CoC : Peccatum - Amor Fati : Review

Peccatum - _Amor Fati_
(Candlelight, 2001)
by: Brian Meloon (7 out of 10)

Peccatum's follow-up to their debut _Strangling From Within_ shows them moving in a more straightforward direction. The songs on this offering are less classically-influenced, less avant-garde, less disjointed, and less pompous. The vocals once again range from black metal shrieks to King Diamond-like falsettos to operatic female vocals to harmonized and multi-part choir parts. At times, the vocals are great, and at others, they're completely annoying. In fact, that description applies equally well to the music, which has some nicely constructed sections juxtaposed with some cruder sections. Some parts of the album seem a little unfinished, and some of the song structures don't flow as well as they could with a little more polish. But even with these weaknesses, the songs flow much better than those on their debut. In addition, the production is much improved, with a much fuller sound overall. The playing is once again competent, though not overly challenging. Ultimately, I think this is a better album than their debut -- even if it isn't as original -- as it shows them getting past their "being weird for the sake of being weird" stage.

(article published 14/1/2002)

ALBUMS
8/22/2005	A McKay	7.5	Peccatum - The Moribund People
3/14/1999	P Azevedo	8	Peccatum - Strangling From Within

GIGS
8/12/1999	A Wasylyk	Emperor / Witchery / Borknagar / Peccatum / Divine Empire	Canada: No Church-Burners Allowed
8/12/1999	J Weathers	Emperor / Witchery / Borknagar / Peccatum / Divine Empire	U.S. of A.: Church-Burners Are People Too