fields - _We... the Enlightened_
(Wicked World, 1998)
by: Paul Schwarz (8 out of 10)

With _Formulas Fatal to the Flesh_, _Our Problem_ and _The Haunted_ already polluting the extreme music community's collective ears and promising new material from Earache's old favorites Napalm Death and Cathedral on the way, it appears that the label is not declining into a mediocre, alterna-metal one as many of us feared it was. With the recent formation of Wicked World, an offshoot which some feel needn't exist, Earache have tried to tackle head-on the task of adding some of today's quality black metal talent to their roster. The Elysian Fields prove that Earache are up to this challenge. _We... the Enlightened_, The Elysian Fields' second album, presents a band with a considerable grasp of their style and the balls and skill to produce a good black metal album. _WtE_ is ample proof of this. Though the boundaries of black metal have to be stretched like so much elastic to include a band such as The Elysian Fields, it is still appropriate to describe their style. What is best about this band is their desire to diversify their sound and their ability to pull it off. They utilize a huge range of orchestral and folk instruments, presumably from samplers, in each song. Blending in parts of electronic music with some intense percussion sections (check out "Until the Night Cries Rise in Your Heart") is just a portion of the band's appeal that I find particularly endearing. Add the fact that the production of _WtE_ is superb and you have a rather impressive album on your hands. If there's a problem, it is that however well-produced, well-executed and well-meant the music the band produce is, not all of it is to my own personal taste.

(article published 19/11/1998)

ALBUMS
19/9/2005	P Azevedo	6	The Elysian Fields - Suffering G.O.D. Almighty
1/9/2002	P Azevedo	7.5	The Elysian Fields - 12 Ablaze