CoC : Tvangeste - Damnation of Regiomontum : Review

Tvangeste - _Damnation of Regiomontum_
(Valgalder Records, 2000)
by: Brian Meloon (7 out of 10)

This is the debut full-length offering from Russia's Tvangeste. Their sound is a pretty standard one for that area of the world: raw black metal underneath layered keyboards. A good starting point for comparisons would be Nokturnal Mortum's great _Goat Horns_ [CoC #31]. Their songs are roughly equal in length, and feature a similar rawness to the guitars and keyboard layering, though Nokturnal Mortum's keyboards are much more dominant in their music (since at the time of this recording, they only had one keyboardist -- they've since added a second, though!), and their music is much more involved and complex. Add to this basic style some prog/power touches, such as strong harmonized guitar leads, and some nice female vocals, and you have a rough approximation of Tvangeste's style. While it isn't terribly original, it is reasonably well-done, and there are a few excellent moments on the CD. Unfortunately, these are too few and far between to really make this a great CD. With some improvement, I think they have the potential to be great. Recommended for fans of keyboard-heavy black metal, but not really essential.

(article published 14/1/2002)