CoC : Illnath - Cast Into Fields of Evil Pleasure : Review

Illnath - _Cast Into Fields of Evil Pleasure_
(Worldchaos Production, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo (5 out of 10)

Danes Illnath return after their _Angelic Voices Calling_ EP, which impressed me to some degree with the quality it managed to offer in spite of being an independent release. Worldchaos from Japan have picked them up, and this is the band's first commercial full-length. Allow me to emphasize that the word "commercial" can be used in more than one sense here: much like their EP, this is very sweetened, commercial blackened metal. According to the label, "their killer sounds style are like Cradle of Filth and more melodic and beautiful world"; furthermore, "their sounds is catchy riff with glowing voice and melodic guitar & keyboard battle". Confused yet? Well, at least the music isn't as goofy as the album title, _Cast Into Fields of Evil Pleasure_, might suggest. Much like they proved with the EP, Illnath are well capable of crafting very decent melodic blackened metal. There seems to be even more keyboards than before, and even though they are well employed, they keep bringing to my mind the elf-like girl on the front cover -- which should give you a reasonable idea of how sinister they sound. This isn't any worse than their EP, but Illnath clearly overlooked any reviews that, like mine, strongly suggested they needed to find a less derivative sound; instead, they have managed to sound even more like Cradle of Filth on this full-length -- think CoF in a lighter mood with more keyboard sugar on top. This causes the drop in my rating, and I don't know how low it will go next time if things don't improve in this area. For instance, the start of fourth track "Temporary Borders" goes too far into the CoF world, as Illnath struggle to avoid sounding like a CoF cover band. This probably goes without saying, but anyone who is easily vexed by "sweet black metal" should stay the hell away from this release -- seriously. Those who feel just the opposite way and still haven't got enough Cradle of Filth in their lives will find in Illnath a highly competent albeit sweeter clone. Illnath would be well advised to explore their potential in more interesting ways than this in the future.

Contact: http://www.world-chaos.com

(article published 13/5/2003)

ALBUMS
14/1/2002	P Azevedo	7.5	Illnath - Angelic Voices Calling